Salamo Arouch (born Salamon) was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1923. He grew up in a Sephardic household, where his father encouraged his boxing career. Before World War II, Arouch won the amateur Junior Middleweight Championships for Greece and the Balkans, with a 24-0 record. His skilled footwork earned him the nickname “the Ballet Dancer”.Arouch was on his way to place on the Greek Olympic team when the Nazis invaded in May 1943. Entering Thessaloniki, the Nazis rounded up 47,000 Jews, one-third of the city’s total population. Among those rounded up, Arouch and his family were sent to Auschwitz and arrived on May 15, 1943. In 1989, Arouch was interviewed by The New York Times and recalled his arrival. “My family and I arrived at Auschwitz at 6 in the evening. I was standing all night until the next day, naked.” As Arouch stood, waiting for orders, an officer called out, asking if anyone was a boxer or wrestler. He raised his hand.Standing at 5’6 feet tall, the commander did not believe him and called on another prisoner to face Arouch. By the third round, the challenger was down. Due to his success in the fight, Arouch would box against other prisoners twice a week as the Nazi commanders’ entertainment.