Julius Paltiel (4 July 1924 – 7 March 2008) was one of the 26 Norwegian Jews who returned from Auschwitz.[1]
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During the Second World War, Paltiel's family ran a textile company in Trondheim. On 6 October 1942, he and his family were arrested and sent to Falstad concentration camp, where they stayed until they were deported to Auschwitz on 24 February 1943. When the Russians advanced to Poland in January 1945, the Germans evacuated 66,000 Jewish prisoners, and sent them to Buchenwald. At the time of his arrival there, Paltiel's weight was 39 kg.
One day, the prisoners got the message that the Scandinavians were going to be released and sent back to their home countries, but to Paltiel's misfortune, Quisling had removed the Norwegian Jews' citizenship, which meant that they would not be sent back. On 11 April 1945, Paltiel and four other Norwegian Jews were saved by the Americans, after taking numbered clothing from dead non-Jews.
Paltiel died at the age of 83 and was buried in Trondheim, the city where he was born. He was given a state funeral. The funeral was attended by King Harald V of Norway, Minister of Culture Trond Giske and Evangelical-Lutheran Bishop of Nidaros Finn Wagle among others. He was survived by his wife, the Danish-born author Vera Komissar, and two adult children.