I Escaped from Auschwitz

"The Slovak border is about 80 miles from Auchwitz, as the crow flies. Unfortunately, Fred and I were only Jews, which meant we had to walk".

The stunning true account of the escape from Auschwitz Concentration camp by two young inmates - the author Rudolf Vrba and Alfred (Fred) Wetzler - is something that every school in the world should own a copy of, and as many people as possible should be encouraged to read.

Rudolf Vrba, interned whilst still in his teens, realised that the Jews would resist the death trains if only they knew what they truly meant. Therefor he made up his mind that he must escape and tell the world what was happening withtin the confines of the Nazi extermination camp.

It was not until 1944 that Rudolf and Alfred succeeded where many had failed and managed not only to escape but to make their way - with the help of brave Polish people - to safety where they alerted the remaining Jewish councils as to what was really being done. Despite their accurate accounts, however, the information which might have saved many more Hungarian Jews was NOT immediately made available to the rulers and allies who may have been able to take action sooner - nonetheless, these two men are responsibly for the lives of many thousands of Auschwitz inmates.

Written with stark brutality - and yet with moments of humour - this is an unfortgettable tale of mans inhumanity to man. Of former boyhood friends who thought nothing of executing their old playmates, or the innocence of the many who went willingly to the "shower blocks" or who volunteered to work on the "farms" that were promised as part of the Jewish resettlement.

Rudolf refers to the inmates, standing to attention for an inspection, as being "like well behaved zebras". A new guard to the camp is described as "a neat little figure of 5ft 2 which, incidentally, gave him the double record of being the smallest and most viscious officer in Auchwitz". There are acts of kindness by some guards, the secret sharing of food, the cups of coffee drunk in groups by the Registrars - of which Rudolf became one - in between the horrors of their day to day work "administering" the camp.

The History Channel made a one hour programme about the escape of the these two men which inspired me to seek out this book. I really cannot recommend it highly enough - the author wrote it in the 1960's when he realised that many ordinary Germans could not accept that anyone would go quietly to their death. One man challenged Rudolf with the fact that his own wife, a meek woman, would have fought like a tiger to save her children - yet the Jews allowed themselves to be executed in unbelievable numbers?

And so the slick workings of the camps, the deceipt, the lies and the tricks used to fool the inmates as well as the Red Cross, are laid bare in this book. Read it - it will stay with you for a long time.

It happened. (20/20 people found this helpful)

This is Rudolph Vrba's account of his life and escape from Auschwitz. He relates the horrific reverse society he lived in where criminals were the police and policing was torture and death. He wore a number. He was forced to witness his people murdered in the tens of thousands.

After his escape he attempted (with the evidence he had managed to escape with) to reach the Jewish population of Hungaria in order to warn them that they were about to be murdered. He thought that the powers that be would attempt to save them; he was wrong, 400,000 of them died because of disbeleif and scepticism in his story but more so because of a traitor.

As with all Holocaust testimony the stories are worth the time reading and their message worth assimilating. Germany was not an anomally, it could have been any country in the world that fell into such barbarity. Rudolph Vrba's account therefore is as much as a warning now as it was when he first escaped. The personalities that perpetrated these horrors exist in contemporary times also, these are not extraordinary people; it is the fact that they are ordinary that makes it imperative that Vrba's account be read.

Auschwitz relived by the reader (10/11 people found this helpful)

An excellent book from someone who has really been there.
Moving and certainly gripping, at times the stories are so unbelievable you have to pinch yourself to remind you people can do this.
Well worth reading

I Escaped from Auschwitz

Rudolph Vrba

Reader Reviews:

I Wish I Could Give This TEN Stars!!!! (3/3 people found this helpful)

It happened. (20/20 people found this helpful)

Auschwitz relived by the reader (10/11 people found this helpful)

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