I Was at the Auschwitz Crematorium. A Conversation with Henryk Mandelbaum, Former Prisoner and Member of the Sonderkommando at Auschwitz

by Igor Bartosik, Adam Willma

This book is a record of conversations with one the most valuable eyewitnesses to the Holocaust.

Henryk Mandelbaum (1922-2008), a boy from a poor Jewish family, was chosen by the SS for an unimaginably onerous job. The Sonderkommando — the special labor detail — was present in every one of the extermination camps that the Nazis set up during the Second World War. The basic duty of the prisoners selected for this kind of work was burying or burning the bodies of murdered prisoners, cleaning out the rooms used as gas chambers, sorting the valuables left behind by the victims, and other tasks connected with the mass murder of Jews.

It is difficult to compare the experience of the "Sonders" in the extermination centers with anything else in human history.

Henryk Mandelbaum's momoirs have exceptional value. Above all, they are not contaminated by secondary sources. Mandelbaum's account is characterized by exceptional authenticity. A historian would call it raw and uninformed but Mandelbaum makes each of his assertions confidently and with full conviction. When he is unsure of something, he remains silent. He remembers people's appearances better than their names.

His story is authentic, true and moving.

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, World War II

93 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay... I must say I am quite spechless about this long interview.
It is always hard to read about the bad side of our global history. I like when Mandelbaum says he doesn't believe in God because what happened wasn't stopped. Humans are always the responsible ones for what they do worng and to stop what we are looking at, not hoping for a miracle.
He says nobody ever is gonna be capable to think and feel the same as he did in Auschwitz... and I agree with that one hundred per cent... Let's hope we learn one day we are the worst could happen to the Earth

[Caissa Palomino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was at the Auschwitz museum this year and I bought this book there. It was the best invest I ever made. It was a good story.

[Kendra! · Rating 5 out of 5]

A devastatingly good book. Reading this book opened my eyes to the devastation of the horrors that took place in Auschwitz. The perspective that he has about life is so inspiring and fascinating as a whole, this book was a difficult read for all the right reasons, everyone must read this book to become properly educated about these horrors. As Henryk says, it is hard for us to grasp the horrors because we did not live through it, but we can make an effort to understand it. 5 star read.

[Gracie Chammas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the survivor’s story in I Was at Auschwitz: The Untold Story of a Survivor deeply moving and powerful. However, I felt the interviewers’ approach at times lacked the sensitivity such a harrowing subject deserves. Some of their questions came across as overly probing or clinical, which occasionally detracted from the emotional weight of the narrative. Despite this, the book remains an important testimony and a vital account of history.

[book_bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very informative book. I have read many books about Auschwitz and have even been there, but I never read or knew much about the men of the Sonderkommando. I highly recommend this one if you are interested in the Holocaust!

[Mb Mazur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing interview. Shocking and detailed in-depth stories of first hand experiences from Henryk Mandelbaum, a prisoner/slave at the Auschwitz Crematorium. Kept me hooked and read it all in one sitting.

[Katie Wastlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great memoir of a survivor . I learned a lot from his story .The story is hard to believe all that happened and as an American I am disgusted we did not do more .

[Alejandro Evia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A raw memory of the hell lived by Mandelbaum in Auschwitz.

I believe this story needs to be heard by the world to remind us of never forgetting about the dark episodes of our past as humanity which has created deep scars in our collectivity.

I felt the author sometimes fails to empathize with Henryk and that creates a wall between the story teller and us readers, but i don’t believe anybody could easily empathize with such horrible memories, and that’s the real shocking value of this text: most of us (even if really poor for today standards) won’t live something even close like Henry Mandelbaum did, i’m not sure anybody in humanity has ever except (of course) for everyone who did lived through it.

A story that deserves to be read more than once.