Auschwitz-Birkenau: Historical account of 1943 women's resistance

On October 23, 1943, a transport of approximately 1,800 Polish Jews from Bergen-Belsen arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Deceived by the promise of transfer or travel to South America, the group was separated upon arrival. In the vicinity of the crematorium gas chambers, an unidentified woman managed to seize a revolver from SS officer Josef Schlinger, shooting and killing him. She also wounded Wilhelm Emmerich, who survived but was left disabled.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum notes that while the woman's identity is not 100% confirmed by direct documentation, historical accounts frequently identify her as Francesca Mann, a 26-year-old Polish Jewish dancer from Warsaw. The shooting triggered a brief, localized attack by other women against the guards before control was regained. While the women in the transport were killed, historical accounts vary on whether they were shot outside the crematorium or sent into the gas chambers.

This event is distinct from the larger armed uprising on October 7, 1944, involving the Sonderkommando, which resulted in the destruction of Crematorium IV using gunpowder smuggled by female workers in the camp's munitions factory.