Bar of soap stamped RIF issued to an inmate of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Soap bar received by 21-year old Rudy Zelmanovics when he was imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland in 1945. Rudy was living in Nagybanya, Hungary, when it was occupied by German soldiers in March 1944. In early 1945, Rudy was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and tattooed with prisoner number A-13161. At the end of the month, the inmates were sent on a death march to Buchenwald. They arrived in March, but a few weeks later, were forced on another death march. Rudy and a few inmates escaped and found a place to hide. On April 23, 1945, they were discovered and liberated by American soldiers.