Auschwitz

by Pascal Croci (Drawings)

Plongez dans l'horreur des camps grâce à cette bande-dessinée-document devenu référence.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Historical Fiction, Holocaust, Bande Dessinée, Historical, World War II

64 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"We will bear witness!" -- female prisoner# 1, after finding the gas chamber was demolished

"But who is going to believe us? 'Thank you, God, for having made us your chosen people! But please, couldn't you have chosen someone else?'" -- female prisoner# 2, understandably cynical

-- from page 61

Auschwitz, as the title implies, tackles some serious subject matter - that is, the Nazi-run Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland during WWII (the site was responsible for over one million killings of those persons simply deemed 'undesirable' to the Third Reich) - but while the author's intention was certainly noble I thought that the resulting book was disappointing. It was a disjointed read, confusing in its terse storyline and the illustration style (with the involved either attired in prisoner garb or military uniforms - that, plus the barren grey and white color scheme - making it difficult to differentiate characters) and with a rushed feeling to it. Like other reviewers who gave it a less than positive rating & review I also feel bad for doing so, but if this was meant primarily for a teen / young adult audience I think it will leave them perplexed unless they happen to be already very well-read. As for adults, I see their opinions widely vary just by what is listed on the GR site.

[Greta G · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author knows his subject but chose to change some details for the sake of his art. That's a strange decision because on the other hand, he wanted the fictionalized story to be as realistic and historically correct as possible.

The story he told, didn't resonate with me, despite of the subject matter. Maybe I already read too much about it.

In comparison with Maus, it fails, that's for sure.

[Addison · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. When will you give us the ability to rate using half stars? C'mon, Goodreads. Get your shit together.

I'd like to begin this by admitting that not being blown away by this graphic novel makes me feel like such a dick. You know what I mean? I feel like I'm instantly a shitty person for criticizing something based on interviews with Holocaust survivors but at the same time, I don't believe we should hand out free passes just because a book deals with a certain subject. (And now I sound like a dick.) Let me try to break it down.

The Art. This is a graphic novel, so let's start with the most obvious; the art is really fantastic. I'm a sucker for black and white in the first place and this is a great example. Certain panels really did get to me, especially the ones dealing with a casual murder of a child in the first few pages and the gas chambers. The art style definitely suits the story and the grim atmosphere of Auschwitz.

The Story? The story completely failed to grab me though. The book is so short and everything happens so quickly that you have no chance to get a feel for the characters and they all barely seem to react to the things happening around them. It makes this whole thing seem...exploitative almost, if that makes sense. The violence of the Holocaust is certainly there but there no emotion attached to it. You see people gassed to death and shot and starved and taken from their families and swallowing cyanide and there's just nothing but a few sparse lines of dialogue. Everything being written in such a detached way is frustrating and almost dismissive and honestly kind of icky!

I'm not sure if I would recommend this one, honestly. Great art does not make a graphic novel, you gotta have something in there to back it up. I'm not certain what age group this novel is aimed at. Too violent for children yet unable to stand up to much more powerful novels about World War II aimed at an older generation.

If it catches your eye, read it but don't expect a powerful, emotional journey.

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how much I study the Holocaust and the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, it still feels almost surreal, like a nightmare too terrible to have actually happened. Even though I understand the depths of human evil, I’m left speechless by the Nazis' cold, calculated approach to mass murder. The scale and efficiency of their brutality is horrifyingly impressive, though in the darkest way possible.

That being said, I expected more from this graphic novel. The four-star rating I’m giving it is almost entirely due to the significance of its message, not the quality of its storytelling.

The illustrations are decent and visually engaging, but the plot is disappointingly weak. There are far better ways to craft a compelling narrative about such a significant subject.

So, while you shouldn’t expect much in terms of story, the message this graphic novel carries is vital. We must never forget this dark chapter in human history. Ever.

[Rita Araújo · Rating 4 out of 5]

5* para a arte que para mim é fantástica (desenhos a preto e branco muito realistas).

3* para o texto.

“Aqui entra-se pela porta e sai-se pela chaminé”

“Porque depois de Auschwitz ainda existem homens para matar outros homens, é de esperar outros crimes contra a humanidade.”

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Uma novela gráfica em que peguei sem saber ao que iria. Evidentemente que o seu nome é explícito, mas nunca tinha ouvido falar desta obra de Pascal Croci.

