This article talks about Eleazar Grünbaum, a son of Izaak Grünbaum – an MP, journalist, and famous Zionist activist. In 1929 Eleazar was arrested as a young communist, but thanks to his father’s connections he received a lenient prison sentence and he was released in 1931. He then went on to study in France. During the Spanish Civil War, he fought on the Republic’s side. After the outbreak of the war he joined General Sikorski’s Polish army and then became a communist underground activist. In 1941 he was arrested and then deported to Auschwitz. He became a kapo in the camp and after the war was tried for torturing his fellow inmates. Thanks to his father’s endeavors he managed to avoid punishment and immigrated to Palestine. He died in combat against the Arabs in 1948. There is still controversy in Israel as to whether he was a cruel camp tormentor or whether he simply tried to survive. According to the author, the years Grünbaum spent in camps can be regarded as a masterpiece of survival.