The Auschwitz Survivor with Two Numbers: A Powerful Story of Faith and Trust

Rabbi Menashe Yisrael Reisman, a rabbinic respondent at Hidabroot and a lecturer at the Pnei Yehoshua Beit Midrash, tells a remarkable story about his grandfather, Rabbi Eliezer David Ganzfried. The story appears in the book Mimashkeh Yisrael , and is presented here:

Rabbi Eliezer David Ganzfried was among the survivors of the Auschwitz extermination camp. Like many camp survivors, a number was tattooed onto his arm by the Nazis. However, on Rabbi Eliezer David’s arm there are two numbers, with one of them crossed out. Behind the erased number lies an astonishing story.

A Twelve Year Old Facing Mengele

When Eliezer David arrived at Auschwitz, he was a twelve year old boy. At the entrance to the camp he was forced to stand before the notorious Mengele, who measured each person’s height and decided their fate: “right” or “left.” There was no way to outsmart or escape. According to height he determined who would be sent left, to die in sanctification of God’s Name, and who would be sent right, to the labor camps.

When Eliezer David stood before him, Mengele ordered him to the left. Everyone understood what that meant. They could see the smoke rising in the distance. As he was sent left, the young boy made a calculation: “If I am going to die anyway, it is worth taking a risk and slipping to the right side. The worst that can happen is that he will kill me, and that is what is about to happen regardless.” When no one was watching, he jumped over to the right side. But Mengele’s assistant noticed. He grabbed him and returned him to the officer, reporting that the boy had crossed over.

In those terrifying moments, the twelve year old said to himself, “I am now only in the hands of God. I will focus on the truth that there is nothing besides Him, and that only He decides, as explained in Nefesh HaChaim . No one else can do anything to me. Only God holds the soul of every living being.” He repeated these thoughts in his mind as he stood before Mengele, who appeared to hold his fate. Then a great miracle occurred. The wicked man looked at him and said to his assistant, “No, no. This boy belongs on the right side.”

The Germans kept meticulous records. When someone was sent to the left, their number was erased from the lists because they were already considered dead. Therefore, Eliezer David was given a new number, since the first “Eliezer David” had been burned and the second was still alive.

Living With the Belief That There Is Nothing Besides Him

During the war, survival meant living with the awareness that “there is nothing besides Him.” Even though it seemed that their souls were in the hands of a cruel enemy, even though everyone saw that a wicked man was deciding right or left, one still had to strengthen true faith and declare with complete belief, “In His hand is the soul of every living being.”

The Teaching of Nefesh HaChaim