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Residential Schools in Canada Residential SchoolsResidential schools were government-sponsored religious schools that were established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Although the first residential facilities were established in New France, the term usually refers to schools established after 1880. Residential schools were created by Christian churches and the Canadian government as an attempt to both educate and convert Indigenous youth and to integrate them into Canadian society. However, the schools disrupted lives and communities, causing long-term problems among Indigenous peoples. Since the last residential school closed in 1996, former students have demanded recognition and restitution, resulting in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007 and a formal public apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008. In total, an estimated 150,000 First Nation, Inuit, and Métis children attended residential schools.Early Residential Schools in New France and Upper CanadaResidential schools have a long history in Canada. The first residential facilities were developed in New France by Catholicmissionaries to provide care and schooling. However, colonial governments were unable to force Indigenous people to participate in the schools, as First Nations people were largely independent and Europeans depended on them economically and militarily for survival.However, residential schools became part of government and church policy from the 1830s on, with the creation of Anglican,Methodist,and Roman Catholic institutions in Upper Canada (Ontario). The oldest continually operating residential school in Canada was the Mohawk Institute in what is now Brantford, Ontario. This began as a day school for Six Nations boys, but in 1831 it started to accept boarding students. These colonial experiments set the pattern for post-Confederation policies.Residential Schools After 1880Beginning in the 1870s, both the federal government and Plains Nations wanted to include schooling provisions in treaties, though for different reasons. Indigenous leaders hoped Euro-Canadian schooling would help their young to learn the skills of the newcomer society and help them make a successful transition to a world dominated by the strangers. With the passage of the British North America Act in 1867, and the implementation of the Indian Act (1876), the government was required to provide Indigenous youth with an education and to integrate them into Canadian society.The federal government supported schooling as a way to make First Nationseconomically self-sufficient. Their underlying objective was to decrease Indigenous dependence on public funds. The government therefore collaborated with Christian missionaries to encourage religious conversion and Indigenous economic self-sufficiency. This led to the development of an educational policy after 1880 that relied heavily on custodial schools. These were not the kind of schools Indigenous leaders had hoped to create.Beginning with the establishment of three industrial schools on the prairies in 1883, and through the next half-century, the federal government and churches developed a system of residential schools that stretched across much of the country. Most of the residential schools were in the four Western provinces and the territories, but there were also significant numbers in northwestern Ontario and in northern Québec. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had no schools, apparently because the government assumed that Indigenous people there had been assimilated into Euro-Canadian culture.At its height around 1930, the residential school system totalled 80 institutions. The Roman Catholic Church operated three-fifths of the schools, the Anglican Church one-quarter and the United and Presbyterian Churches the remainder. (Before 1925, the Methodist Church also operated residential schools; however, when the United Church of Canada was formed in 1925, most of the Presbyterian and all the Methodist schools became United Church schools.)Isolation and AssimilationOverall, students had a negative experience at the residential schools, one that would have lasting consequences. Students were isolated and their culture was disparaged or scorned. They were removed from their homes and parents and were separated from some of their siblings, as the schools were segregated according to gender. In some cases, they were forbidden to speak their first language, even in letters home to their parents. The attempt to assimilate children began upon their arrival at the schools: their hair was cut (in the case of the boys), and they were stripped of their traditional clothes and given new uniforms. In many cases they were also given new names. Christian missionary staff spent a lot of time and attention on Christian practices, while at the same time they criticized or denigrated Indigenous spiritual traditions.Daniel Kennedy (Ochankuga’he) described his experience at the Qu’Appelle (Lebret) residential school in his memoirs, published as Recollections of an Assiniboine Chief (1972):In 1886, at the age of twelve years, I was lassoed, roped and taken to the Government School at Lebret. Six months after I enrolled, I discovered to my chagrin that I had lost my name and an English name had been tagged on me in exchange… “When you were brought here [the school interpreter later told me], for purposes of enrolment, you were asked to give your name and when you did, the Principal remarked that there were no letters in the alphabet to spell this little heathen’s name and no civilized tongue could pronounce it.‘We are going to civilize him, so we will give him a civilized name,’ and that was how you acquired this brand new whiteman’s name.’” …In keeping with the promise to civilize the little pagan, they went to work and cut off my braids, which, incidentally, according to the Assiniboine traditional custom, was a token of mourning — the closer the relative, the closer the cut. After my haircut, I wondered in silence if my mother had died, as they had cut my hair close to the scalp. I looked in the mirror to see what I looked like. A Hallowe’en pumpkin stared back at me and that did it. If this was civilization, I didn’t want any part of it. I ran away from school, but I was captured and brought back. I made two more attempts, but with no better luck.Realizing that there was no escape, I resigned myself to the task of learning the three Rs. …visualize for yourselves the difficulties encountered by an Indian boy who had never seen the inside of a house; who had lived in buffalo skin teepees in winter and summer; who grew up with a bow and arrow.(Daniel Kennedy (Ochankuga’he), former student at Qu’Appelle residential school)Life at Residential SchoolsUntil the late 1950s, residential schools operated on a half-day system, in which students spent half the day in the classroom and the other at work. The theory behind this was that students would learn skills that would allow them to earn a living as adults. However, the reality was that work had more to do with running the school inexpensively than with providing students with vocational training.Tasks were separated by gender. Girls were responsible for housekeeping (cooking, cleaning, laundry, sewing), while boys were involved in carpentry, construction, general maintenance and agricultural labour. Funding was a pressing concern in the residential school system. From the 1890s until the 1950s, the government tried constantly to shift the burden of the system onto the churches and onto the students, whose labour contributed financially to the schools. By the 1940s, it was clear to many that the half-day system had failed to provide residential students with adequate education and training. However, the half-day system was not eliminated until the late 1950s, when more funding became available owing to a strong economy.Daily Routine at Residential SchoolsSchool days began early, usually with a bell that summoned students to dress and attend chapel or mass. Students then performed chores (usually referred to as “fatigue” duty) before breakfast. Breakfast, like all meals, was spartan, and eaten quickly in a refectory or dining hall. This was followed by three hours of classes or a period of work before breaking for lunch. The afternoon schedule followed a similar pattern, including either classes or work, followed by more chores before supper. Time was also set aside for recreation, usually in the afternoon or evening. Some schools had small libraries, while many schools offered organized sports as well as musical instruction, including choirs and brass bands. The evening closed with prayer, and bedtime was early. It was a highly regimented system.On weekends there were no classes, but Sunday usually meant more time spent on religious practices. Until the 1950s, holidays for many of the students included periods of work and play at the school. Only from the 1960s on did the schools routinely send children home for holidays. Therefore, many students in the residential school system did not see their family for years.Education and Vocational Training at Residential SchoolsOverall, students received a poor education at the residential schools. This was true both in terms of academic subjects and vocational training. Students had to cope with teachers who were usually ill-prepared, and curricula and materials derived from and reflecting an alien culture. Lessons were taught in English or French, languages that many of the children did not speak. In the workplace, the overseers were often harsh, and the supposed training purpose of the work was limited or absent.The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, published in 2015, outlined several “undeniable” conclusions about the system:First, the federal government failed to set clear goals and standards for education at the residential schools.Second, the curriculum at residential schools was essentially an elementary curriculum, which reflected a belief that Indigenous people were intellectually inferior.Third, the government did not develop or implement a policy regarding teacher qualification.Fourth, the teaching staff was, in general, underqualified, overworked and poorly paid.Fifth, the curriculum (which emphasized the “four Rs” — reading, writing, arithmetic and religion) was not only basic but also largely irrelevant to the students’ needs, experiences or interests.Sixth, students left school without the skills they needed to either succeed in their home communities or in the “broader labour market.” Moreover, many of them left without completing their education.In short, the education and vocational training provided by residential schools was inadequate.Between Two WorldsMoreover, the attempted assimilation of Indigenousstudents left them disoriented and insecure, with the feeling that they belonged to neither Indigenous nor settler society.John Tootoosis, who attended the Delmas boarding school (also known as the Thunderchild school) in Saskatchewan, was blunt in his assessment of the residential school system:[W]hen an Indian comes out of these places it is like being put between two walls in a room and left hanging in the middle. On one side are all the things he learned from his people and their way of life that was being wiped out, and on the other side are the whiteman’s ways which he could never fully understand since he never had the right amount of education and could not be part of it. There he is, hanging in the middle of two cultures and he is not a whiteman and he is not an Indian.They washed away practically everything from our minds, all the things an Indian needed to help himself, to think the way a human person should in order to survive.