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Michael Smuss, Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Fighter and Holocaust Educator, Dies at 99

He was recently honored by Germany for a lifetime of Holocaust education.

Overview

  • His wife in Israel confirmed he died on Oct. 21, and Yad Vashem said his funeral would be held Friday.
  • During the 1943 uprising, he joined Mordechai Anielewicz’s underground, stole solvent used to make Molotov cocktails, and hurled them from ghetto rooftops.
  • Captured after the fighting, he was diverted from a transport to Treblinka for forced labor, moved through several camps, and survived a 1945 death march before liberation by U.S. troops.
  • After the war he emigrated to the United States, later settled in Israel, became a painter, and shared his story widely, including with German schools and Zikaron BaSalon.
  • Last month German Ambassador Steffen Seibert presented him with the Federal Cross of Merit, and some outlets described him as the last surviving fighter of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.