What do you think?
Rate this book
Miracle: The Boys Who Escaped the Gas Chamber in Auschwitz
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'A dramatic, poignant and astonishing untold story of the Holocaust.' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
‘Extraordinary. One of the most haunting episodes of the war.’ DAILY MAIL
'The remarkable story of a unique event - the reprieve of 51 Hungarian Jewish teenagers already naked and trapped inside the gas chambers.' PROFESSOR ROBERT JAN VAN PELT
An unforgettable testament to hope and the bonds of brotherhood, Miracle reveals the untold story of the boys who escaped the gas chamber in Auschwitz, the only known group of Holocaust survivors to walk away from the jaws of the Nazi killing machine.
Early on the morning of October 10, 1944, eight-hundred boys, aged between 13 and 17, were taken out of Block 11 at Auschwitz. The night before, during a visit by Dr Josef Mengele, their identification cards had been stamped with a solitary German word – gestorben – 'died' in English. They were then marched by 25 bayonet-wielding SS men to Crematorium 5, stripped, and herded into a gas chamber.
This book is the story of a true-life miracle of the fifty-one boys who were pulled from that gas chamber – the only Holocaust survivors known to have escaped such a close brush with the Nazi killing machine – and given a second chance at life. A life, of course, that would be so horrifically snatched from those around them.
Based on the first-hand testimonies of six of the boys, six survivors whose stories are shared in this book for the very first time, Miracle interweaves the lives of the boys and the grander sweep of history in which they were held. The result is an unforgettable tale of hope, faith and fortitude in the face of one of the worst crimes against humanity.
‘Astonishing. A powerful book.’ JEWISH NEWS
‘The remarkable but harrowing true story. Extraordinary.’ TIMES RADIO
'A dramatic, poignant and astonishing untold story of the Holocaust.' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
‘Extraordinary. One of the most haunting episodes of the war.’ DAILY MAIL
'The remarkable story of a unique event - the reprieve of 51 Hungarian Jewish teenagers already naked and trapped inside the gas chambers.' PROFESSOR ROBERT JAN VAN PELT
An unforgettable testament to hope and the bonds of brotherhood, Miracle reveals the untold story of the boys who escaped the gas chamber in Auschwitz, the only known group of Holocaust survivors to walk away from the jaws of the Nazi killing machine.
Early on the morning of October 10, 1944, eight-hundred boys, aged between 13 and 17, were taken out of Block 11 at Auschwitz. The night before, during a visit by Dr Josef Mengele, their identification cards had been stamped with a solitary German word – gestorben – 'died' in English. They were then marched by 25 bayonet-wielding SS men to Crematorium 5, stripped, and herded into a gas chamber.
This book is the story of a true-life miracle of the fifty-one boys who were pulled from that gas chamber – the only Holocaust survivors known to have escaped such a close brush with the Nazi killing machine – and given a second chance at life. A life, of course, that would be so horrifically snatched from those around them.
Based on the first-hand testimonies of six of the boys, six survivors whose stories are shared in this book for the very first time, Miracle interweaves the lives of the boys and the grander sweep of history in which they were held. The result is an unforgettable tale of hope, faith and fortitude in the face of one of the worst crimes against humanity.
‘Astonishing. A powerful book.’ JEWISH NEWS
‘The remarkable but harrowing true story. Extraordinary.’ TIMES RADIO
253 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2026
124 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 27, 2026
#recensione per il blog opinioni librose
Buongiorno a tutti, nella #giornatadellamemoria vi parliamo di un'incredibile storia vera. Recensione di Monica.
"Buongiorno a tutti,
oggi vi parlo di un libro che mi ha toccato nel profondo, si tratta di: miracolo ad Auschwitz, di Michael Calvin e Naftali Schiff, edito da Newton compton edizioni che ringrazio per la copia digitale.
In occasione della giornata della memoria mi sembra doveroso portare alla vostra attenzione un libro che è una testimonianza. Un momento strano e inspiegabile che ha riconsegnato la vita a cinquantuno ragazzi sopravvissuti alla camera a gas. Mistero o miracolo non lo sapremo mai perché loro stessi ne hanno parlato solo dopo tanti anni, quasi temessero di affrontare con la memoria quell'episodio."
BLOG: https://www.opinionilibrose.it/2026/0...
#recensionilibri #opinionilibroseblog
Buongiorno a tutti, nella #giornatadellamemoria vi parliamo di un'incredibile storia vera. Recensione di Monica.
"Buongiorno a tutti,
oggi vi parlo di un libro che mi ha toccato nel profondo, si tratta di: miracolo ad Auschwitz, di Michael Calvin e Naftali Schiff, edito da Newton compton edizioni che ringrazio per la copia digitale.
