Victor Perez was born in 1911 in Tunis to a Jewish family. His father, Salomon, was a shoemaker and his mother, Haïda, a housewife. Victor grew up in the Belleville district of Paris, where he began boxing at a young age. He soon became known as "Young Perez" and quickly rose to prominence in the world of boxing, winning the French flyweight championship in 1929.
In 1931, Perez won the world flyweight championship by defeating American boxer Frankie Genaro in a 15-round match in Paris. He successfully defended his title the following year by defeating American boxer Jackie Brown in a match held in Tunisia.
Despite his success in the ring, Perez was facing increasing anti-Semitic sentiment in Europe. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the French army and fought against the Germans. When France fell to the Nazis in 1940, Perez fled to Tunisia, but was eventually arrested and transported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
In Auschwitz, Perez was forced to work in grueling conditions and was often subjected to beatings and torture. He was also made to participate in boxing matches for the entertainment of the Nazi guards, who would bet on the outcome of the fights. While in Auschwitz, Perez met fellow Jewish boxer Harry Haft, who would later become a professional boxer in the United States.
Despite the horrors he faced, Perez never lost his fighting spirit. He continued to box in the camp, even winning a few matches, and became an inspiration to his fellow prisoners. Unfortunately, Perez's story does not have a happy ending. He was eventually sent to a gas chamber and killed in January 1945, just a few months before the liberation of Auschwitz.
Victor Young Perez is a powerful, heartbreaking film that tells the story of a remarkable athlete and survivor. It is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and a reminder of the atrocities that were committed during the Holocaust.