(John Tootoosis, former student at Delmas school)Abuse at Residential SchoolsMany students suffered abuse at residential schools.While some staff tried to be good instructors and parental surrogates, the institutional setting and the volume of work defeated even the best of intentions. Impatience and correction often led to excessive punishment, including physical abuse. In some cases, children were heavily beaten, chained or confined.Some of the staff were sexual predators, and many students were sexually abused. When allegations of sexual abuse were brought forward — by students, parents or staff — the response by government and church officials was, at best, inadequate. The police were seldom contacted, and, even if government or church officials decided that the complaint had merit, the response was often simply to fire the perpetrator. At other times, they allowed the abuser to keep teaching.Health, Death and Disease at Residential SchoolsAccording to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission(TRC), at least 3,200 Indigenous children died in the overcrowded residential schools. Due to poor record-keeping by the churches and federal government, it is unlikely that we will ever know the total loss of life at residential schools. However, according to TRC Chair, Justice Murray Sinclair, the number may be more than 6,000.Underfed and malnourished, the students were particularly vulnerable to diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza (including the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918–19). Food was low in quantity and poor in quality, in large part due to concerns about cost. Faced with limited funding, schools were instructed to observe “the strictest economy… in all particulars.” In general, school menus seem to have been both monotonous and nutritionally inadequate. According to Basil Johnston, who attended the residential school in Spanish, Ontario, he was served “mush, mush, mush, sometimes lumpy, sometimes watery, with monotonous regularity every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.”Menu for the Qu’Appelle, North-West Territories, Industrial School, 1893(Source: Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs, 1893, 174; as quoted in Canada’s Residential Schools: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada [2015], vol. I, p. 491)BreakfastFour days in the week porridge of oatmeal or cornmeal with either milk or syrup, this is served with hot tea and bread; the working pupils, and those not in robust health, receive butter in addition.On three days all the pupils receive butter and cheese with their bread instead of porridge, this is served with hot tea.Dinner [lunch]Soup, meat or fish, vegetables and bread ad libitum [i.e., not regulated]. For dessert, rice or stewed apples, or stewed rhubarb or syrup, or bread and milk, with cold water to drink, excepting to the weak children, and those working outside, who get hot tea.SupperMeat for the working pupils, hashed meat and vegetables for the rest, bread ad libitum and dessert similar to that named for dinner, hot tea.Moreover, research by food historian Ian Mosby (published in 2013) revealed that students at some residential schools in the 1940s and 1950s were subjected to nutritional experiments without their consent or the consent of their parents. These studies were approved by various federal government departments and conducted by leading nutrition experts. They included restricting some students’ access to essential nutrients and dental care in order to assess the effect of improvements made to the diet of other students. Overall, the experiments do not seem to have resulted in any long-term benefits.Nutritional deficiencies and overcrowding led to regular outbreaks of diseases at the schools. Tuberculosis and influenza were the major killers, but students were also affected by outbreaks of smallpox, measles, typhoid, diphtheria, pneumonia and whooping cough. In the winter of 1926–27, for example, 13 children died from a combination of measles and whooping cough at the Lytton school. Louise Moine, who attended the Qu’Appelle school in the North-West Territories, remembered one year in the early 20th century when tuberculosis was “on the rampage”:There was a death every month on the girls’ side and some of the boys went also. We were always taken to see the girls who had died. The Sisters invariably had them dressed in light blue and they always looked so peaceful and angelic. We were led to believe that their souls had gone to heaven, and this would somehow lessen the grief and sadness we felt in the loss of one of our little schoolmates. There would be a Requiem Mass in the chapel. We would all escort the body, which was lying in a simple handmade coffin, to the graveyard which was located close to the R.C. [Roman Catholic] Church in the village.(Louise Moine, former student at Qu’Appelle residential school)Although medical experts such as Dr. Peter Bryce, Dr. James Lafferty, Dr. O.I. Grain and Dr. E.L. Stone recommended measures to improve health and medical treatment, these were not implemented by the government, largely due to concerns about cost and opposition by the churches.The schools could have helped children to reduce their vulnerability to tuberculosis by providing them with sanitary, well-ventilated living quarters, an adequate diet, warm clothing, and sufficient rest. Rather, the residential schools regularly failed to provide the healthy living conditions, nutritious food, sufficient clothing, and physical regime that would prevent students from getting sick in the first place, and would allow those who were infected a fighting chance at recovery.(Canada’s Residential Schools: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada [2015], vol. I, p. 451)Resistance and ClosureIndigenous students and parents resisted and protested the harsh regime in place at most residential schools. Some children refused to co-operate and sabotaged the operations of the kitchen or classroom, stole food and supplies, or ran away (as did Chanie Wenjack in 1966). At least 25 fires were set by students as a form of protest. Their parents and political leaders protested the schools' harsh conditions and pedagogical shortcomings, though their objections were mostly ignored.By the 1940s it was obvious to both the government and most missionary bodies that the schools were ineffective, and Indigenous protests helped to secure a change in policy. In 1969, the system was taken over by the Department of Indian Affairs, ending church involvement. The government decided to phase out the schools, but this met with resistance from the Catholic Church, which felt that segregated education was the best approach for Indigenous children. Some Indigenous communities also resisted closure of the schools, arguing either that denominational schools should remain open or that the schools should be transferred to their own control. By 1986, most schools had either been closed or turned over to local bands. Ten years later, Gordon Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan, finally closed its doors.Recovery, Reparations, and ReconciliationIndigenous communities, often with church support, and since 1998 with government financial assistance, have been carrying out the difficult work of supporting their members with the long-term impact of residential schools, including family breakdowns, violence and aimlessness. Beginning in the late 1990s, former students demanded that government and churches publicly acknowledge their role in the schools and provide compensation for their suffering.In 2005, the federal government established a $1.9-billion compensation package for the survivors of abuse at residential schools. In 2007, the federal government and the churches that had operated the schools agreed to provide financial compensation to former students under the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.On 11 June 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on behalf of the Government of Canada, offered an apology to all former students of residential schools in Canada. The apology openly recognized that the assimilation policy on which the schools were established was "wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country." The apology recognized the profoundly damaging and lasting impact the schools had on Indigenous culture, heritage and language and was one of the steps that the government has taken to forge a new relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada.Harper’s apology and the compensation packages offered by the federal government excluded survivors of residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. Since Canada did not establish or operate residential schools in that province (Newfoundland was not part of Canada at the time the schools began operating), the federal government argued that it was not responsible for compensating former students. After survivors launched a class-action lawsuit against the government, a settlement of $50 million was reached on 10 May 2016. The settlement was approved by Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Robert Stack on 28 September 2016.On 24 November 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized to survivors of residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.Names of Children Who Died in Residential Schools ReleasedOn 30 September 2019, the names of 2800 children who died in residential schools in Canada were released by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in a ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec (see Truth and Reconciliation Commission). The ceremony was the culmination of years of archival research of government and church records dealing with Indigenous children in 80 schools across the country, with records going back as far as the 1890s. According to archivists, another 1600 children who died in residential schools remain unnamed, and researchers continue to pore over records to discover their identities.The names and schools of the children were displayed on a huge 47-metre long, blood-red cloth banner. Tia-o-qui-aht First Nation Elder Dr. Barney Williams, a residential school survivor and member of the Indian Residential School Survivor Committee (an advisory body to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission), believes that the ceremony was important to ensure that the children who died are not forgotten: “Today is a special day not only for myself but for thousands of others, like me, across the country to finally bring recognition and honour to our school chums, to our cousins, our nephews, to our nieces that were forgotten.” To Elder Williams, the unveiling of the 2800 names was a “heartwarming” and “very emotional” moment for himself and thousands of Indigenous families across Canada.

