Franceska Mann is a name that conceals an incredible story. Known as “The Jewish Dancer,” she was, in fact, an extremely courageous woman who on the night of October 23, 1943 , decided not to bow down to the evil Nazi tyranny.
Her courage is passed down because it continues to inspire and she is taken as a model and symbol of virtue.
In this article, we retrace together the milestones in Mann’s biography, leading up to that famous night whose facts and symbolic and historical importance I will tell you about.
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Who was Franceska Mann: the true story of an icon of resistance
By Zakład fotograficzny: “Van – Dyck” – Photo Archives Digital copy from NAC (Narodowe Muzeum Cyfrowe) – watermarks removed per Commons policy guidelines., Public domain, Commons Wikimedia
Childhood and career
Franceska Mann was born in Warsaw in 1917 and from early on studied ballet.
It was not long before the young dancer demonstrated her precocious talent, so much so that she was highly appreciated by the public who knew her as Lola Horovitz.
Francesca Mann (aka Lola Horovitz) Photo by Informa Danza
In 1939 she participated in the national competition in Brussels with excellent results, making herself known as one of the best promises of her generation.
After the German invasion, however, Franceska was confined to the Warsaw ghetto.
Arrest and deportation
In 1943, Franceska falls victim to a deception: Germans and collaborationists make Jews believe they can take refuge at the Hotel Polski, where they will have the opportunity to buy foreign passports to escape Nazi control.
The dancer is among the 2,500 deceived Jews and is deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Selection in the camp
Women arriving at the camp were again tricked: they were asked to undress so they could be disinfected and washed and then pushed into the camp.
Some carried out the orders believing the deception or frightened, others refused suffering the violence of the SS.
Some witnesses recall that Franceska Mann was among those who refused to undress.
The resistance
From this point on, the story no longer follows a single thread, partly because of the lack of official sources.
Indeed, the report of that night does not clearly mention what was the cause of the commotion inside the locker room, but one thing is certain: something happened.
The only certain fact is the death of SS Major Josef Schillinger.
In fact, the story undergoes changes depending on the rumor that reports it: indeed, it seems that news of a dancer heroically confronting the SS spread inside Auschwitz making it difficult to draw a line between historical reality and legend.
The most credited reconstruction is as follows: Franceska Mann and other women, after refusing to undress by sniffing out the gas chambers, had a scuffle with the guards who forced them to strip naked.
At this point, the rebellious female prisoners followed orders but Franceska used cunning: she began to strip seductively and even improvised a sensual dance attracting the attention of the SS.
Taking advantage of their distraction, she pounced on a soldier by hitting him with the heel of her shoe, drew her pistol from its holster and fatally shot Major Josef Schillinger.
Immediately, the other women followed the brave dancer’s example and pounced on their tormentors.
Given their inferiority in weapons and strength, the SS managed to quell the revolt by killing the women. Other stories tell that Mann also managed to shoot a second guard before committing suicide, thus avoiding death at the hands of the Nazis.
From the official report of the camp commandant, Rudolf Hoß, Mann was reportedly gassed to death after being wounded as a result of the scuffle.
What is important, however, is that this story flew from mouth to mouth, albeit perhaps partly fictionalized, but as an injection of courage and strength into the inmates, so much so that many of the survivors remember it and spoke of it in their memoirs.
Franceska Mann has thus become a symbol of courage, of those who choose not to bend to the brutality and inhumanity of the Nazis.
The Auschwitz Dancer: Frequently Asked Questions
Franceska Mann was a Polish Jewish dancer deported to Auschwitz during World War II. She is remembered for her act of rebellion against the Nazi guards that cost her her life.
According to some accounts, while undressing to be sent to the gas chambers later, she allegedly snatched a weapon from a Nazi officer, Major Josef Schillinger, seriously wounding him to the point that he died while being transported to the hospital. This gesture is regarded as a heroic act of resistance that immediately inspired her fellow female comrades in misfortune, so much so that many of them hurled themselves at the SS in imitation of the dancer.
Although there are different versions of her story, perhaps partly turned into legend, many elements are reflected in the historical accounts of survivors. In fact, so many of those who returned from Auschwitz recounted hearing the story of a brave Jewish woman who rebelled. Some Sonderkommando present that night wrote in their diaries about this story, and the same appears in some SS officers’ memoirs.
Her story represents courage and resistance against oppression in one of the darkest moments in history. Franceska Mann, with her act of courage, became a symbol, a warning, a lesson: not to bend, not to turn away.
Franceska Mann Auschwitz-Birkenau: Conclusions
So here we have come to the concluding part of our article. We have seen together the story of the Jewish dancer Franceska Mann, known for her act of bravery inside Auschwitz.
We traced the main stages of her private and artistic life, saw the excellent results she was achieving, and finally the tragic deportation following the Hotel Polski trap.
Finally, we read about his extreme act of courage and rebellion against the Nazi guards.
To finish, I have answered the most common questions on the topic, but should you still have unfulfilled curiosities, please feel free to leave a comment below.
If you would like to receive other historical or practical information about organizing a visit to Auschwitz, I invite you to explore and take a look at the other articles on our website as well.
Visiting Auschwitz is now more necessary and importantthan ever because, as Liliana Segre said , “Cultivating Memory is still a valuable vaccine against indifference and helps us, in a world so full of injustice and suffering, to remember that each of us has a conscience and can use it.”
1 Comment. Leave new
Similar to what Jael (Heber’s wife) did against the enemy of her people, as she “took a nail of the tent, and took an ‘hammer in her hand’”; Judges 4:21–24. Best to read the whole story in (The New Living Translation) NLT.