Zigi Shipper was born in 1930 in Łódź, Poland, to a Jewish family. When the war started, his father escaped to the Soviet Union, but then returned after discovering that Zigi and his grandparents were in the Łódź Ghetto. His father later disappeared and Zigi never learned his fate.
In 1942, he was deported from the Łódź ghetto, but en route managed to jump off the lorry carrying him and escape back into the ghetto, working in a metal factory. In 1944, he was sent to Aushwitz-Birkenau by the SS, along with all other factory workers.
Before Soviet soldiers could liberate the camp, Zigi was sent on a death march from Auschwitz to the German town of Neustadt. However, a British air strike interrupted the German plans and Zigi was liberated by British soldiers. In 1947 he began a new life in Great Britain, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Condolences for Zigi Shipper have been published by many, including the Prince and Princess of Wales:
Sources: PAP, aboutholocaust.org, Twitter
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