A certain man - hardly known even in his home country - comes to mind. A man nicknamed The boxer of Auschwitz, “He who beat the Germans as he wished” by his companions, and Weiss Nebel (“The White Fog”) by his Nazi overseers.A man who was, in fact, one of the first people ever deported to Auschwitz, being attributed the number 77 amongst his fellow inmates, but who yet survived in the camps all the way until the end of the Second World War thanks to his martial skills.The man whom I’m speaking of is the former Polish bantamweight and Auschwitz multi-weight unified champion, soldier, member of underground resistance movements and hero in his own right, Tadeusz Pietrzykowski.Let me tell you his story.Background, and the Second World WarTadeusz was born in 1917, in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, fifth out of seven siblings. Both his parents had a higher education, which was very rare for these times - his father was even an engineer - and insisted on their children being raised well.Tadeusz had a natural artistic talent. After watching the famous movie “Ben Hur” as a 9-year-old kid, he drew a warrior charging on a chariot as a homework for his plastic arts class, and did it so well his teacher asked him to draw it again in front of him as he suspected the homework had been made by an adult artist. As a teen, he would make ends meet by drawing for people who were in Warsaw’s academy of fine arts and in architecture colleges. Tadeusz was very talented at school, too.His father died when he was ten, and his family’s financial situation rapidly deteriorated. Tadeusz joined a military school, where he first started boxing, and slowly drifted away from pursuing studies, much to his mother dismay. At age 16, he joined the biggest Warsaw sports’ club, Legia Warszawa, and had his first professional fight a year later. Yet, he was still going to school, and could not fight under his real name in the light of the Polish law; he was therefore nicknamed “Teddy” by his trainer, Feliks Stamm – the man who’s considered the father of Polish boxing, having trained a generation of Olympic level fighters.“Teddy” fought over 50 times during his short-lived career, winning most of his fights, several tournaments and attracting great interest of Polish sport journalists after becoming Warsaw’s bantamweight’s (52–53kg / 114–116 lbs) division champion in 1937 following very skillful displays on the ring; they even started referring to him as “Teddy Iron-Fist”.It all ended when World War II started, 1st September 1939. His club’s authorities had previously started procedures to prevent him from being drafted due to his promising boxing talents, but Tadeusz took none of it and volunteered to Warsaw’s first defence unit. And there he took arms and fought until the capitulation of Warsaw, 28th September of 1939, defending the Ochota district, next to where he grew up.Tadeusz was not deterred by Warsaw’s fall, which just lead to the creation of underground resistance movements. The 1st October 1939, at a secret military meeting under a monument to Jan III Sobieski - former king and Polish national military hero - he swore an oath in the presence of a chaplain and several Polish officers; that he “would fight until the very end, until the defeat of the Germans”.From there on he had two choices; either fight in Poland with the various existing resistance units, or to try to get to the West, where he could battle as a pilot, having received an adequate training before WWII in the military academy he attended during his teenage years.In early February 1940, he took his decision; he decided he would to go to France to join to the local rebirthing Polish army. Blending himself in the crowds of the cities he passed through by wearing a hat and feigning to read German newspapers, he crossed all of Poland, Czech Republic, but his luck eventually ran out and at the end of the month he was caught in Hungary by the local police and arrested.He was then deported back to Poland, to the already very filled prison of Tarnów south of the country, where he was interrogated, tortured and starved with hundreds of other Polish prisoners for about 4 months, until June 1940. The conditions there were hard enough for the inmates to dream of being sent to German hard labor camps. During the repeated beatings, Tadeusz would hide his knowledge of German so that he could have a little bit more time to think before answering questions while the translator formulated the German interrogators’ questions in Polish.The inmates of the prison all thought that they were indeed going to do hard labor in Germany, but the day before their departure they learned via Morse communication on the prison’s pipes that they would be sent somewhere else.Arriving to KL AuschwitzThe Tarnów prisoners were put on a train the 14th June 1940 and deported directly to the concentration camp, which was itself located in a relatively remote area - yet had a functional railway.The first Auschwitz convoy, made of 727 prisoners from Tarów’s prisonThis was the first convoy ever sent to Auschwitz, safe for a very small group which arrived earlier, consisting of 30 German criminals who would all become the camp’s early kapos – prisoners serving as underlings of the SS, who were guaranteed an advantageous material situation and who were responsible for disciplining the other inmates, acting as lawless overseers.Thus, the first Polish prisoner received the number 31. Tadeusz became the n°77 - out of the 202 499 numbers in total that would be chronologically given to the males having worked in the camp for the duration of the war. And thus the nightmare begun.To their very unpleasant surprise, the prisoners were not made to work physically right after coming to the camp. The first two weeks after the convoy’s arrival - a period called the Quarantine - were instead dedicated to break the inmates’ bodies and spirits. During the Quarantine, prisoners were forced to perform exhausting physical tasks - often senseless ones - under the harsh supervision of the camp’s overseers.The prisoners would stay out all day under the burning summer sun in an open space and do what they were asked; crawl, jump up and get down, walk around with their hands touching their feet, take heavy bags from one place to another just to take them back to their starting spot, and so on, all day. During the breaks in between the exercises, prisoners were taught German songs and basic commands.If somebody made a mistake during the singing or when repeating sentences in German, he would be brutally beaten up. Whenever the SS men grew bored of the exercises, they amused themselves with the prisoners - at their expense. This included beatings, forcing catholic priests and Jews to say loud prayers while standing on barrels, or having the inmates do even more absurd tasks - such as plucking grass with their mouths around the camp.Of course, all of this was performed by people who were abused in prison for several months prior to their arrival to Auschwitz, and therefore it’s no surprise that after just a couple days the prisoners were at their mental and physical limits - even Tadeusz, despite him being young, healthy, and athletic. The Quarantine’s role was indeed that of a first selection process, supposed to weed out the sickly and weak. Still, “Iron Fist” Teddy passed; and now he had to work.Hard laborTeddy’s very first job at Auschwitz was to fill the numerous holes present on the camp’s uneven terrain with rubble, which was extremely tedious, but he rapidly took advantage of the fact the various work units were still getting created in the early days of the camp and he managed to get a spot in the harvesting team (consisting in manual harvesting that is), which he thought would be relatively easier.In reality the work wasn’t much better, and was still very taxing physically; Teddy worked 12 hours a day, from 4am to 6pm, bare footed on the rough soil, going with a daily ration of 250g of bread (0.55 lbs), 1L of watery soup and an occasional 0.5L of coffee (sometimes inmates would get it, sometimes they wouldn’t).Once the harvests were finished, he managed to get work in the camp’s carpentry team, thanks to some workers which he made friends with in Tarnów’s prison. Having no knowledge of carpentry either, he was assigned to physical help and worked as a janitor, notably having to bring random objects created by the carpenters to the camps’ SS commandant Rudolf Höss.He once stumbled while getting on the stairs in said house, and lightly scratched a wall, which Höss’ wife saw. Her husband had Tadeusz whipped 25 times for it by the carpentry’s kapo, Arthur Blake. Tadeusz also unwillingly assisted to violent executions while working outside the barracks, which marked him for life.His janitor’s job allowed him to steal food left unaware in some parts of the camp, which he and his carpenter friends would cook in containers designed to make carpentry glue. Sadly, this would also cause his downfall, as in late October 1940 he was caught stealing potatoes from the camp’s pigsty, for which he was canned 30 times and rapidly relocated to hard physical labor by the carpentry unit’s kapo.He therefore started working in a construction group south of the concentration camp, where Höss decided to build a resort for his SS men, who would otherwise drink themselves to death when on standby out of sheer boredom - sometimes even losing their weapons in the nearby villages. The work was terribly rough, physical, and deadly. In snowy November the prisoners worked in wooden shoes, shorts and plain clothing. Tadeusz was part of a group which carried 50kg (110lb) cement bags all day - something unthinkable for malnourished and physically exhausted prisoners, who oftentimes didn’t weight that much themselves (this was Tadeusz’s case).All the work was happening under the SS men supervision, who beat the prisoners and set their dogs on them for any misdemeanor. Teddy noted that some SS respected the difficulty of the job, and would sometimes give him some food leftovers, but still, prisoners were dying like flies due to the cruel conditions they worked in. Tadeusz himself eventually sensed his end was near, and managed to simulate an accident to return to the camp; he dropped a log of wood on his leg, which rapidly got swollen. Still able to work, but not in such conditions, he was not executed but sent back to Auschwitz in the next convoy.Aerial view of KL Auschwitz-Birkeneau. KL is the abbreviation for Konzentrationlager (“concentration camp” in German), whereas Auschwitz and Birkenau (respectively Oświęcim and Brzezinka in Polish) were the cities inbetween which the camp was situated, hence its name. One has to understand that most concentration camps were gigantic, housing up to tens of thousands of prisoners at once; they were small cities in their own right.Auschwitz’ first boxing matchDue to his injury, he was assigned to “light work” in the Strassenreiniger unit, which did streets’ cleaning in the camp. This allowed him to survive, but Tadeusz kept actively looking for food - as “it was impossible to survive on a camp’s ration alone” - and putting himself in great peril doing so. In fact, he survived miraculously an encounter with rapportführer Palitzsche, one of the most feared figures in the camp, an SS known for killing prisoners on a whim; while exiting the n°3 block where a fellow inmate had just cooked him some stolen potatoes which he still held in his hands, he fell right on the unfamous Nazi. Teddy directly stood to attention and adopted the protocol:-Haftling Numer 77 bei der Arbeit! [“Prisonner n°77 reports for work!”]