The Count of Auschwitz

Sergeant Major Charles Coward was himself involved in several escape attempts. However, perhaps his greatest exploit was in helping a few of the inmates of Auschwitz to escape - at least for a while. As the ranking NCO in the prison camp, he had privileges of movement, and bribed a guard to give him corpses from the gas chambers at the death house. Then, when a group was being marched along the road toward extermination, he and some buddies would help a corresponding number to escape, then after the column had passed, place the corpses along the road to be found later - presumably being those who had collapsed en route. He became known as The Count of Auschwitz. Coward later gave important testimony about what he had seen in the war.