Grandchildren of Auschwitz Connect

Amprather on DailyKos writes: (heavily excerpted)

In the fall of 1943, after being captured by the Nazis in the Ukraine, my grandfather was sent to Auschwitz. When I was 9, I caught my grandfather shaving in the bathroom and that is when I saw it: His Camp Number [tattoo] – 58877241.

Betty G found his missive and responded:

After reading your email, I was moved to tears because it reminded me of my grandfather, Ivan Feduleyev. He was also a soldier in the Red Army, captured in the Ukraine. He was taken to Auschwitz as a POW. The Captain of the Guard decided that the only way to make them talk was to execute one of the soldiers. They brought the unit into a yard and lined the soldiers up for selection. They choose my grandfather. They hauled him in front of a firing squad. The Captain of the Guard again demanded that the Jews among them be identified. Then one of the soldiers came forward and identified himself as a Jew. The Captain grabbed him and hauled him away and stopped the execution. The troops never saw the soldier again. My grandfather never forgot that soldier’s name, he named his first son after him, Roman. The soldier’s name was Roman Edemskoi.

Amprather reveals:

Roman Edemskoi (58877241) was my grandfather.