-Was ist denn los? [“What happened” said Palitzsche while pointing at the potatoes]-Ich habe geklaut [“I stole them” answered Tadeusz without reflexion]Palitzsche looked at him… and turned around without saying anything, heading to block n°2. Tadeusz on the other hand didn’t move for a moment, numbed by his own luck, as even with somebody else, food stealing resulted in heavy beating in the best case - with Patitzsche however, if was a death sentence. Recovering his senses, he quickly ran to another block.He worked in the Strassenreiniger unit during most of winter, up until a certain night, first Sunday of March 1941, when another prisoner came to him. Tadeusz was nude, sitting on a pile of bricks while his cloths were being checked for lices. Outside one could hear screams, and appeals to beatings in both German and Polish. Just two weeks ago had arrived to the camp a new German kapo, Walter Dunning, a big guy. He loved violence. Since his arrival 20 inmates already had been made unable to work due to his beatings.The man who came to Teddy asked him if he wanted to earn bread in a boxing fight. He accepted on the spot, for his situation was dire. He had no skills that could make him live in the camp; he was of no utility to the Germans, and was barely surviving through risky stealing. At this point, Tadeusz had been underfed for over a year, and was weighting about 40kg (88 lbs). The interesting thing here is that inmates didn’t reach out to him knowing he was a boxer, as almost nobody knew that in the camp; however many prisoners had noticed Tadeusz handled the overseers’ beatings remarkably well.So did the kapos, and they were the ones who proposed the bread reward as a bait, thinking this would be a nice bloodshed to witness - for Tadeusz was to fight Walter Dunning himself, who was incidentally the actual Germany middleweight boxing vice-champion and a real professional boxer. Dunning weighted about 70kg (154lbs), which would have been around 20 weight classes higher than Tadeusz (!) if there were actually weight divisions taking into account such low weights (in reality, it stops at minimum-weight (< 48kg =105lbs), which is 12 weight classes lower than Middleweight).Out of all the beatings Auschwitz had seen on its soil, this was the very first actual boxing fight to have ever taken place in the camp.The boxing ring was initially made in the corner of the main kitchen building. There were no boxing gloves yet, therefore the fighters simply wore thin working gloves instead. When Tadeusz arrived, the crowd of prisoners and kapos waiting for him started laughing and taping themselves on the head, seeing the short skeletal man who came to fight the imposing, hyperviolent and famously skilled Walter Dunning. His opponent even sarcastically asked him if he really wanted to fight. But Teddy “Iron Fist” did not fear him.The German was fighting for fun and fame, Tadeusz was fighting for survival. And when the bell rung, he directly started pounding Walter while evading all of his punches. Hit and run, endlessly. Not once did he get hit in the first round. During the break, waiting for the second round, he looked around him. The German kapos and prisoners were staring at him in silent disbelief, their sarcastic smiles having all but disappeared, while the Poles started calling out for him: “Hit, hit the German!”. Fearing kapos’ retaliation against them, he made signs for his fellowmen to stop, which was well received by the Germans.In the second round, Teddy also danced around his opponent, evading all attacks while being aggressive himself. Rapidly, one of his left hooks landed right on Dünning’s nose, making blood pour out of it, and causing his opponent to back up momentarily. Not knowing whether he could push it and go for the kill not against a kapo, Tadeusz froze, waiting for his opponent’s reaction. However, the enthralled Polish spectators started screaming again “Hit him, hit the German!”, which in return caused Dünning… to enrage and turn on them. He jumped on the public and started punching left and right, while the other kapos landed him a hand, beating the crowd into silence.Dünning then came back to Tadeusz with a smile, told him the fight was over, that he was a worthy opponent, and expressed his admiration to his new rival’s skills. He then took him to another block to get his piece of bread (which Tadeusz directly shared with his block friends when he got back to the dormitory), while Otto Küssel (another kapo who assisted to the fight and was responsible for assigning camp’s prisoners to the different units - a very interesting figure in the camp, known as a philanthrope who helped the inmates, hated Hitler and who was dropped of all charges after the war) asked him where he wanted to work. Tadeusz asked for a spot in the Tierpfleger (work in the barn and stables), not really believing he’d get it.Yet Küssel kept his word, and Tadeusz was called to his new unit the next day, where he met again some of his former friends from the harvesting team. This allowed him to survive, as prisoners in the Tierpleger could get additional food. Tadeusz was now to take care of young calves (he would sometimes stealthily drink some of the milk he was supposed to feed them with), which was one of the easiest jobs on the camp. But he also decided to execute some of the hardest tasks the barn had, relieving some of his fellow inmates from difficult work, so along with better feeding he could recover his former strength and minimize the chances of being sent to another unit and loosing on the ring.And this way, his new boxing career begun.The boxer of AuschwitzOrganized boxing matches became one of the most popular distractions in Auschwitz, mainly consisting of Polish prisoners fighting one another for food. Tadeusz generally went easy on his opponents. He didn’t want to give the German overseers any satisfaction from assisting to fraternal warfare when he fought against his fellow Poles, nor did he want to give too much punishment to other inmates who just desperately tried to get something to eat through these fights. He was particularly cautious when fighting Jewish prisoners, as for them, those matches were often a matter of life or death. If they didn’t give a good performance, they would generally be executed shortly after by the SS or kapos; for them, he would adapt the fight so they could live.Rudolf Höss in the middle, SS’ on his sides. The camps’ commandants would often be present during important boxing fights.Boxing matches opposing random prisoners against Germans (there were quite a few German inmates - sometimes Jews - who’d often be kapos) were generally led by the organizers’ sadistic tendencies, and would ignore most boxing rules. The prisoner, if loosing, would often get violently beaten down on the ground, sometimes straight into disability - and therefore, soon after, to death.Boxing in Auschwitz rapidly turned into a giant gambling feast for Germans. Kapos and the SS (up to the camp’s commandant himself) would bet important sums of money on the fighters, for better or worse; sometimes, the SS man losing money would execute the defeated fighter he had bet on, or assign him to the worse units - which was as close as you could get to a death sentence. The opposite was also true; ecstatic after winning 1000 marks (~6,000 dollars in today’s money) from betting on Tadeusz for a certain fight, SS Karl Egersdorfer told him he’d make any of his wishes come true - to which Tadeusz answered he’d like something to eat. Egersdorfer happily accepted and commanded for 5 kettles of soup not eaten by the SS to be given to him and his friends.Tadeusz Pietrzykowski was the most dominant boxer of the camp by a long shot, despite being naturally one of the smallest fighters. The fights in Auschwitz generally took place on Sundays, and it is estimated Teddy fought over 50 times - although the exact count is not known due to the lack of archives - and out of these matches, he lost only once, in 1942, against the Danish welterweight champion Leu Sanders (welterweight is 63–67 kg, 139–147 lbs, which is already 6 categories above Teddy’s original weight class) - but he avenged that very defeat two weeks later in a rematch by technical KO.By then, the Germans had nicknamed him Weiss Nebel, “The white fog” for his incredible ability to evade his opponents’ punches. In fact, he became a relatively important figure in the camp, bringing hope and pride to the desperate Polish prisoners through his victories - especially the ones against German inmates - and gaining the sympathy of many kapos and overseers for his quality as an athlete and eventual money maker.Nazis would even specifically look for prisoners that could fight him every new convoy; his popularity grew to the point where he could allow himself to be insolent with the SS with no repercussions. Yet, the camp’s dynamics were complicated, and despite his general fame with the Germans, there were some who did not see the successes of a Slavic untermensch under a good light, even less so when it brought defiance against the Nazis’ authority amongst prisoners. And to these people Tadeusz’s presence started becoming undesirable.That’s why following a brutal boxing match against a German kapo known for his cruelty against Poles (whom Tadeusz took great satisfaction in knocking out violently), SS doctor Entres took the Polish boxer to the medical block n°20, and under the pretext of a vitamins injection he infected him with Typhus. Teddy rapidly developed a strong fever, and was stuck in bed in the block, where he was “healed” under the supervision of dr Entres who initially kept an eye on him.But his friends and the Poles from block n°20 did their best to take care of him, and didn’t let him die. After two weeks of lying in bed, still very weak and unable to walk, Tadeusz was in a helpless situation; a Nazi inspection was about to happen the next day to get rid of the ill prisoners of the block still unable to work - and he was most definitely on the waiting line.But he would escape death one more time, as a group of Poles came to visit him the night before, led by a certain Tomasz Serafiński… one the leading figures of the underground resistance movement in KL Auschwitz.Tomasz Serafiński was the false name used by Witold Pilecki, a famous Polish soldier volunteered to get to Auschwitz to work undercover as an informant for the Polish army, and by extension, for the allies. He was written about extensively on Quora (Who are some lesser known people who changed the world?). Tadeusz was an important person in the camp, who dramatically boosted the prisoners’ morals, and Pilecki had to take the risks necessary to save him.The group exfiltred Tadeusz to another block just before the inspection, hid him for a day, and then got him back to the hospital where they nurtured Teddy back to health, along with helping him get a new job once he was in shape, this time in the SS-revier (the hospital of the SS), where he worked as a janitor - while still regularly fighting in boxing matches. His continuous victories, even against German boxing champions (such as Wilhelmen Maierem, middleweight vice-champion of Europe of 1927 and double German champion in 1922/1923) kept shining in the hearts of the desperate Polish prisoners, being described by former inmates as a “transfusion of faith”, “a proof that Germans could be defeated”.This caused the camp’s Gestapo (secret police) itself to grow interested in him in early 1943, and Tadeusz would have probably been executed in the following weeks, if not for - again! - a great streak of luck, namingly the visit to Auschwitz of one of the higher graded intendents of Neuengamme’s concentration camp, Hans Lütkemeyer… whom he knew personally.Hans Lütkemeyer was a former boxing referee, and he was the one who actually arbitered in 1938 the final match of an international boxing tournament held in Poznań, Poland, which was won by Tadeusz in his weight category. They later sat next to each other at the post-tournament banquet, got well together, exchanged photos and became friends – something war had not erased. Hans actually came to the camp to organize a prisoners’ transport from Auschwitz to KL Neuengamme, and he happily took Tadeusz with him, along with several of the boxer’s closest friends.NeuengammeNeuengamme’s camp was situated in Northern Germany, next to Hamburg, relatively close to the sea. This camp was special, as the Germans used the local prisoners’ workforce for weaponry production. This is why transports from other concentration camps such as Auschwitz were organized in the first place; the Nazis desperately needed more workers for this vital industry… to replace the ones that were constantly dying of abuse.Neuengamme’s inmates digging the Dove-Elbe canal. The photographs are scarce for this camp.Upon arrival, Tadeusz and his convoy were shouted at by the camp’s prisoners from the other side of barbed wire: “Neuengamme isn’t Auschwitz, here you won’t last long!”