Como não podia deixar de ser, é uma história imensamente dura, inspirada nos testemunhos de sobreviventes do Campo de Extremínio Auschwitz-Birkenau. Não penso que seja "mais um livro" sobre esta temática, pelo simples facto de termos acesso ao Dossier do Álbum, em que são respondidas diversas perguntas relacionadas com o processo de escrita e o background desta história.

Sem revelar muito, a primeira página começa com «No começo dos tempos, os cristãos tinham declarado “Vocês não podem viver entre nós como Judeus”. (...) Na alta idade média, os chefes seculares decidiram “Vocês não podem viver mais entre nós”. (...) Por fim, os Nazis decretaram: “Vocês não podem viver mais”.

Vi logo que viria uma leitura ainda mais pesada que aquilo que estava habituada. Usando como ponto de partida a história de um casal sobrevivente, é então mostrada a barbaridade e o horror sentidos nestes campos.

Há uma cena que me chocou e para sempre terei guardada no meu coração. Não é uma leitura para os mais sensíveis. Mas é preciso recordar este momento da história para que nunca se volte a repetir.

Confesso que não é o meu estilo de arte favorito, já devem ter percebido que por norma gosto de ilustrações mais fofinhas 🤭 e infelizmente para mim isso foi uma condicionante na condução e compreensão da história. Quer isto dizer que: tratando-se de um traço a preto e branco, existem certas personagens que não são bem percetíveis, acabando por ser difícil distingui-las logo à partida.

[Katie Cruel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh God the inaccuracies.

You can't just watch "Schindler's List" and use that as your historical research basis. You just can't. Because although it's a great movie, it's just that, *a movie.*

Jarringly notable things I noticed were incorrect uniforms for both the guards/the prisoners and the inaccurate attribution of a photograph from the Babi Yar massacre to something that happened in Auschwitz. Seriously?

I'd also like to point out that in the entire history of the camp, there's only one documented occurrence of someone surviving the gas chambers. And they were shot shortly after. This book seems to be under the impression having a few people survive each gassing was business as usual.

I understand the artist/writer is under the impression this is his own artistic piece and accuracy doesn't matter as much as appeal/beauty/service to the plot, but it does when you pick such a sensitive subject under the guise of being accurate.

Also: melodrama galore. I never thought it'd even be possible to make a story about Auschwitz melodramatic, but here it is. It's clear this guy didn't have an editor.

[Holland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pascal art work is thrilling and alluring, which is why I grabbed it off the shelf to admire and read.

Taking the art out of the picture, the story was fast, confusing and weak for such a dark time.
You can’t help but compare it to Mous(which I do recommend!) it’s important to study the holocaust, this isn’t a good source to use.

Pascal is an artist, but he isn’t a writer I’m sorry to say. With all his interviews from survivors he had good sources however, blotched it by using WW2 fictional movies as references(although I’m sure he had history books too).
Not recommended.

P.S. it’s hard to critique a story from a dark part of history and say it’s a terrible read.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estoy dudando entre las 2.5 o 3 estrellas, porque a pesar de ser una historia fuerte y en un escenario tan macabro como Auschwitz no llegar a emocionar del todo y siento que el autor podría haber aprovechado de mejor manera la historia, hacerla más profunda.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars. I just really didn't like this book. I picked it up on a whim at the library and I am very glad I didn't spend any money on it. The story was confusing and disjointed, and the author claimed in the notes that there were never any revolts in Auschwitz, because the poor Jews were just unequipped to fight back, which is just not true.

[Abi Pellinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very harrowing drawings and the link made to former Yugoslavia was one I wasn't expecting but which makes sense and is something surprisingly personal to my family. Glad I got this out of the library on a whim

I picked this graphic novel up on a whim, I’d found it in my University library randomly and of course had to pick up the WWII book. But I’m so glad I did, as this was a hard hitter.

There are two main parts to any graphic novel: the writing and the art. This one hits hard on both levels. The writing obviously hits hard from the subject matter, but the author does even more with it by linking it to the atrocities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the genocide that happened there. I was aware of this horrendous part of history, but I didn’t (and still don’t) know as much about this period of history as I do WII, and I was also completely unaware that those who were persecuted by the Nazi’s ran the risk of being caught up and murdered in the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The art style leaves the characters gaunt, with deep shadows under their eyes. Which obviously is a common presence in those captured in these horrific camps, however, he manages to do something with it that makes it even more personal and even more upsetting. It felt slightly too real by the time I finished and with a topic like this, honestly, that’s what you need.

