Marian Turski, Holocaust survivor and historian, dies aged 98

BBC News

19-02-2025

Polish Holocaust survivor, historian and journalist Marian Turski has died aged 98.Born in 1926, Mr Turski survived the Lodz Ghetto, extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and two death marches as a teenager.Later dedicating himself to history and journalism in post-war Poland, he co-founded Warsaw's landmark Jewish history museum and became president of the International Auschwitz Committee.He drew international attention on the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation in 2020, when he remarked Auschwitz "did not fall from the sky" and warned it could happen again.
Mr Turski was born as Moshe Turbowicz and spent much of his childhood in the Polish city of Lodz. After the Nazis conquered Poland in 1940, he and his family were moved to the Jewish ghetto established in the city which was plagued by disease, starvation and forced labour.In 1944, his parents and younger brother were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau – where Mr Turski, still a teenager, was to arrive two weeks later in one of the last transports from the Lodz Ghetto.Mr Turski's father and brother were killed in the gas chambers, while his mother was sent to work at the Bergen Belsen camp in northern Germany.In January 1945, as Soviet troops advanced, Mr Turski was among the 60,000 prisoners the Nazis forced to walk west in what came to be known as death marches.
He first marched to concentration camp Buchenwald and later on to Terezin, where he was liberated on the brink of death from exhaustion and typhus.He said it was as if he had amnesia after leaving Auschwitz, where he did not return for 20 years."I could never forget that I was in Auschwitz, because I have a number tattooed on my arm and I see it every day," he told Polish outlet Onet."However, after the war, I was struck by amnesia... I remembered individual episodes perfectly: arriving at the camp, a few other things, some stories from the death marches. Everything else was blurred, though."He rejected an offer to migrate west after the war, instead returning home in the hopes of building a socialist Poland.Mr Turski studied history at the University of Wrocław, during which time he took up journalism and worked in political communications.In 1958, he became editor of the magazine Polityka's history section, from which he went on to become an influential journalist and historian.
'Do not be indifferent'
Mr Turski drew international attention at the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 2020, remarking that Auschwitz "did not fall from the sky".It approached "with small steps until what happened here, happened," he said.He said the Eleventh Commandment of the Bible should be "thou shalt not be indifferent"."Because if you are indifferent, before you know it, another Auschwitz will come out of the blue for you or your descendants," he warned.He was one of four survivors who spoke again at the 80th anniversary in January.He warned world leaders gathered by the gates of the camp that "we can observe a significant rise of antisemitism in today's world, and yet it was precisely antisemitism that led to the Holocaust".Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said the Jewish community would miss Mr Turski greatly."Marian was our teacher, he was our moral voice and mentor. "He was steeped in Jewish wisdom and used it to guide us on how to face today's problems. We are so blessed that we had Marian with us for so many years."Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Mr Turski's words had become "a motto for us".He wrote on X: "The 11th Commandment for these difficult times."Polityka magazine called Mr Turski "an extraordinary man, a witness to the ages, our friend" whose voice was heard "all over the world".