. It’s true that Neuengamme was a very rough place, especially for Poles, who were treated the worse among the inmates (with Jews and Russians). Indeed, the Polish language was illegal in the camp, and in order to break the inmates’ spirits Germans organized executions of Poles on every Polish national day, along with constant acts of sadism directed specifically at them.Once again, Tadeusz and his companions went through a Quarantine period, during which the rumor had it a boxer had just arrived to the camp. The SS higher ups - who organized boxing fights in Neuengamme for a while, too - heard about it and decided to put Tadeusz’s skills to the test in a sparring session with another Polish prisoner - who happened to be somebody Teddy had already met and taught boxing in Auschwitz. Satisfied by what they saw, they soon decided to arrange a fight with a very big and sadistic anti-Polish German kapo, Jimmi Kachta, whose shoulders were higher than the top of Tadeusz’s head. The match referee was to be Hans Lütkemeyer, again.Tadeusz’s friends who came in the same transport feared for him, as despite all the things he did in Auschwitz, this time his opponent seemed too big - yet the Polish boxer wasn’t deterred. The boxing match was coming soon, and the whole camp knew about it. On the day of the fight, Kachta came to Tadeusz and offered him a piece of bread with a smile on his face, claiming that this would be his last meal. Tadeusz accepted, amused by his opponent’s confidence.The match happened near the Quarantine barracks, in the evening. Most of the camp’s prisoners had gathered in the evening for the fight, often separated from the scene by fences as they were in other sections of the camp. They couldn’t even see the match, but they wanted to know the result. And they didn’t wait very long, as the fight was short.Tadeusz forced his opponent to hunch himself by going low, which coupled with the height difference made the fight very uncomfortable for the German. He then seemingly avoided confrontation, playing on the kapos’ overconfidence, barely attacking and dancing around, letting his opponent’s guard go down… until the moment he did a rapid dodge and cleanly landed a right hand straight on the German’s jaw from a blind spot, causing an instant knockdown, and having him hit his head violently on the wooden canvas.Kachta started regaining consciousness after the count was already at 8, and thanks to the harsh rules of concentration camps’ boxing he was allowed to continue, but it was already over. Soon after Tadeusz repeated the exact same combination, causing his giant opponent’s lights to go out for 15 minutes.Testimonies from the time claim that the public literally exploded in joy, with some prisoners going as far as tearing metal grids and barbed wire apart with their bare hands just to get closer to the incredible short man who had just knocked out one of the worse abusers of the camp. Even the SS were enthusiastic about the incredible scene they had just witnessed, and awarded Tadeusz a special meal… dog’s thighs.This event caused a sudden “fashion” for Poles amongst the higher ups of the camp. Everybody wanted to have a Pole under his command, in his unit. Tadeusz and his fights became a central part of the Polish prisoners’ life and of the camp’s general atmosphere. He continued forth as the boxer of Neuengamme, fighting every Sunday for food and glory, and never loosing - even against opponents sometimes so tall he couldn’t reach their jaws.The boxer of NeuengammeTeddy’s early career pictures.His most famous fight in Neuengamme - in 1944 - is worth noting, as it inspired the novel “The Boxer and Death”, which later lead to an eponym Slovak film and influenced the scenario of a more known Hollywood movie called “The triumph of the Spirit”; Teddy battled the German professional boxer Schally Hottenbach, former America’s middleweight vice-champion.As opposed to most of the German kapos, Schally was actually massively supported by the SS and the German prisoners, therefore the fight quickly got political. Their first fight - 3 rounds long - ended in a draw. Schally fought well initially, but Teddy was gradually working him up and if not for the final bell ring, he would have knocked out his opponent cold.This caused the situation to grow even more tense, as a victor had to emerge from a rematch. And indeed, said rematch was one of the biggest events to ever happen in the camp. Everyone was waiting for it. Inmates, SS, the higher command. There were even v.i.p. Germans from Hamburg invited to Neuengamme for this very fight. Gambling was starting to get through the roof, as Hamburg had recently been bombed, and prisoners sent there had found thousands of marks in the debris - marks which had little use on the camp outside of said gambling.Funnily enough, it rapidly became known among the inmates that Neuengamme camp’s commander, Max Pauly, despite his reputation as a “Pole-killer” … had actually bet on Teddy. At the beginning of the fight, the Polish boxer - who did not want to be robbed of victory this time again - did something very unusual. He addressed himself directly to Max Pauly and demanded the fight to last until one of the boxers is knocked out. Surprised and a little bit worried about his losing his bet, the camp’s commander eventually agreed, causing the public to clamor in excitement.The rematch was short and intensive. The boxers fought on an equal footing in the first round, exchanging blows and evading their opponent’s attacks skillfully, while the public was going crazy.In the second round, Teddy went all out from the start, showering his German opponent in punches, until he landed a clean uppercut on his jaw. He then remembered his old trainer F.Stamm’s words: “Never concede a single second to your rival after connecting a shot. A strong punch is but an occasion to seize the moment”. And so Teddy did, following his attack by a series of blows ending by a brutal hook on Schally’s jaw, violently knocking out cold his opponent. The public roared…! And the boxer of Neuengamme remained undefeated.Escaping death again, and the liberationSoon after this fight, Teddy learned from the SS men who liked him that the local Gestapo wanted to execute him - for the exact same reasons than in Auschwitz. His referee friend Hans Lütkemeyer had just been sent away, and most of the former SS staff (which had become relatively pro-Polish in the past year) had been sent to the Eastern Front, being replaced by staunchly anti-Polish Germans. He had fought 20 times on Neuengamme’s ring, and undefeated and reigning, but he now had to flee. Thanks to his connections and relative authority, he managed to arrange a rapid change of units to be transported to a sub-camp of Neuengamme in the city of Salzgitter, far away, and thus once again escaped death’s fingers.Nevertheless, soon after his arrival he fell strongly ill to some sort of pneumonia, and unfortunately the local facilities were not functional enough to take care of him properly. Unable to work and lying for already quite some time, he would again have probably been disposed of, if not for the help of a fellow Polish inmate working in the small sub-camp hospital, who claimed to the local commandant that Tadeusz might be infected with Typhus. Fearing for an epidemic, he ordered Tadeusz to be transported to another sub-camp in Drütte, where Tadeusz was lucky to be was taken care of by a Polish doctor.After about two months of recovery, he managed to get work in the same facilities he had just been healed in; within the hospital. As the soviets kept pushing in the East, Germans soon had no other choice but to evacuate the camp. And the 24th March 1945, Teddy found himself in a transport to KL Bergen-Belsen, deeper in German lands. Bergen-Belsen was originally a camp in which “important” Jews from allied/neutral countries were detained, in hope of later using them to put pressure on their home countries and to treat them as currency for eventual war prisoners’ trades. For this reason, the camp wasn’t willingly killing its inmates at work, and was officially labelled in a stroke of psychopathic humor a “relaxational camp” (“Erholungslager”) by the Nazis.The train passed several German cities on its way, including a stop at the station in Celle, a city 20km away from KL Bergen-Belsen. At his arrival, the transport had the misfortune of halting in between a train containing ammunition and an other containing fuel. And of course, just moments later… Americans started bombing the city. But again, Tadeusz’s mad luck prevailed.Out of the 4000 prisoners transported from KL Neuengamme by this train, only 300 survived the onslaught. Teddy was among them, almost unscathed by the powerful explosions. Whoever was left alive and still able to walk went to the camp on their feet, escorted by the Hitlerjugend.Upon arrival, there were no formalities, nor any Quarantine. Lucky once more, Teddy met former Auschwitz SS men who instantly recognized him, including Karl Egersdorf, the man who gave him 5 soup pots after winning 1000 marks from a bet on the Polish boxer’s victory. This, again, allowed him to survive, as through these connections he managed to get a preferential job, which was of utmost importance as the war was lost for the Germans and the situation was deteriorating very rapidly in camp – notably when it comes to the resources allocated for the prisoners.At this point, hunger and epidemics were decimating the Bergen-Belsen camp’s population at an alarming rate (especially among women and children), there were rumors about blowing the whole place up with the prisoners when the allies would be too close, and many of the SS wanted to flee to Hamburg. In fact, the SS men of the camp partially actually did run away during the negotiations with the allies to liberate the camp, but most came back after what seems to be a misunderstanding of orders. The last days of the camp were chaotic, as the SS supervision stopped.The allies entered the KL Bergen-Belsen about 3 weeks later, 15th April 1945. What they saw didn’t really meet the expectations they had from a so called “relaxational camp”. On about 1 square mile (1600m x 1600m), there were 60 000 prisoners packed, about half of which were either dead or dying. There were corpses hanging from barracks’ windows, dead and alive people laying one on the other indiscriminately, random stacks of corpses dispersed around the area, pits filled with corpses this and there, and wailing but living skeletal humans crawling around trying to find food, all in the midst of unbearable fetor. The first journalist to enter the camp was George Rodger, and he admitted 40 years later that he did never once look again at the photos he took that day; he simply couldn’t bear the sight.Even though from the allies’ perspective the camp’s liberation was an almost traumatic event due to the sheer amount of nightmarish suffering they were exposed to, the prisoners remembered this day as one of the best they had during the whole war; those who were still able to walk ran to the liberators with screams of joy. The conflict was finally over, and for the first time in 5 years Tadeusz was free. It was a lucky time for him, as he also found his future wife, Zofia – who worked in the camp’s hospital as a nurse – hiding between corpses a couple days prior to the liberation.Bergen-Belsen’s liberation - one of the “lighter” pictures taken by George Rodger.Post war life - and deathAfter the war, Tadeusz temporarily stayed on the allies’ controlled side of Europe, and kept working as a soldier for the local Polish army until 1946. He continued boxing semi-professionally while organizing sport events for Polish soldiers, fighting 17 times in total on German, French and Belgian rings in that 1.5 years’ span; he scored 15 wins, 2 draws, and no losses. He became quite known amongst allied soldiers, as “the one with Iron Fists”. Still, he was missing his family and his country.Right after KL Bergen-Belsen’s liberation, he participated to anti-Nazi investigation missions, which screened the surrounding areas looking for SS men hiding amongst civilians. One of the things this answer - despite its length - might have not conveyed properly, is that Teddy actively participated in underground anti-SS movements, especially in Auschwitz. He was actually a close friend to Witold Pilecki, the leader of the underground movement in the camp, and one of his most trusted cooperators; one of the first people Pilecki visited when he returned