Anus Mundi: Fünf Jahre Auschwitz (Die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus – »Schwarze Reihe«)

by Wiesław Kielar

Ami ebben a pokoljárásban vonzó – különös, hát a borzalomnak is lehet bája? –, az maga a szerző személye, a vézna, szőke fiúé, aki öt esztendőt töltött a halál árnyékában. Tizenkilenc éves volt, amikor a 290-es számot kapta Auschwitzban, s az érkezéskor még azt kérdezte magától: „Auschwitz? Az ördög hallott róla. És milyen lehet egy koncentrációs tábor? Hamarosan megtudom.”

Ami azt illeti, alaposan megismerhette öt esztendő alatt. Megtanulta a túlélés művészetének minden „naprakész” csínját-bínját, a fogarany, a cigaretta, a krumpli csereértékét, illetve az emberélet értékének teljes semmibevételét.

És megismerte Kielar a halál minden fajtáját, mielőtt megismerhette volna a szerelmet, az életet. Alvilági útikalauz ez a fekete memoár; felsorol minden pokolbeli látnivalót, és mint minden jó útikalauz, végül a halál glosszáriumát is közli, azt a német társalgási nyelvet, amelyet rabok és rabtartók egyaránt beszéltek.

Az olvasót magával ragadja a szerző egyéni bája és egyéni látásmódja. S amit olyan sokszor elmondtunk már: a haláltáborok kora után született nemzedékek megismerhetik ebből a könyvből azt a világot, amely ugyan már távoli, de amelyről a haladó emberiség nem feledkezhetik meg soha.

Genres: History, Holocaust, Nonfiction, War, World War II, Biography, Polish Literature

644 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Ellie Midwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Anus Mundi” is one of those memoirs that are too vivid to be read just for research purposes. I tried to stay detached, but before long I was transported into the hellish world of Auschwitz where Mr. Kielar had to spend five excruciatingly long years and lived to tell the tale. His story is not for the weak-hearted. He doesn’t spare his reader and puts on paper all the pain, blood, and suffering, in all their vivid detail. In a dog-eat-dog world of an extermination camp, only the savviest, strongest, or the most unscrupulous survive and I couldn’t help but applaud the author for keeping his humanity in the conditions that drove many of his fellow sufferers to a near-animalistic state. But instead of succumbing to the Nazi-imposed hatred reigning freely around the camp, Mr. Kielar and his friends did their utmost to help each other survive. What I also appreciated was the fact that the author doesn’t portray himself as a hero; he admits on a few occasions that he acted like a coward, that he betrayed one of his barrack mates under torture and changed his mind about an escape plan he and his friend Edek Galinski had been entertaining for months. In the end, Edek and his beloved Mala were captured and hanged, and the survivor’s guilt is evident in Mr. Kielar’s prose. This memoir is as honest as they get and so remarkably well-written. Read it. It’s an eye-opening account of Auschwitz that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

[Dan Sifri · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I visited Poland a few years ago. In Kazimierz, the"Jewish Quarter" of Krakow (With no Jews alive there...) We came across a shop there – and got this book in German "Anus Mundi"- memoirs of Auschwitz so I bought it, This is in
Latin and means "asshole of the world"... It is not of course the first memoir I've read about Auschwitz, but I have always read books written by Jews. For me this book is unique in the sense that it was written by a Polish Christian. Wiesław Kielar a Polish that was arrested on charges of underground activity in Tarnow, and was immediately sent on a transport to Auschwitz. In fact he was among the first prisoners of that concentration camp. What's amazing is that after a long odyssey of hardships during and beyond, he did stay alive... I have to explain that the food rations the prisoners received were too small for an inmate to survive it! So having someone survived there for over a year was in itself a miracle. It also proved to me more accurately certain facts: Not only Jews were killed there ... It turns out that Auschwitz "selections" were for everyone... Prisoners who became "Moslems" (" walking skeletons" in the camp idiom) were sent directly to the gas-chambers and it really did not matter if they were Jewish, Polish Christians or any other nationals... Sometimes whole patients in the hospital ward of the camp were sent to the crematorium and there was no difference whoever they were…
Russian prisoners of war were also killed in various ways.... And if I'm talking about "different ways" This are not just gas chambers… According to the book "patients" and others were often murdered by injecting " Phenol injections ", and also the "old methods" of gunshots... But one can say that systematic starvation of all prisoners was ultimately also one way of indirect murder.
Auschwitz described here as a Hell, "another planet," ordinary human laws were not applied there. Only the strongest, criminals, and resourceful survive it
Wiesław Kielar "touched death" a few times and the fact that he survived the camp, and later his deportation to Germany in terrible conditions, is no less than a miracle. This is an excellent book! It could be obtain in English too ... I highly recommend it!