In occasione della giornata della memoria mi sembra doveroso portare alla vostra attenzione un libro che è una testimonianza. Un momento strano e inspiegabile che ha riconsegnato la vita a cinquantuno ragazzi sopravvissuti alla camera a gas. Mistero o miracolo non lo sapremo mai perché loro stessi ne hanno parlato solo dopo tanti anni, quasi temessero di affrontare con la memoria quell'episodio."
BLOG: https://www.opinionilibrose.it/2026/0...
#recensionilibri #opinionilibroseblog
Review of advance copy
I’ve read plenty of books about the Holocaust and I’d never heard about this story - so I was genuinely surprised to find out that such a miracle, as the title rightly puts it, occurred.
The writing was good, though I wouldn’t dare to say it was anything particularly special. At times, it became difficult to recall the details of the boys, due to the way it was written. The book would have strongly benefitted from a small list at the beginning or end of the book listing the boys with a brief description as many times, I found myself having to go and look through pages to recall the exact details of the individual boys.
Additionally, I noted minor grammatical errors that had been missed during publication.
However, despite these flaws, the book itself does tell a truly unique story. As previously said, I’ve never heard of this event and I’ve read many books about the subject. So for those who are avid readers of literature on the Holocaust, I would recommend reading this book.
The writing was good, though I wouldn’t dare to say it was anything particularly special. At times, it became difficult to recall the details of the boys, due to the way it was written. The book would have strongly benefitted from a small list at the beginning or end of the book listing the boys with a brief description as many times, I found myself having to go and look through pages to recall the exact details of the individual boys.
Additionally, I noted minor grammatical errors that had been missed during publication.
However, despite these flaws, the book itself does tell a truly unique story. As previously said, I’ve never heard of this event and I’ve read many books about the subject. So for those who are avid readers of literature on the Holocaust, I would recommend reading this book.
February 6, 2026
A remarkable story, told in a fairly unremarkable book. It’s quite impressive that the author wasn’t able to create a shred of suspense given the characters, setting and emotion.
That said, there’s no doubt that the survival of the boys was truly a miraculous event, and I’m glad this story has been told. The reflections of the survivors made the read worthwhile, particularly their thoughts about Israel and Zionism.
And finally, for the love of God, let this be the last book of any sort of magnitude to be narrated by Laurence Dobeisz.
That said, there’s no doubt that the survival of the boys was truly a miraculous event, and I’m glad this story has been told. The reflections of the survivors made the read worthwhile, particularly their thoughts about Israel and Zionism.
And finally, for the love of God, let this be the last book of any sort of magnitude to be narrated by Laurence Dobeisz.
January 28, 2026
#recensioni
Buongiorno a tutti, nella #giornatadellamemoria vi parliamo di un'incredibile storia vera. Recensione di Monica S.
"Buongiorno a tutti,
oggi vi parlo di un libro che mi ha toccato nel profondo, si tratta di: miracolo ad Auschwitz, di Michael Calvin e Naftali Schiff, edito da Newton compton edizioni che ringrazio per la copia digitale.
In occasione della giornata della memoria mi sembra doveroso portare alla vostra attenzione un libro che è una testimonianza. Un momento strano e inspiegabile che ha riconsegnato la vita a cinquantuno ragazzi sopravvissuti alla camera a gas. Mistero o miracolo non lo sapremo mai perché loro stessi ne hanno parlato solo dopo tanti anni, quasi temessero di affrontare con la memoria quell'episodio."
BLOG: https://www.opinionilibrose.it/2026/0...
#recensionilibri #opinionilibroseblog #prodottofornitoda @newtoncomptoneditori
Naftali Schiff Monica Rosina Sorrenti
Buongiorno a tutti, nella #giornatadellamemoria vi parliamo di un'incredibile storia vera. Recensione di Monica S.
"Buongiorno a tutti,
oggi vi parlo di un libro che mi ha toccato nel profondo, si tratta di: miracolo ad Auschwitz, di Michael Calvin e Naftali Schiff, edito da Newton compton edizioni che ringrazio per la copia digitale.
In occasione della giornata della memoria mi sembra doveroso portare alla vostra attenzione un libro che è una testimonianza. Un momento strano e inspiegabile che ha riconsegnato la vita a cinquantuno ragazzi sopravvissuti alla camera a gas. Mistero o miracolo non lo sapremo mai perché loro stessi ne hanno parlato solo dopo tanti anni, quasi temessero di affrontare con la memoria quell'episodio."
BLOG: https://www.opinionilibrose.it/2026/0...
#recensionilibri #opinionilibroseblog #prodottofornitoda @newtoncomptoneditori
Naftali Schiff Monica Rosina Sorrenti
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews