Background: Rudolf Vrba was born Walter Rosenberg in the city of Topolcany, Czechoslovakia on September 11, 1924. His father was a steam saw-mill owner and his mother stayed home to tend to the house. At the age of 15 he was excluded from school because of the Slovakian version of the Nuremberg Laws, and was forced to join the small Jewish workforce. In March of 1942 in wake of the news that young Jews would be deported to Poland he defiantly ripped the yellow Star of David (a law enforced by the Germans made all Jews wear it) off of his clothes and fled. He sought to join the Czechoslovak Army in England. Vrba decided to attempt to take a taxi all the way to England, but was caught by the Hungarian border control and sent to the Novaky transition camp in Slovakia. While at the camp he tried to escape but was caught by a policeman who was suspicious because he was wearing two pair of socks. On June 14th, 1942 Vrba was then transferred to Majdanek and was united with his brother who was later murdered there.
Auschwitz: On June 30th, 1942 Vrba arrived in Auschwitz. Vrba was forced to be part of the “Work Farm” who was responsible for unearthing buried corpses and taking them to the crematorium. The work took a toll on Vrba mentally and physically. He worked every day and was worked nearly to death. One day his luck changed when a Viennese prisoner that was trusted by the SS discovered he could speak German, seen as better than a part of the “Work Farm” he was transferred to the Aufräumungskommando’s barracks. As part of the Aufräumungskommando he was to sort through new arrivals good to look for valuables. He worked in the building nicknamed “Canada I” because it contained a surplus of food, clothing, medicine, and other resources and were regarded as the land of plenty. This proved vital to the survival of Vrba, because of the large amount of food that was in the new arrivals luggage he was able to rejuvenate himself and gain back some of his strength....