Anatoly Shapiro

Anatoly Pavlovich Shapiro (Анатолий Павлович Шапиро, ) was born 18 January 1913 in the town of Konstantinograd (Ukraine). Served in the 100th rifle division of the 106th rifle corps. Worked his way up the ranks from a platoon commander to a commander of a separate marines rifle battalion. One of the first soldiers to enter Auschwitz. Injured and shell-shocked in battle. Awarded with two Orders of the Red Star, two Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, for the Liberation of Krakow, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree, and numerous medals.

"At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon on 27th of January 100th infantry division commanded by General F. M. Krasavin liberated Auschwitz and Birkenau. An assault squad of the 106th infantry division commanded by major Anatoly Pavlovich Shapiro was one of the first who broke into the city and into the camp. That was his squad that has cleared the approaches to the camp from the mines — after that major Shapiro has personally opened the gates of the Auschwitz-I camp and took part in suppressing the SS resistance. Birkenau camp was liberated on the 28th of January by the 107th infantry division commanded by colonel V. Y. Petrenko who used to visit Krasavin at the Auschwitz-I the day before that. About 650 corpses of the prisoners were lying around its territory, inside the barracks and near them — mostly it were women who died of exhaustion or were shot by the SS members the night before. About 9 thousand prisoners lived long enough to be liberated, 7 thousand of them were contained in three main camps — Birkenau, Auschwitz and Monowitz."

He wrote several books, mostly memoirs about the war. His last book is entitled "Зловещий марафон."

On 21 September 2006, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko conferred on Shapiro the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Anatoliy Shapiro died on 8 October 2005 and is buried at Beth Moses cemetery in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.