When he was 14 years old, Michael Smuss – who died recently at age 99 at his home in Israel – and his family were forced into the Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis. Up to half a million Jews were crammed into small and dank living spaces, while diseases and starvation caused dead bodies to appear in the streets.
Smuss joined the Jewish resistance within the ghetto, and when the Nazis arrived on April 19, 1943, to destroy it, the resistance took up arms and defended themselves. The Times of Israel reports:
While working to restore helmets Nazi soldiers used in battle, Smuss had access to a thinning substance which could also be used to make Molotov cocktails. He stole as much of it as he could and passed it to the resistance.
“We filled up bottles which were then put up on the roofs of all the houses close to the entrance of the ghetto, with the expectation that, once they’re going to come, we’ll be throwing them down,” Smuss recounted three years ago in a video for the Sumter County Museum in South Carolina, which exhibited his art at the time.
According to eyewitness Paul Diedrich, Smuss stood on the rooftops throwing Molotov cocktails at the attacking Nazis. The resistance fought bravely, but many were killed by the armed soldiers. Smuss was one of the few to survive the fighting in Warsaw that lasted nearly a month.
Smuss’ ordeal wasn’t over yet, though. On his way out to Treblinka, he was arrested by Nazi soldiers and sent to work camps. He would be moved between camps throughout his time in captivity and survived a death march in 1945. When the war ended, Smuss emigrated from Poland to the United States, where he started a family. He later made aliyah, and met his second wife Ruthy, who he is survived by.
Smuss was a true hero of the Holocaust. Since its founding, The Fellowship has helped provide aid, comfort, and dignity to Holocaust survivors – many of whom are living in Israel below the poverty line. After a lifetime of bravery and resilience, these precious people deserve to live the rest of their lives in peace and stability. While we mourn Smuss’ passing, we also praise God that he led such a long and impactful life.