Excerpt from a letter dated August 15, 1945, which was sent from S. Nissen to B. Nissen in the Bronx, NY

Eyewitness Testimony

S. Nissen of Paris wrote this letter after his liberation from the Nazis to B. Nissen of the Bronx, New York. Unfortunately, any additional information regarding the identity of either the author or recipient is unknown. The letter describes the author's experiences at Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was located in eastern Poland. His account of the processes by which Jews and others at Auschwitz were murdered is consistent with other eyewitness accounts. However, his belief that six million Jews were killed at Auschwitz alone is inaccurate. This misinformation can be credited to a general lack of comprehension of the magnitude of the Holocaust immediately following its occurrence, or could be the result of a weakened mental and emotional state brought on by the horrors witnessed and experienced while the author was a prisoner at Auschwitz. Notwithstanding, the other aspects of his narrative are a poignant testimony of Nazi crimes.