A Hidden Note from Auschwitz Spells Hope Then and Now

An unusual note was added yesterday to the Polish museum dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Auschwitz concentration and death camp. The note, which is a list of seven prisoners who spent time at the camp, was first discovered last month. Three of the prisoners noted on the list are still alive today. Said Museum Director Piotr Cywinski, "This is a very clear sign of hope. These young people put the message in a bottle to leave a sign. But not only the bottle survived – some of them also survived. This is very moving."

The note was written in pencil on a small piece of a cement bag. It was initially discovered by a construction crew responsible for rehabbing an underground storage area that was used by the Nazis during World War II. One of the survivors, Waclam Sobczak, noted that he and the other seven did not expect to survive the camp, but left the note so that a trace of the group would be left behind. Said Sobczak, We did it so a sign of us would remain after we died. It was very risky and we had to be very careful putting it in the wall. We wanted at least our names and numbers to be left behind."

The note includes not only the names of seven prisoners, but also camp numbers and home towns. Of the seven prisoners, six were Roman Catholics from Poland and one was a Jewish inmate from France. All seven were between the ages of 18 and 20.