Skip to main content

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Site
    • English home page
    • المصادر بالعربية
    • Πηγές στα Ελληνικά
    • Recursos en español
    • منابع موجود به زبان فارسی
    • Ressources en français
    • Gyűjtemény és tudástár magyar nyelven
    • Sumber Bahasa Indonesia
    • Materiali e risorse in italiano
    • 日本語のリソース
    • 한국어 자료
    • Recursos em Português (do Brasil)
    • Материалы на русском языке
    • Türkçe Kaynaklar
    • اُردو ری سورسز
    • 中文参考资料
  • Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Support the Museum
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • Learn About The Holocaust
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Confront Genocide and Antisemitism

  • Home
  • Learn about The Holocaust
Holocaust Encyclopedia

We’ve been reworking our Holocaust Encyclopedia, and we would love for you to explore the new experience. Click the button at right to start using the new version. The version you are viewing now will remain online until June 30, 2018.

  • Introduction to the Holocaust
  • Information for Students
  • Timeline of Events
  • Holocaust Encyclopedia
  • Holocaust and Related Maps
  • The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students
This page is also available in:
  • عربيArabic
  • فارسیFarsi
  • TürkçeTurkish

Iosif Kirzhner

    • Comments
    • How to cite this article
  • Iosif Kirzhner

    Iosif Kirzhner

Born: January 7, 1916
Odessa, Ukraine

Iosif was the second of four boys born to a Jewish family in the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa, a city with the largest Jewish community in the Soviet Union before World War II. Iosif's father worked as a hat maker, while his mother raised the family.

1933-39: In 1936 I joined the Red Army and was trained to drive a tank. After Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the Soviet Union took advantage of its nonaggression pact with the Germans to claim Finnish territory. The Finns resisted us and war broke out in November. I fought on the Finnish front as part of a tank detachment. Though greatly outnumbered, the Finns battled tenaciously and the war raged into the new year.

1940-44: We defeated the Finns in March 1940. Just over a year later, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1942, while attempting to slow a German offensive in the Rostov area, my tank detachment was captured in the town of Panitsky. The Germans held us in several camps before deporting us to Auschwitz. I tried to escape, along with several friends, but we were caught. As punishment, the barracks leader beat the soles of our bare feet until they bled, and then forced us to work barefoot.

Liberated by the Red Army in 1945, Iosif was questioned by the Soviets to determine if he was a "traitor." He was allowed to return to Odessa. In 1978 he emigrated to America.

Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

This page is also available in:

  • عربيArabic
  • فارسیFarsi
  • TürkçeTurkish

Museum Information

  • Today at the Museum
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Exhibitions and Collections
  • Traveling Exhibitions

Resources for Academics and Research

  • Ask a Research Question
  • Research in Collections
  • Research about Survivors and Victims
  • Academic Programs

Resources for Educators

  • Teaching about the Holocaust
  • Programs for Teachers
  • Teaching Materials
  • Holocaust Encyclopedia

Resources for Professionals and Student Leaders

  • Law Enforcement
  • Military
  • Judiciary
  • Faith and Interfaith Communities
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: 202.488.0400
TTY: 202.488.0406

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • About the Museum
  • Contact the Museum
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Legal
×

#USHMM #AskWhy

FirstPerson

Conversations with Survivors
of the Holocaust

Watch Now

Join us right now to watch a live interview with a survivor, followed by a question-and-answer session.