to Poland after the war was actually his friend Tadeusz. Teddy swore an oath to Pilecki in 1941 – in the presence of other underground fighters – with regards to their common work and mutual fidelity in the face of German oppression.Tadeusz notably conspired against KL Auschwitz’ commandant Rudolph Höss with other prisoners, trying to kill him – between others - with Typhus infected lices (which were commonly used against the SS) and by forcing a horse accident, but the Nazi leader kept surviving, at most breaking his leg during one of the attempts. Teddy managed however to kill his favorite dog, Rolf - which was trained to jump to the throat of Jews upon hearing “Juden!” - and ate him with his friends. Despite intensive researches Höss never found his dog again, nor did he learn what happened to him.Tadeusz decided in 1946 to come back to Poland, reluctantly getting under the Soviets’ umbrella. Sadly, he learned his mother had died in 1945, but he still met with the rest of his family and came back to Warsaw, his city – to what was left of it, that is.The castle square of Warsaw, end of WWII.In 1947, when Pilecki was falsely tried for treason by the Soviets, Tadeusz got caught in the crossfire and was himself interrogated and insolently suspected of “national treason”. He would have probably been heavily sentenced for his work in the Polish army if not for the fact the interrogator he fell on was the brother of a KL Auschwitz inmate he had helped in the camp – the man instead thanked Teddy and arranged the investigation to be abandoned and the charges to be dropped.This was but one more time he had escaped death, but Pilecki wasn’t this lucky; he was executed the same year, shot in the back of the head by the Soviets (his body has yet to be found). Tadeusz was strongly affected by this event. Still, he dreamed of coming back to the rings, but after getting very sick in 1946, his condition was never the same again. He fought only once more between the ropes, against his former rival and Polish champion Antoni Czortek, and unfortunately, for the first time in years, Tadeusz lost. Not feeling it anymore he decided to retire on the spot.He went on to become a teacher in middle & high school for the rest of his life; he mostly taught physical education, but also chemistry, amongst others. He was a coach for a while in a correctional school, where he taught difficult kids fair play and mutual respect. He was energetic and opened, which was very appreciated by the youth. His beautiful art pieces would decorate the hallway leading to the school’s gym. His pupils adored him and saw him as a role model.He would sometimes talk to his students about what he experienced in concentration camps with a trembling voice, often mentioning his spiritual figure, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, a catholic priest who was imprisoned in Auschwitz and volunteered to get gazed instead of a prisoner he didn’t even know – an event that marked Teddy for all of his life, for he knew the priest personally and was attached to him.Finally, Tadeusz died in 1991 at the age of 74 from a stroke. The same morning, he had written a letter to his daughter and grandchildren, in which he did not forget to express his sincere love to them. And that’s how the hero’s legend ended.Many professional boxers fought for bread – and often, for their lives – in KL Auschwitz. The most known of them in popular culture are Salamo Arouch and Victor Perez; both had their struggles in the camp immortalized by movies relating their stories (respectively Triumph of the Spirit (1989) and Victor Young Perez (2013)). Victor Perez in particular lost his life in 1945, during the evacuation march of Auschwitz, shot by a guard while attempting to distribute bread he had found to other starving prisoners.But both of them arrived to the camp in 1943, when Teddy was already gone, and they never got to meet the former undisputed Auschwitz champion. However, even though they did not meet him, he was with them until the very end; as related by the end of the war by the Polish writer and former inmate T.Borkowski, who arrived to the camp in 1943 and had never seen Tadeusz either:“To this day we all hold deep within us the memory of inmate n°77, he who beat the Germans as he wished”.Inmate n°77, a mural in the name of Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, Nidzica, PolandI wrote this answer based on the most complete and researched biography we have of Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, namingly the book “Bokser z Auschwitz” (“The Boxer from Auschwitz”) written by Marta Bogacka.

Hello,I must say it’s a very difficult decision to make because all of these countries are so amazing and so beautiful that one can not take his eyes off from the beauty around him. All of these countries have different cultures and traditions, each one of them is so unique.Here is some information about all the countries, let’s start this with Italy.ITALY 🇮🇹Italy is home to more than 62 million individuals as of 2017 and is ranked 23rd in population size when compared with other countries throughout the world. Italian culture is steeped in the arts, family, architecture, music and food. Home of the Roman Empire and a major center of the Renaissance, culture on the Italian peninsula has flourished for centuries. Here is a brief overview of Italian customs and traditions.Population of ItalyAbout 96 percent of the population of Italy is Italian, though there are many other ethnicities that live in this country. North African Arab, Italo-Albanian, Albanian, German, Austrian and some other European groups fill out the remainder of the population. Bordering countries of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north have influenced Italian culture, as have the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Sicily and Sardinia.Languages of ItalyThe official language of the country is Italian. About 93 percent of the Italian population speaks Italian as native language, according to the BBC. There are a number of dialects of the language spoken in the country, including Sardinian, Friulian, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Ligurian, Piedmontese, Venetian and Calabrian. Milanese is also spoken in Milan. Other languages spoken by native Italians include Albanian, Bavarian, Catalan, Cimbrian, Corsican, Croatian, French, German, Greek, Slovenian and Walser.Family life in Italy"Family is an extremely important value within the Italian culture," Talia Wagner, a Los Angeles-based marriage and family therapist, told Live Science. Their family solidarity is focused on extended family rather than the West's idea of "the nuclear family" of just a mom, dad and kids, Wagner explained.Religion in ItalyThe major religion in Italy is Roman Catholicism. This is not surprising, as Vatican City, located in the heart of Rome, is the hub of Roman Catholicism and where the Pope resides. Roman Catholics and other Christians make up 80 percent of the population, though only one-third of those are practicing Catholics. The country also has a growing Muslim immigrant community, according to the University of Michigan. Muslim, agnostic and atheist make up the other 20 percent of the population, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.Art and architecture in ItalyItaly has given rise to a number of architectural styles, including classical Roman, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical. Italy is home to some of the most famous structures in the world, including the Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The concept of a basilica — which was originally used to describe an open public court building and evolved to mean a Catholic pilgrimage site — was born in Italy. The word, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is derived from Latin and meant "royal palace." The word is also from the Greek basilikē, which is the feminine of basilikos which means "royal" or basileus, which means "king."Italy also is home to many castles, such as the Valle d'Aosta Fort Bard, the Verrès Castle and the Ussel Castle.Florence, Venice and Rome are home to many museums, but art can be viewed in churches and public buildings. Most notable is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, painted by Michelangelo sometime between 1508 and 1512.FashionItaly is home to a number of world-renowned fashion houses, including Armani, Gucci, Benetton, Versace and Prada.Italian CuisineItalian cuisine has influenced food culture around the world and is viewed as a form of art by many. Wine, cheese and pasta are important part of Italian meals. Pasta comes in a wide range of shapes, widths and lengths, including penne, spaghetti, linguine, fusilli and lasagna.For Italians, food isn't just nourishment, it is life. "Family gatherings are frequent and often centered around food and the extended networks of families," said Wagner.No one area of Italy eats the same things as the next. Each region has its own spin on "Italian food," according to CNn. For example, most of the foods that Americans view as Italian, such as spaghetti and pizza, come from central Italy. In the North of Italy, fish, potatoes, rice, sausages, pork and different types of cheeses are the most common ingredients. Pasta dishes with tomatoes are popular, as are many kinds of stuffed pasta, polenta and risotto. In the South, tomatoes dominate dishes, and they are either served fresh or cooked into sauce. Southern cuisine also includes capers, peppers, olives and olive oil, garlic, artichokes, eggplant and ricotta cheese.Wine is also a big part of Italian culture, and the country is home to some of the world's most famous vineyards. The oldest traces of Italian wine were recently discovered in a cave near Sicily's southwest coast.Top 3 Tourist Attractions1.ColosseumFor travelers making their way through Italy, the Colosseum is a must see. This huge Amphitheater is the largest of its kind ever built by the Roman Empire and has remained a model for sports facilities right up to modern times. Built as a venue for public spectacles and shows - even mock sea battles, it had a wooden floor that was 83 by 48 meters. Underneath it were two stories of tunnels, rooms, cells, and passages for gladiators, workers, wild animals, and storage. Today, the structure stands in stark contrast to the modern development that surrounds it and is a prominent reminder of ancient times and the extensive history of Rome.2. Venice CanalsA gondola ride through the canals of Venice is a tradition that travelers have been enjoying for centuries. Venice is a city of islands, and the canals have long been the city's main streets, connected by a labyrinth of narrow passageways. Lining the canals are old buildings that have remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years, adding to the romantic charm. The Grand Canal is the most famous of these waterways and one of the most photographed sites in Venice. The best way to see many of the grand palaces, whose fronts face the water, is from a Vaporetto ride along the Grand Canal.3. Leaning Tower of PisaThe Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually just one of many attractions in the city of Pisa, but its fame, gained from its flaw, is world renown. Work began on the tower in the 1100s, and the sinking, which led to the lean, began by the time the tower reached the third story. Prior to restoration work in the 1990s, it was predicted to topple over by the year 2000. Today, visitors can climb up the stairs of the tower for a fabulous view over the city. The Leaning Tower, also known as La Torre Pendente, stands on the Piazza dei Miracoli, a setting it shares with the beautiful Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and a round freestanding baptistery. Each of these features outstanding works of medieval stone carving.GERMANY 🇩🇪The people, language, and traditions are what make the German cultureunique. It has had a key