Who was Harry Haft? All about Jewish boxer who survived Nazi concentration camps ahead of The Survivor premiere

The Survivor, the highly anticipated biopic of the Nazi concentration camp survivor Harry Haft, is all set to make its debut on HBO and HBO Max this April 27, 2022. It was directed by Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson.

Justine Juel Gillmer is the writer of the movie and Aaron L. Gilbert, Barry Levinson, Matti Leshem, Scott Pardo, and Jason Sosnoff have served as the producers for the biographical drama movie. Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer has composed the music for the film.

Starring Benjamin Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Vicky Krieps, Billy Magnussen, and some notable other actors, the HBO biopic will tell the remarkable story of how legendary boxer Harry Haft was forced into boxing for survival when he was in Auschwitz concentration camps.

Let's take a closer look at the life of the Jewish boxer Harry Haft ahead of The Survivor premiere on HBO and HBO Max.

---

Learn all about Harry Haft before The Survivor arrives on HBO and HBO Max

Who was Harry Haft and how did he become a legendary boxer?

Harry Haft, who was originally named Hertzka Haft, was a Polish-Jew who survived the Auschwitz concentration camps by boxing with other prisoners for his life. The boxing matches were solely for the entertainment purposes of the SS guards.

Reportedly, a German officer named Schneider provided Haft with protection and food in return for his boxing. The officer saved Harry many times, not only because he entertained the SS guards, but also because he made a promise to relay Schneider's good work to the abettors if the German ever got captured.

---

During Harry's time at Auschwitz, the boxer reportedly won all 76 of his matches. He was declared the winner right after he used to knock out his opponent. These matches weren't just simple matches, but they were his only way to survive.

Losing a match meant losing their lives. Unfortunately, all of his 76 opponents were killed either by the gas chamber or by a bullet right after they were defeated in the boxing match.

In an interview with USHMM, Harry Haft, on whose life HBO's The Survivor has been made, exclaimed:

"They didn’t respect me,...We were just survivors, entertaining them....In Jawozna, the fight was to the finish"

---

When the war ended, Harry Haft was 21 years of age. By then, he had been imprisoned in seven different concentration camps for a total of five years. Reportedly, Haft took a life-changing chance and dramatically escaped a Nazi death march to begin a new life as a free man in Brooklyn. He reportedly killed a German soldier, took his uniform, and put it on himself right before he fled.

The legendary boxer's son said in an interview:

"He killed a German officer to get his uniform, and then he killed many people at farmhouses he stopped at along the way...He described it all very casually."

Harry Haft continued his boxing career as a professional boxer for several years after the war ended. One of his biggest and most memorable fights was against Rocky Marciano.

In 1948, the legend famously said:

"After all I've been through...what harm can a man with gloves on his hands do me?"

---

Viewers can watch The Survivor, which is premiering this April 27, 2022, exclusively on HBO and HBO Max.