Miklos Nyiszli(1901-1956)

Dr. Miklos Nyiszli's memoirs were the first publication on the unknown subject of the 'Sonderkommando' prisoners and shed new light on the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp when it was first published in March 1946. For many years Nyiszli's book was also the only source on the 'Sonderkommandos' and on the 'medical experiments' carried out by the infamous SS-physician Dr. med. et Dr. phil. Josef Mengele. The importance of the book has not diminished despite the presence of some factual mistakes, that were corrected by historians in new, annotated editions. The perspective is unique because of the duality of the author's duties in Auschwitz-Birkenau: Nyiszli simultaneously worked as a pathologist for Mengele and as a physician for the SS staff and the Sonderkommando-prisoners.

...the years I had spent in pre-war Germany furnished plenty of material for discussion. They were much impressed by the fact that I spoke their own language better; or at least in a more cultured manner, than they did. I soon realised that there were certain expressions they did not understand, although they carefully refrained from letting me know it. ["Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account", 1946]