role in the history of Europe, and not only. English speakers call it Germany, Germans themselves call it Deutschland. Germany is known as the country of poets and thinkers.German culture has been influenced and shaped throughout Germany‘s rich history once as an important part of The Holy Roman Empire, and later on as one of the most stable economies in the world.Whereas today, Germany is home to 82.2 million people including Germans and minorities of other nationalities that respect each other, and together make Germany a country of values, unique celebrations, and customs.Firstly, here are some facts about today’s Germany. Though English-speaking countries call it Germany, Germans themself call it Deutschland. It is Germania in Latin, l’Allemagne in French and Almanya in Turkish.Berlin is its capital, but Hamburg, Munich and Cologne are also among the main cities of Germany. It is estimated that the average woman in Germany lives around 83 years, while the average man lives 79 years. The main language is German and main religion is Christianity.There are a lot of stereotypes about Germans, as that they drink a lot of beer (which is true), they are hardworking and punctual (which is also true), and that the rate of unemployment in Germany is very low (true again).LanguageOver 95% of the residents of Germany speak the German language, whether it is the standard German or any of its dialects. However, the German state has recognized four minority languages, which are the Upper and Lower Sorbian, Romani, Danish as well as North and Saterland Frisian.Because of the high number of immigration, there are also languages spoken by a sizable number of communities, as Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Greek. Albanian, Polish etc.ClothingToday, the average German dress is typically western. Both men and women wear dark simple suits and shirts in business context. However, each region of the country have their own traditional costumes, which differ a bit from one another. For example, in the state of Bavaria, the traditional costume for men is leather trousers that end just above the knee, while for women it is a dress that incorporates a bodice, blouse, full skirt and an apron. You can see people wearing these costumes, especially during carnivals or festivals.ReligionIn Germany a percentage of 65 to 70 of people recognize themselves as Christians, 29% of which as Catholics. There is also a Muslim minority of 4.4%. A number as high as 36% do not identify themselves as having any religion or belong to another than Christianity or Muslim.CuisineGermans drink a lot of beer, eat sausages and make bread of different taste. That is not only a stereotype, but a true fact. It is estimated that the average German consumes around 140 liters of beer per year. Only in 2012 alone, Germans drank 2.25 gallons of beer, which is actually the lowest level since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1990. They are the second largest beer consumers in Europe, after the Czech.Wurst, which means sausages in German, are an important part of the German cuisine, which are made of pork, beef or veal and flavored differently. As for bread, there is a long tradition of bread-baking of which Germans take pride in. There are breads with different shapes, black and white, with different tastes and names, sweet, soft, plain with all types of seeds you could think of.The German cuisine is also rich with different types of delicious traditional foods, as well as vegetarian and vegan. You may be a picky eater, but in Germany you will always have a lot of choices on what to eat and drink.ArchitectureThe country has gone through a tumultuous history, the signs of which are evident in its rich and diverse architecture. Its palaces, castles, cathedrals and monuments best tell the story of Germany. Amphitheaters, spas and roman bridges are part of the ancient architecture and the civilization that bloomed in the territory that today is Germany. Pre-Romanesque architecture consists of churches as the Abbey Church of Saint Michael’s that dates back to the beginning of the 10th century. Whereas, during the Romanesque period a lot of cathedrals were built, which have survived through time till today.The Cologne Cathedral as well as many other cathedrals were built during the Gothic era. The Renaissance, which bloomed between the 15th and 17th centuries, is characterized by castles and palaces as the Heidelberg castle or the ducal Landshut Residence.Baroque architecture arrived in Germany in the 18th century, and a lot of building as the Wurzburg Residence or the Augustusburg Castle have survived through time until today, and are among the tourist attractions that gather a lot of tourists.Buildings like that of the Semper Opera in Dresden, the Schwerin Palace and the Ulm Cathedral belong to the historicism architecture. As for the modern era, it consists of buildings as the Einstein Tower, Berlin Modernism Housing Estates and the Gliwice Radio Tower.ArtThe German art has played a crucial role in the development and shaping of the Western art, especially of the Celtic art, Carolingian art and the Ottonian art.Painting and sculptures in Gothic style were very famous in Europe, including Germany. The highlight of the 15th century were the design of altarpieces. Generations of German artists explored and showed their skills in Baroque and Rococo style, as well as of Neoclassicism. Romanticism is also a very important part of the German art.Some of the most famous German paintings are: “The Sin” by Franz Stuck, “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich, “Studio Wall” by Adolf Menzel, “Heller Altarpiece” by Albrecht Dürer and Matthias Grünewald etc.Top 3 Tourist Attractions1. Editor's PickBerlin's Brandenburg GateModeled on the Acropolis in Athens and built for King Frederick William II in 1791, the monumental sandstone Brandenburg Gate in Berlin's Mitte district was the city's first Neoclassical structure. Measuring an impressive 26 meters in height - including the Quadriga, the spectacular four-horse chariot carrying the goddess of victory perched atop - its six huge columns on each side of the structure form five impressive passages: four were used by regular traffic, while the center was reserved for the royal carriages. Huge Doric columns also decorate the two buildings at each side of the Gate, once used by toll-collectors and guards.Undoubtedly Berlin's most iconic structure, it's hard to believe that the majestic structure you see today was severely damaged during WWII and was also once part of the infamous Berlin Wall and, for a few decades, was symbolic of the division of Berlin into East and West.2. Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom)The towering Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) - the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Mary - is located on the banks of the Rhine and is undoubtedly Cologne's most impressive landmark. This masterpiece of High Gothic architecture, one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, was begun in 1248 and was the most ambitious building project of the Middle Ages.As imposing as its façade, its magnificent interior covers an area of 6,166 square meters and boasts 56 huge pillars. Above the high altar is the Reliquary of the Three Kings, a 12th-century work of art in gold that was designed by Nicholas of Verdun to house the relics of the Three Kings brought here from Milan.Other highlights include the panoramic views from the South Towers, the 12th- and 13th-century stained glass in the Three Kings Chapel, and the Treasury with its many precious objects, all of which survived largely intact after WWII. For some of the best vistas over the city and river, climb the 533 steps to the viewing platform in the South Tower. (A small entrance fee is required.)3. The Ultimate Fairytale Castle: NeuschwansteinThe quaint old town of Füssen, situated between the Ammergau and Allgäu Alps and a popular alpine resort and winter sports center, is a good base from which to explore nearby Neuschwanstein Castle, one of Europe's most famous (and picturesque) royal castles.King Ludwig II of Bavaria built this many-towered and battlement-covered fantasy fortress - the inspiration for Walt Disney's famous theme park castles - from 1869-86.A variety of tour options are offered, including guided tours of the sumptuous interior taking in the Throne Room, the Singers' Hall... and some of the country's most spectacular views.GREECE 🇬🇷Contemporary Greek culture and traditions are very rich and diverse, reflecting Greece’s location at the crossing point where the West meets the East and the country’s great and turbulent history.The Greek FamilyThe Greek society consists of close-knit families where important social organizations have gradually evolved from the idea of family. The institution of marriage also plays an important role in society. The word family in Greece refers to a particular social group whose members are related by blood or marriage at different levels or in different forms or combinations.The conjugal family includes the husband and wife and their children. The extended family includes the conjugal family as well as ascendants of the husband and/or wife. Interestingly, the National Statistical Service of Greece considers all people who live under the same roof to be members of the family, regardless of whether they are related.Although family life has changed considerably with the transition from the traditional rural-agricultural life into an urban industrial-modern system, to these days women and particularly mothers in Greece play the most important family roles.The man is the family's outside representative, enjoying the social prestige and esteem, but the woman traditionally was and is the organizer of the household, the mediator in family disputes, and the guardian of the family's unity. The family's prestige often rests on the woman's ability to carry out her household duties properly.Frequent communication and assistance between the two adult generations and children and youth are also very common for Greek families. The family offers both financial and emotional support to its members and family relationships carry over into business with nepotism largely seen as something acceptable. It is very common for relatives to work for the same company because Greeks prefer to do business with those they know and trust. Companies are also hierarchical over the traditional respect for age and position.Greek Food and DrinksGreek food and beverages are famous all over the world for both quality and taste. Greek cuisine is often cited as an example of the healthy Mediterranean diet while sharing food and drinks with relatives and friends is one of the basic elements of the Greek culture. Greek cuisine incorporates fresh ingredients, among them garlic, onions, fennel, zucchini, grapes, apples, dates and figs, into a variety of local dishes some of which can be traced back to Ancient Greece.Seasonings and herbs like dill, mint, oregano and lemon rinds also form an important part of the recipes while olive oil is added to almost every dish. Wheat, rice and meat, traditionally lamb, but also chicken, pork, beef and fish, form the staple diet.The mezedes (single: mezes) are appetizers, served before or with the main dishes. They come in small plates with various dips such as tzatziki (Greek yogurt with finely chopped cucumber, garlic and olive oil). Mezedez often consist of htapodi (small pieces of octopus served grilled, boiled or fried with lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and oregano), dolmades or dolmadakia (grape leaves filled with rice, onions and sometimes ground beef, currants and pine kernel), kalamarakia (small pieces of fried squid with lemon juice), tiropitakia (small cheese pies, usually made of feta cheese) and spanakopitakia (small spinach pies with crushed feta cheese), small fish, feta cheese and other cheeses