[Nick Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I suppose I needed to be kicked in the head by a book today. Tonight'll be full of nightmares and I doubt I'll smile before I sleep. Raw and absent the lyricism of Primo Levi, Kielar had a perfect title here; a leitmotif of excrement pervades a text made all the more powerful by its simple, pithy language and chapters of only handfuls of pages. Levi's writings always have a hint of hope, and can be returned to over and over again; Anus Mundi is a dirty thing, an ex-library hardback that felt diseased and soft in my hands.

btw: argh, shelf additions 1100+ books into goodreads offer a piercing dialectic. I must mark these 1,500 days with "important", yet now all the other books are rendered less so. Maddening! The importance of a sensible and general ontology ought be emphasized early on in the GoodReads experience (froth).
------------------
Amazon third-party 2009-04-08. Mentioned in The New Republic's review of The Kindly Ones.

[Lene Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book Ive ever read made such an impression on me when reading it for the first time as a teenager I have read it at least 14 times and I could read it again tomorrow :)

[Marquise · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best memoirs by an Auschwitz survivor, told in a spare, no frills, and unsentimental style that meshes perfectly with the stark horror of the experiences Kielar narrates. He doesn't judge, he offers no commentary, he doesn't tell you what to see or not see; he tells you about the concentration camp and its inmates as it was, and leaves you to process the knowledge you got from his testimony. And it's a very powerful testimony that he provides.

[Mădă · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆

[Stefano · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'ho letteralmente divorato.
Uno dei resoconti sui campi di concentramento più brutali che abbia letto, nella sua onestà. Credo che possa essere messo alla pari di altri grandi resoconti dell'olocausto, come Comandante ad Auschwitz. Dove quest'ultimo mostra la scintillante e asettica crudeltà nazista fatta di numeri, Anus Mundi esemplifica la cruda realtà del fango e della morte fatta di vite. Una visione (per i due insieme) completa di quello che è stata quell'esperienza, letteralmente l'ano del modo.
Sono convinto che andrebbero letti nelle scuole più di quanto venga fatto con altri (senza nulla togliere) grandi resoconti dell'olocausto, magari più iconici ma non altrettanto "puri". Per questo mi sono stupito di vedere che nel catalogo delle biblioteche della mia provincia ne sia presente una sola copia.
Lo consiglio vivamente.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve been to Auschwitz, it’s hard to imagine that people actually were living there. The place is so inhospitable and hostile... we will never understand it. But we can remember it. We must remember it. So that it never happens again. And this memoir is really well written, I caught myself wondering if our narrator will survive; I completely forgot that he wrote this once he was finally free.

[Héring Hanna]

Eddig ez a kedvenc könyvem a holokausztos könyveim közül. Minden tiszteletem Wiesław Kielarnak. Attól, hogy az író eléggé durva dolgokat ír le, annyira hétköznapian teszi ezt, hogy a tábor "megszokott" mindennapjait teljesen normálisan éled meg, pedig ezek mind egyáltalán nem normálisak. Újra meghozta a kedvemet ahhoz, hogy mégegyszer elmenjek Auschwitzba Ez a könyv egyszerűen csak nagyon jó. :) <3

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literal account of his horrifying experiences in the concentration- and death camp Auschwitz; from the early period in 'Stammlager' Auschwitz I and the killing of soviet POW's, the all day long executions at Block 11, to the apex of massive outright destruction of up to half a million hungarian Jews in a matter of 7-8 weeks (from mid May to beginning of July 1944); he was there, and he makes you a witness.

[Gabriela Pistol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am completely overwhemed by this book that kept me breathless. Of course we all know the general story of Shoah and Auschwitz - Birkenau, but the individual story of this Polish young man, told without sentimentalism and even with self-deprecating remarks is the best kind of reality check one can experience.
The most important episode, to me, was at the end of the book, where the narrator returns the things he had taken from the very young German prisoner, in remorse for having hit him. I hope it is what really happened, because this is the best answer to Primo Levi's question: yes, this is still a man.

P.S. I am disappointed by all those who read the book and assumed Wieslaw Kielar was Jewish. It really doesn't matter what ethnic group he belongs to, but I find it shallow and ...well, stupid to not look for information about a man who survived such a terrible unhuman journey and gave us this incredible story of courage and resilience.

