As I was going through some old school assignments and art projects, I found an essay from my sophomore of high school on Auschwitz. Two decades ago. In the paper, I mentioned that there were no rebellions in the camp. I’ve learned in recent years, that couldn’t be further from the truth! I’ve learned there were many ways people rebelled in Auschwitz and other Nazi camps.

Very recently, I learned about Polish ballerina Franceska Mann (born Franceska Manheimer-Rosenberg) who was a rising star who got deported from the Warsaw Ghetto.

There are reports of whether she was involved in rebellions helping or betraying her fellow Jews before being deported. What seems to be more clear is that she ended up arriving at Aushwitz on October 23, 1943 on a passenger train.

I was surprised to learn that Mann wasn’t saved for a while longer at the camps. She was beautiful and a little bit of a celebrity. Instead, she and and perhaps 100 other women (depending on account) were sent to the gas chambers.

Again, the story gets a little blurred, but there was some sort of riot that these women started. Here is the most famous one:

Franceska noticed the guards were watching her undress. While the guards were in a trance, she struck a guard’s forehead hard with her Stiletto.

She grabbed his gun and shot two guards. She killed Joseph Schillinger and wounded Wilhelm Emmerich, who walked with a limp the rest of his life.

Franceska’s actions caused the other women to fight the guards. The revolt was shut down, and the women were killed. The details aren’t too clear as there were few surviving witnesses. The main story is that there was a women revolt, and two guards were shot. There was a rebellion which inspired prisoners. She has also inspired art—and even a ballet.

The story of Franceska Mann and the other women uprising is one of the many stories about Jews who fought back, and who didn’t go to their fates as lambs to the slaughter.

Links:

A story of hope,tenacity and bravery. The Jerusalem Post. Accessed January 27, 2025.

Ballerina Franceska Mann Kills Nazi Guard and Injures Two Others at Auschwitz. This Week in History. Accessed January 27, 2025

Franceska Mann’s last dance at Auschwitz. World Jewish Congress YouTube video. Accessed January 27, 2025

Franceska Mann Wikipedia article Accessed January 27, 2025

Strong women of the Jewish faith: Franceska Rosenberg-Manheimer 1917-1943 Part V. Accessed January 27, 2025