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David Dushman during a commemoration ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War at the Soviet War Memorial on Strasse des 17. Juni in Berlin (archive photo, 2015)
Photo: imago stock & people / imago / ZUMA Press
The last living liberator of the Auschwitz concentration camp, David Dushman, died at the age of 98.
This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Munich Jewish Community (IKG) on Sunday.
As a result, Dushman died on Saturday night in a Munich hospital.
On the occasion of his last birthday, he was also made an honorary member of the IKG.
Dushman came from the former Soviet Union and fought as a tank driver in the Battle of Stalingrad, among others.
On January 27, 1945, at the age of 21, he rolled down the fence of the Auschwitz concentration camp with a Red Army tank.
After the war he trained as a fencing coach for the female national team of the Soviet Union from 1952 to 1988.
He also witnessed the terrorist attack on the Israeli team in the 1972 Olympic attack in Munich.
As a contemporary witness, he later appeared in schools and told his story.
"His successes lasted for three lives
"
On the occasion of his 95th birthday, Charlotte Knobloch, the President of the IKG, summed up: "What physical and mental pain you have to suffer, but also what great things you have achieved and what extraordinary successes you have been able to celebrate - that is actually enough for three lives." so it can be found on the website of the IKG.
mjm / dpa