[Chiorean Maria-Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dacă ar trebui să aleg cele mai marcante cărţi pe care le-am citit, cu siguranţă cea de faţă ar fii în capul listei.
Chiar dacă greoaie, cu numeroase descrieri sângeroase şi dure, a fost una din cărţile pe care îmi venea greu să le las din mână.
Cu siguranţă, ceva inedit a fost descrierea la persoana I a drumului prin iad a evreului cu numărul 290 care în 1945 a reuşit să scape odată cu venirea americanilor...
Fie, sunt aspre încercările prin care se chinuiau evadeze, sau chiar să găsească un loc mai lipsit de primejdii pentru muncă.

Oricum, o carte extraordinară care descrie prin ochii unui singur evreu, suferinţa unui neam.

[Wolfe Tone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best book I've read on the holocaust. Not as philosophical or humane as Primo Levi, not poetic either. Just cold, hard truths from a man who was among the first to arrive in Auschwitz, and the last to leave. This story focusses simply on the life and death of Kielar himself and his fellow prissoners. The title is aptly chosen since a lot of the story deals with food, blood and excrements. The raw truth of the Shoah. A brutal read.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing.

[Becs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a man who found himself to be one of the first to enter, and one of the last (and few) to leave Auschwitz. What I really appreciated about this story was that, whilst essentially a first-hand account of life in Auschwitz, it's largely removed from emotion. The narrative voice is a factual account of an eye-witness rather than how this affected him personally, emotionally and psychologically - which is quite a different approach to some of the more recently published (fact based, but essentially fictitious) novels.

The story happens over a large span of time, and details every facet you can imagine - many of which you have a greater understanding of if you have seen what remains of the complex even now. It's hard to understand, particularly if you have visited this dreadful place, how anyone managed to survive the absurdly low temperatures, relative lack of clothing shelter or food and the unimaginable cruelty, mal-nourishment and torment subjected to the prisoners. But this man did. Equally, it's interesting to read about some of the things people would do to survive, which perhaps made them feel less than human, but were necessary. I can't imagine watching my friends die for their actions, even the smallest "infractions", or standing in a cell with three other men or a corpse for days on end. I can't imagine being covered in itching, nasty lice and trying to negotiate my way through each day to make sure I live to see the next. But this man did. I definitely can't fathom how I would have coped carrying the corpses of the dead, or watching people walk to their deaths through the lethal injection I knew was coming or the gas chamber I knew existed. But this book is so in depth, so very detailed, that it's difficult not to feel like you were there.

I've read quite a few books of this nature now, and whilst I think this story is more challenging to persist with because of the detail (I needed a lot of breaks to keep going, it was so intense), I think it's probably the most honest representation - and was in fact recommended to me on a tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex, and for good reason.

Difficult to come by because of the publication date now, but worth trying to buy a copy if you can.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine verstörende Lektüre. 400 Seiten emotionale Achterbahnfahrt. Ein polnischer Widerstandskämpfer katholischen Glaubens überlebt das mörderische Regime im Lager Auschwitz mit Chuzpe, Glück und einem Netzwerk von polnischen Leidensgenossen in privilegierten Positionen. Ist seine Hölle eine Parallelhölle zu der der jüdischen Deportierten oder hat er sich über die Jahre in wechselnden Nischen in der Hölle der Juden einrichten können?
Primo Levi, Ruth Klüger und Imre Kertesz sind mir näher. Und dennoch habe ich meine anfängliche Abneigung gegen den Autor irgendwann nach dem ersten Drittel des Buches aufgegeben und bin ihm dann bis zum 8. Mai 1945 gefolgt. Kielars Leidensgeschichte berührt. Seine Reduzierung der jungen Frauen, die seinen Weg in Auschwitz kreuzten, auf Äußerlichkeiten, ist schwer zu ertragen. Mala Zimetbaum, anderswo als Heldin gefeiert, kommt bei ihm nicht besonders gut weg.

