Szymon Kluger The last of the pre-war Jewish inhabitants of the city of Auschwitz. Date of Birth: 19.01.1925 Country: Poland

1. Last Pre-War Jewish Resident of Auschwitz
2. During the Second World War
3. Liberation and Emigration
4. Return to Auschwitz
5. Later Life and Legacy
6. Shimon Kluger's House Museum
7. Auschwitz Jewish Center and Cafe

Last Pre-War Jewish Resident of Auschwitz

Shimon Kluger was born in the town of Auschwitz to Simcha and Freida Kluger. His father was a teacher and shopkeeper, while his mother was a homemaker. Shimon had eight siblings: Moses, Bronia, Isaac, Melech, Israel, Yehoshuah, Chaim, and Malka. Only Shimon, Moses, and Bronia survived the Holocaust, the rest having been murdered by the Nazis.

During the Second World War

During the Second World War, Shimon was deported to the Bendzin ghetto. In 1942, he was assigned to the Auschwitz III labor camp, where he endured the horrors of the Holocaust. Both of his parents were murdered in Auschwitz. In 1945, he was subjected to a death march to Gross-Rosen and Buchenwald concentration camps.

Liberation and Emigration

American forces liberated Shimon in April 1945 near Halberstadt. He briefly returned to his hometown before emigrating to Sweden with the assistance of the Swedish Red Cross and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). After receiving medical treatment in Malmo and Kalmar, he decided to remain in Sweden. His only surviving family members were his brother in Sweden and his sister in Frankfurt, Germany.

Return to Auschwitz

In 1962, despite pleas from his family, Shimon returned to Poland and took a job at a chemical plant in Auschwitz. He initially lived in workers' housing but eventually moved into his parents' former home, located near the "Khevre Loymdei Mishnayos" synagogue. Health issues forced him to retire from his job shortly after.

Later Life and Legacy

Shimon Kluger passed away on May 26, 2000, and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Auschwitz.

Shimon Kluger's House Museum

Shimon Kluger's former home has been preserved as a museum. The house, where Shimon lived with his family before the Holocaust, was owned by his maternal grandfather, Bernard Teichmann, a businessman who had operated a business in Germany before the Nazis came to power. After Shimon's death, his brother Moses Kluger and sister Bronia Kluger-Rosenblatt donated the house to the Auschwitz Jewish Center. The museum hosts a permanent exhibition and offers guided tours.

Auschwitz Jewish Center and Cafe

In addition to the museum, the Auschwitz Jewish Center opened a kosher vegetarian cafe in Shimon Kluger's house in 2013.