This should never have happened again. But it did, only a few years later. It left people living in terror and leading lives no-one should have to cope with. And reading this graphic novel will start to give you the most minute sense of what these individuals had to survive.

From my blog: autumnofpellinor.wordpress.com

[Dolceluna ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dopo Maus di Art Spiegelmann, un altro graphic novel che mostra tutto l'orrore dei campi di sterminio nazisti. La storia, nata da anni ed anni di interviste dell'autore a superstiti dell'Olocausto, si apre in realtà nella Belgrado degli annni '90, dove un'anziana coppia di ebrei, prima di essere uccisa dalle milizie di Milosevic, in un balenare d'immagini, rivive l'atroce 1944, quando fu appunto arrestata e rinchiusa nel campo di sterminio di Auschwitz-Birkenau. Il graphic novel di Croci impressiona e impaurisce, non solo per la tragica vicenda mostrata, ma anche e sopratutto per le atmosfere plumbee che le fanno da contorno e per i tratti dei personaggi, rappresentati tutti con occhi enormi, bestiali e spesso privi di pupille quelli degli aguzzini, animaleschi e sgomenti quelli dei progionieri, capaci alla perfezione di dipingere Auschwitz come il posto demoniaco e infernale quale era. Un graffio all'anima, doloroso e inquietante.

[Sarah Couture · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je n'ai pas aimé cette bande-dessinée.

J'ai eu de la difficulté à suivre le fil conducteur de cette histoire. Les illustrations vont de paire avec le type d'histoire. Elles sont faites au crayon et elles sont en noir et blanc.

[Ximena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy acorde a los hechos históricos 👌🏻

[Jeremy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a young age I've always had an interest in the holocaust, which that statement might seem morbid or wrong,but my interest comes from the psychological point of view. I probably finished this book within the first hour of opening it, due to various reasons, such as the authors rendition of the Nazis, and turns on a light on how concentration camps were actually ran. I feel its common for one to ask a survivor " How did you survive?" which places there fate inside the hands of the Nazi, which in this novel have demon like , and somewhat scary facial features, but I believe the true question should be " What did you do to survive?'. The novel shows that many of the captured Jews would take many jobs around the camp, such as keeping other inmates on task, removing the gold from their teeth, cleaning out the gas chambers, serving meals, all just to keep them alive just a little bit longer. This being the main reason why I really enjoyed this novel, I believe that it is a common perception that the Nazis ran everything in the camp, but really the distrubted many of the unpleasent jobs to their prisoners, causing them to " go against" there fellow people. I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in one of the biggest deviants to societal values in the worlds history.

[Bren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para que los millones de víctimas del nazismo jamás sean olvidados...

Éste es el primer cómic realista sobre la Shoah, un relato conmovedor inspirado directamente en testimonios de supervivientes del campo de concentración de Auschwitz-Birkenau, que narra el día a día en aquel recinto de exterminio. El autor no trata de asumir la "Solución Definitiva"ni de desarrollar tesis históricas, aunque sí desea sensibilizar a las nuevas generaciones acerca del deber del ejercicio de la memoria.

Ganadora de varios premios esta novela gráfica es absolutamente desgarradora tanto como bien hecha, dura, en lo que ofrece tanto en historia como en sus imágenes, si bien, no es el primer libro que leo sobre el tema, si lo es en este formato, que no es común que se utilice para este tipo de historias.

Recomendable lo es por supuesto, tanto por su valor narrativo, su historia y su gráficos.

Para no olvidar dice Coci, pero desgraciadamente como humanidad hemos olvidado y el mensaje que deja al final es desgarrador, ¿se puede perdonar? ¿se debe perdonar?

Un trabajo artístico increíble y una historia desgarradora como todas las que se cuentan sobre este tema

[Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
A diferencia de Maus, el tratamiento que le da Croci a sus viñetas es muchísimo menos simbólico que el trabajo de Spiegelman, tiene un realismo doloroso, apabullante, arrollador en la brevedad máxima.
Todo acompañado de tintes en blanco y negro que le dan un contexto artístico perfecto para transmitir lo sombrío de cada situación. Una obra de ficción excelente sobre la Shoah, sobre la barbarie humana, sobre la memoria.
El inicio es sublime, y el final lo remata con un mensaje de impotencia bajo los labios de una niña sobreviviente que no podría más que acongojar casi hasta el llanto.

