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Auschwitz survivor describes how Dr Mengele whistled Mozart as he selected victims for gas chambers
An Israeli artist who survived Auschwitz as a child has told how Dr Josef Mengele used to whistle Mozart as he chose who would be sent to die in the gas chambers.
“He must have loved Mozart, because if he was bored during the selection he always whistled Mozart,” Yehuda Bacon said.
The 87-year-old Mr Bacon was one of the so-called “Birkenau Boys” selected by Dr Mengele to work as forced labourers at Auschwitz.
He has spoken out about his experiences at the extermination camp in a new book published in Germany.
In an extract published in Bild newspaper, he described his memories of Dr Mengele, the SS doctor who chose victims for the gas chambers and performed lethal human experiments on prisoners.
“He was always correct, he never beat us children,” Mr Bacon said.
“If there were women with babies, he would promise them ‘I’ll take you to a beautiful, clean place painted white, where the children will be safe’. He described the place precisely.
"Later I saw that he had given an accurate description of the crematorium. That was devilish."
The book is a series of conversations between Mr Bacon and Dr Manfred Lütz, a psychologist and author.
Mr Bacon, a celebrated Israeli painter whose work has been exhibited around the world, describes watching at the age of 15 as his father was sent to the gas chambers.
“I knew I was seeing my father for the last time, and the separation was very, very difficult. I told him I'll live and I'll see you in Israel. But I was a sensible child and I knew the truth and he knew the truth: we were at the last time.
“Before I left, he wanted to give me his bread. I didn’t accept it because my parents starved so much more than me. And yet he wanted to give me his bread, which is really an example of the incredible love of a father for his son.”