such as the saganaki or fried cheese, various olives.Salads include horiatiki (Village Salad), the most famous Greek salad - a mix of fresh tomatoes, olives, cucumber, onions, green pepper, feta cheese, olive oil and oregano; melitzanosalata - an eggplant puree with finely chopped garlic and olive oil; taramosalata - crushed fish eggs.Greeks have a lot of excellent main dishes such as moussaka, which has a base made of potatoes topped with eggplants, onions, ground beef and béchamel crème; pastitsio - spaghetti topped with ground beef, onions, tomato sauce and béchamel sauce; paidakia - grilled lamb's ribs served with lemon; kokoretsi - wrapped and roasted entrails of lamb, served with lemon; keftedakia - fried meatballs of beef, garlic and bread. Meat is often served with horta - boiled wild greens with olive oil, salt and lemon and briam - mix of roast potatoes, eggplants, onions, garlic, tomato sauce and olive oil.Succulent Greek soups include kotossoupa - chicken soup usually with avgolemono (sauce made with eggs and lemon); psarossoupa - fish soup with parsley, potatoes and carrots’ fassolada - white bean soup with parsley and, sometimes, tomato sauce; fakies - lentil soup; magiritsa - Easter soup made of lamb entrails, and the avgolemono sauce; patsa - tripe soup, considered by the Greeks as a very good remedy for hangovers.Greece is also famous for its alcoholic drinks. Liquor includes ouzo and tsipouro with ouzo being the most famous Greek alcoholic beverage, considered the trade mark of the country. It is mixed with ice or with a bit of water and is ideal to drink with all kinds of mezedes. Tsipouro is similar to ouzo but with a stronger taste of anis. In different parts of Greece people make their own home made tsipouro, also called raki, depending of the region.Among the many quality Greek wines, offering a huge diversity of red, white and rose, sweet or dry, the best known are mavrodafni - a strong, sweet, really thick and dark wine, made in Patras Peloponnese and used for the Holy Communion in the Greek Orthodox Church and the world famous retsina, whose particular resin taste is due to the way the wine is made - putting the grapes in new cask which still has the wood resin on.Celebrations, Customs and TraditionsMost customs and traditions in Greece and the Greek Islands are of a religious nature, but some stem from paganism.EasterEaster is by far the most important celebration for the Greeks, even Christmas comes second. The celebrations for Easter truly begin two months before, but Holy Week is the peak of these activities.According to the Orthodox tradition, the symbolic red Easter eggs are dyed on Holy Thursday. Greeks believe that the Virgin Mother, Mary, dyed eggs this color (the color of blood) to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and life. On Holy Thursday women are also busy baking kouloúria - dough cookies and tsouréki – the traditional Easter sweet bread. Godparents buy news shoes, clothes and a candle to the kids and, in villages, the exterior of the houses and the streets are whitewashed.On Good Friday or Great Friday, flags at homes and government buildings are set at half mast to mark the sorrowful day. The Procession of the Epitáphios of Christ, the Epitaphio mourns the death of Christ on the Cross with the symbolic coffin, decorated with thousands of flowers, taken out of the church and carried through the streets by the faithful. At the cemetery everyone lights a candle for the dead; then the Epitaphio with its procession returns to the church where the believers kiss the image of the Christ.During the night of the Holy Saturday (Megalo Savato), people, dressed in their formal attire, begin to gather in the churches by 11 p.m. for the Easter services, carrying large white candles, lampáda. Just before midnight, all of the churches’ lights are turned off, symbolizing the darkness and the silence of the tomb.At midnight, the priest lights a candle from the Eternal Flame, sings “Christos Anesti” (Christ Arose) and offers the flame to light the candle to the people that are the closest to him. Everyone passes the flame one to another while the clergy sings the Byzantine Chant Christos Anesti. Then, everyone goes out of the church to the streets. The church’s bells ring continuously and people say one to another “Christos Anesti”, to which the reply is “Alithos Anesti” (Indeed He Has Risen).Then the faithful go home or to the homes of relatives and friends to share the Resurrection Meal. The candles they carry are placed in each house and burn through the night to symbolize the Light’s return to the world. The cracking of eggs is a traditional game where challengers attempt to crack each others' eggs. The breaking of the eggs is meant to symbolize Christ breaking from the Tomb. The person whose egg lasts the longest is assured good luck for the rest of the year.The following day, Easter Sunday, is spent again with family and friends. The Easter meal is truly a feast with loads of salads, vegetable and rice dishes, breads, cakes, cookies, and plenty of wines and ouzo.The main dish at the Easter table, however, is roasted lamb, (often turned over open pits), and served in honor of the Lamb of God who was sacrificed and rose again on Easter.Clean Monday (Kathari Deutera) is part of the Easter celebration and marks the first day of the season of Lent (Saracosti) during which families go for a picnic, fly kites, and feast at local taverns. For Greeks, Clean Monday is one of the most festive holidays of the year.Name Day CelebrationMost of the Greeks owe their names to a religious saint and in Greece name days are more important than birthdays. Everyone named after a saint honored by the church celebrates his name on a given day of the year. When someone has a “name day” his friends and family visit him without invitation and offer good wishes and small presents. The host greets the guests with pastries, sweets and appetizers.EngagementEngagements is a Greek tradition that tends to disappear in Athens and other big cities, but remains customary for smaller towns and villages. Before a couple gets married they must become engaged and the man has to ask the hand of the woman from her father.When all wedding details are agreed on and ironed, the priest is invited to bless the engagement rings and place them on the left ring-fingers of the couple. The guests wish “Kala Stephana” (Good Crowns meaning “Have a Good Marriage”) and “I ora I kali” (that the good hour of the marriage comes) to the fiancés.MarriageMarriage is another big celebration in Greece. In some parts, outside Athens and other big cities, the bride still has a dowry made by her mother, grandmothers and aunts, consisting of sheets, towels and hand made embroideries, while the father of the bride traditionally offers a furnished home to his daughter and son-in-law as a wedding gift. On the day of the wedding, the bride gets dressed with the help of girlfriends and women from her family, and is kept hidden, for it is bad luck for the groom to see her before the ceremony.During the wedding ceremony, the best men and best woman (koumbaro and koumbara) give the wedding rings to the priest, cross the crowns (stephana) three times and then place them on the couple’s head. Once the priest has declared them married, the guests throw rice and almond candy wrapped with white sugar (ta koufeta) to the new couple.After the ceremony, the bridal couple stays in the church and all the guests kiss them and wish them “na zisete” (Long Life to You). Then everybody goes to the wedding reception, which is usually a restaurant rented for the night, where people dance, eat and drink all night long.After the reception the new couple leaves for its honeymoon.BaptismBaptismal day is one of the most important days in the life of a Greek Orthodox. It usually takes place the first year after the baby is born. Until the baby is baptized it is often called baby and doesn’t have a name.On Baptism Day, the baby is undressed and wrapped in a white towel. The priest blesses the water and adds olive oil brought by the godparents. He then immerses the baby three times, saying the chosen name. (Children in Greece are traditionally named after their grandmother or the grandfather.) The priest also blesses the baby and the baby clothes with “myrrh” (olive oil blessed by the Patriarch). The child is then dressed in white clothes. The priest puts a gold chain with a cross on his or her neck and gives the baby its first Holy Communion.At the end of the ceremony, the parents kiss the godparent’s hands and receive guests’ wishes: “na sas zisei” (Long Life to Your Baby).The ceremony is followed by a celebration at the family’s house or a restaurant.CarnivalAnother big Greek celebration is “Apokries” or Carnival. The Carnival is two weeks long, beginning from the Sunday of Meat Fare and ending with the start of Lent, (Clean Monday). People wear carnival costumes and party in the streets and bars, throwing colored confetti to each other. The most famous Carnival parade takes place in the city of Patra. It is believed that this custom has pagan roots, and originates from the old festivities worshiping Dionysus, the God of Wine.Greek Independence DayThe Greek Independence Day celebrates Greece's liberation from the Ottoman domination on March 25, 1821.October 28: The "NO"On October 28, the Greeks celebrate the day when Metaxas (a Greek General, appointed Prime Minister of Greece between April-August 1936 and dictator during the 4th of August Regime, from 1936 until his death in 1941), said no to the Italians who wanted to invade the country. It is the celebration of the heroic OXI (NO) many Greeks put a Greek flag on their windows while marches with students wearing a blue and white uniform and holding Greek flags are organized by schools.Top 3 Tourist Attractions1. Acropolis, AthensConsidered the symbol of Athens and Greece, and indeed of Western civilization, the Acropolis is a rocky mound rising in the heart of modern Athens, crowned by three magnificent temples dating from the 5th century BC. The best known and most distinctive is the Parthenon, originally made up of 58 columns supporting a roof and decorated by ornate pediments and a frieze.Skirting the foot of the Acropolis and connecting it to the city's other major ancient attractions — the Ancient Agora , the Roman Forum, Kerameikos, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus — is a 2.5-kilometer walking path known as the Archaeological Promenade.2. Acropolis Museum, AthensThe Acropolis Museum is one of Athens' most-visited tourist attractions. Designed by Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, it is an ultra-modern glass and steel structure with light and airy exhibition spaces, built specifically to display ancient finds from the Acropolis.Top things to see here include the 6th-century-BC Moschophoros(statue of a young man carrying a calf on his shoulders), the Caryatids(sculptures of female figures that held up the Erechtheion), and the highly controversial Parthenon marbles. From the museum's cafe-restaurant terrace, you can enjoy amazing views of the Acropolis itself.3. SantoriniStunning Santorini is the most dramatic of all the Greek isles. It is best known for the west coast cliff-top towns of Fira and Oia, which appear to hang over a deep, blue sea-filled caldera. Made up of typical Cycladic whitewashed cubic buildings, many of which have been converted into boutique hotels with infinity pools, both Fira and Oia are considered romantic destinations, popular for weddings and honeymoons.Things to do in Santorini include sunbathing and swimming at the black volcanic-sand beaches on the south and east coasts and visiting the archaeological site of Akrotiri, an Ancient Minoan settlement buried below lava following the volcanic eruption that created the caldera, some 3,600 years ago. The island has an airport and is served by ferries and catamarans from Athens' port, Piraeus.