"¿Porqué hacen esto?"
-Por ODIO
"¿Y no pueden odiarnos en paz?

[Sandra_CreaBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Percutant, choquant et émouvant. Une fenêtre ouverte sur la vie à Auschwitz.

[Dustyloup · Rating 4 out of 5]

In English below.

Quel bd noir - oui, bien sur vue le sujet- il n'y avais aucun rayon de soleil dans le dessin ou les mots. Tant que américaine j'aime bien l'idée d'une graine d'espoir que pousse malgré la tragédie - mais les seules graines était les cendres qui tombaient comme la neige. Pas émouvants ; simplement tristes.

What a dark graphic novel! Yes, of course it would be based on the subject. Still, there were no glimmers of hope in this book - neither in the drawings nor the words. As an American I suppose I am a sucker for the idea that little seeds of hope can grow even during the darkest days but there was no fertile ground here, just ashes falling from the sky like snow. Not a moving story, simply sad. Despite this I'm still giving it a strong rating as it was engaging.

[Nick Ragust · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was very interesting to follow the story of some Jewish people during their struggles in Auschwitz, which is very surreal because the artwork matched my memory of what it looked like when I saw it. The story follows a couple characters in the final days as the camp is about to be liberated by the Americans, but (spoilers) it was too little too late for this unfortunate family who ends up dead due to their resilience. I recommend this to anyone who wants to see more of what daily life was like for the people who had to endure the pain and misery of a concentration camp, Auschwitz in particular.

[Josh Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kazik and Cessia take me on a journey through the hard times of Auschwitz. Grippingly sad when the loss of there daughter pushes them to a breaking point. Barely surviving themselves this was a decently well book and it can be harsh to think about that reality was actually like that for both of them and any Jew in the holocaust. The chilling grip of this book was how there was no color in the illurstarations it gives you that depressed and desperate feel for the genral tone of the book. All and all it was a decent book due to it's story and it's general tone from the illurstartions.

[Alyse Liebovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to say that you "liked" a book of this sort. Croci doesn't hold back with his often violent depictions/illustrations of the terror at Auschwitz. It's gut-twisting to look at, and I found myself, at times, only focusing on the text bubbles and only glossing over the illustrations. The interview at the end [with Croci], which includes excerpts of letters from survivors interviewed for the fictional depiction, was interesting and eye-opening.

[Tony Cafiso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Auschwitz is a story about a Jewish family trying to survive the extermination camp, Auschwitz. It follows them from the point that they enter the camp until they are on their way to the gas chamber, when their camp is liberated. I thought the art in this book was very interesting. It was all drawn in pencil black and white, but it didn't lose its effect because of it. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested by the stories of the Nazis.

[Tyler]

I can't say that i "liked" this book but I did. Like the things that happen in it aren't things that the healthy human mind should like. Croci is brutal on what he desires the reader to see and imagine. The story follows a couple of fictional characters named Kazik and Cessia who lose a daughter at the camp (Auschwitz.) It tells their story and what they must do to survive. I would recommend this to everyone that wants to read or likes books/comics about the Holocaust.

[Darnia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the people already knew about the holocaust in any version, so I only focus to the art. I love the shading, even the people expressions were creepy enough (I have to compared with another Croci's work such as Dracula: Le Mythe Raconté Par Bram Stoker because some of 'em reminded me to those characters). The way Croci played the light in his art were amazing!

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This does a decent job and the bracketing story with Bosnia is a helpful reminder of why this subject needs to be studied. However with a class if I had to choose a graphic novel for the Holocaust, I'd stick with Maus.

[Anthony Amorelli]

This was a pretty good book on the perspective of the inmates of auschwitz. It showed how they feel about what's going on and what they try to do about it. The artwork was very cool and also helped tell the story more.

[Aj]

I thought this book was really good. It is sad that it is true as to what happened but it was well written. I defiantly would recommend this to anyone who is into history and wants to know anything more about Auschwitz or any other WW2 stories.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was somewhat disappointed. The story felt very rushed and it was confusing at times who was who. I wouldn't recommend it, really- there are better books about the Holocaust.

[Bucciali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy, as one would expect. Chilling drawings. Good, fictive, story