Shlomo Venezia visited The Holocaust Centre on 12th April 1999 and gave his testimony. This came about because his friends, Michael and Morven Heller, told him about the Centre and the work of the Smith family so that the memory of the Shoah would not be lost.
He said it was quite difficult for him to give the testimony in English but, at the end of more than one hour, he was both tired and happy. He felt his story was very important because at that time he was one of only six Survivors of the Sonderkommando left, also that he could tell first hand about his experience in the crematorium in Birkenau.
Shlomo Venezia was sent by the Nazis to Auschwitz. He was conscripted to work in the SonderKommando and eventually survived. In this interview he explains what it was like and gives some indication of the compromises that prisoners were forced to make in order to survive. The interview includes an account of some of the worst aspects of the Auschwitz camp complex.Watch Shlomo's testimony below. Visitors to our website will only be able to watch the first 15 minutes. However, members of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum are able to see the entire testimony, so please become a member - sign up here.