The Union Kommando in Auschwitz: The Auschwitz Munition Factory Through the Eyes of Its Former Slave Laborers

This book describes the 'Union' munition factory in Auschwitz through the eyes of 36 former prisoners. Unlike arbitrarily collected testimony, these stories are actual eyewitness accounts of persons who worked in the same factory. The accounts are especially beneficial because they look at many events from different angles. The book sheds light on the women's resistance movement in the camp and recounts how the gun-powder was smuggled to the Sonderkommando for the uprising which took place on October 7, 1944. The accounts found in this study pay homage to the four women who lost their lives in the preparation for the rebellion. Such testimonies give a voice to those who cannot have one--the prisoners who were murdered. This book helps to bring to light the true events that for half a century participants--including German industrialists, civil institutions, the greater population of the western world, and the public at large--have kept in the dark. The Union Kommando in Auschwitz is an excellent text for courses and seminars in Contemporary History, Judaic Studies, European History, Holocaust Studies, and Women's Studies. Anyone interested in a true look at Jewish history and women's roles in history will enjoy this thoughtfully edited collection of personal accounts. Contents: Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; The Conveyor Belt Section; The Control Section; The Gun Powder Room; The Machine Shop; Miscellaneous Factory Sections; Eye Witness Accounts by Auschwitz Survivors Who Did Not Work at the Union; Appendices; Notes; Afterword; Bibliography; Index; About the Editor.

Lore Shelley is the author of Auschwitz - The Nazi Civilization (University Press of America, 1992), Secretaries of Death (Shengold, 1986), and Criminal Experiments on Human Beings (Mellen, 1991).