Denis Avey
Denis Avey | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 January 1919 Essex, England |
| Died | 16 July 2015 (aged 96) Bakewell, Derbyshire, England |
| Buried | St. Barnabas Church, Bradwell, Derbyshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1939− |
| Unit | Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) |
| Battles / wars | Second World War
|
| Awards | British Hero of the Holocaust |
| Other work | Engineer author |
Denis Avey (11 January 1919 – 16 July 2015) was a British veteran of the Second World War who was held as a prisoner of war at E715, a subcamp of Auschwitz. While there he saved the life of a Jewish prisoner, Ernst Lobethal, by smuggling cigarettes to him. For that he was made a British Hero of the Holocaust in 2010.
Avey claimed that he exchanged uniforms with a Jewish prisoner and smuggled himself into Auschwitz to witness the treatment of Jewish inmates, whose camp was separate from but adjoined that of British POWs. His claim has been challenged. His memoir The Man who Broke into Auschwitz, written with Rob Broomby, was published in 2011.