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Fighting for His Life
The story of boxer Harry Haft
It is rare that modern boxing matches are a matter of life and death. The goal is to knockout your opponent or to beat them by points. While accidents have happened, for the most part both men live to fight another day. This was not the experience of Harry Haft and other inmates at the Auschwitz concentration camp. These fights were truly a matter of life and death.
Haft was born on July 28, 1925 in Poland. His father died when he was three years old and was fourteen when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. As a young Jew, he faced antisemitism at school and in the community. He was expelled from school when he threw a rock at an antisemitic teacher.
In 1941 the men were told they had to register with the local police. Thinking it was for a job opportunity, Harry’s brother Aria went to sign up. However, when he did not return Harry went looking for his brother. Harry found is brother and other Jewish men corraled in a firehouse, and caused a distraction to allow his brother to escape. But in the confusion, the guards nabbed Harry and sent him to Auschwitz.
At the camp, Haft faced brutal punishment from the guards, like the other inmates. He was put to work in the forced labor groups and was regularly beaten and starved.