[Riet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik vond dit boek in het Italiaans op mijn e-reader. Het is al in de 70er jaren geschreven en is er vast ook wel in het Nederlands of Engels. De schrijver wordt als jonge jongen door de Nazi's opgepakt en komt als een van de eerste gevangenen in Auschwitz terecht. Hij blijft daar en aan het eind in een ander kamp tot aan het eind van de oorlog. Het is natuurlijk een gruwelijk verhaal. Polen hadden heel wat meer kans om te overleven dan de Joodse kampbewoners. Maar daarvoor moest je dan wel slim zijn en alle kansen benutten. Kielar beschrijft alles goed. Hij komt er levend uit en is later cineaste gworden, als ik het goed heb.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Onderhoudende getuigenis van een gevangene die vanaf de eerste lichting Auschwitz meemaakte. Zijn verhaal is shoquerend en rauw, haast niet voor te stellen als waarheid, en tegelijkertijd kun je aan de nuchtere (en soms zelfs laconieke of enigzins komische) wijze waarop deze man de verhandelingen uit het kamp overbrengt zien hoe zijn overlevingsdrang met de verschrikkingen omging. Hoe bijvoorbeeld een pasgebakken brood, verstopt onder een deken waar ook lijken mee worden toegedekt, zonder moeite en met veel smaak wordt opgegeten. De beste overlevende is degene die zich het makkelijkst aanpassen kan aan de omstandigheden.

[Natalia Lekki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeśli przyjmiemy że każdy w życiu powinien przeczytać jedną książkę z literatury obozowej to niech to będzie ta a nie jedna z wydawanych ciągiem ostatnimi laty ".... z Auschwitz" które mało mają wspólnego z realiami życia a więcej z fikcją.

"W obozie życie toczyło się normalnie. Normalnie to znaczy jak zwykle, większość ciężko pracowała, stale narażona na szykany, bicie, selekcje, gazowanie, rozstrzeliwanie, przesłuchiwanie na Politische, zdana na miskę zupy z brukwi czy pokrzyw i humory esesmanów, panów życia i śmierci tysięcy bezbronnych więźniów. "

[pężyrka]

Co za książka! Autor spisał praktycznie całą historię obozu. Opisał nie tylko różne funkcje, których się podejmował w trakcie swojego kilkuletniego pobytu, ale także to jak zmieniał się Auschwitz przez te lata.

Nie ma tu barwnych porównań, przenośni i głębokich przemyśleń. Dominuje prosty język, jednak to właśnie on sprawia, że te wszystkie okropne wydarzenia uderzają w nas jeszcze mocniej.

Myślę, że to obowiązkowa lektura dla wszystkich, nawet tych mniej zainteresowanych tematyką obozów.

[Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago, not in its entirety mind you. It always stayed with me and recently I repurposed it.
Surely it is the best book on Auschwitz I've ever read. Of course it's not the most famous. It's too raw, real, and the author doesn't take the reader by the nose and force his political or moral positions on him.
The book is an in your face window into the realities of Auschwitz. You'll have to pick it up and read it to understand more.

[Elise Van Kuijk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb dit boek geleend van een vriendin van me. In het begin kon ik er moeilijk inkomen door de spellingsfouten, verschillende Poolse namen en onduidelijke verhaallijn. Na enige tijd kwam ik toch in het verhaal.
Naar mijn idee is dit wel een boek waar je rustig de tijd voor moet nemen en niet in twee dagen kunt uitlezen.

[Hanna Rebecka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book amazing. I've read many books about the horrors of the concentration camps, but this one really entered my heart. It made me cry, and not for the tragedy, but for the humanity shown between friends. It contains many stories that I will treasure in a safe place.

[MagazindeCarte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un volum de memorii despre anii de detentie petrecuti de un polonez in lagarele germane si mai ales la Auschwitz.
O carte despre putina supravietuire si multa moarte, despre regimul bestial de la Auschwitz instituit de nazisti si agravat de detinutii deveniti sefi de bloc sau kapo.

[Keld Yding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading on a cruel history. A very fine and unpleasent insight to the KZ-camp-life during WWII.

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

- manchmal verwirrend erklärt
- ansonsten sehr gut lesbar
- beschreibt das harte Lagerleben mit einer Art stoischen Trockenheit an einigen Stellen

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't crazy about the style, but maybe that's the Hungarian translation's fault. A lot of the German text wasn't translated, so if you don't know at least basic German, then you're in trouble.

[Natasha Allday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could someone please fix this entry to include the English translation and image? https://www.amazon.com/Anus-Mundi-Fiv...

[Valentin Befu · Rating 5 out of 5]

!!!

[Susanne L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ehkä kronologisesti laajin Auschwitz-elämäkerta. Ekasta vankikuljetuksesta leirin tyhjennyskuljetuksiin ja ko. henkilön senjälkinen sinnetänne heittely. Auschwitz ja Birkenau olivat jatkuvassa muutoksessa koko sodan ajan ja tässä se näkyy hyvin.

Tuo hyvin esiin myös suhteiden merkityksen leirillä selviämisessä. Vanhoilla vangeilla oli tuttuja ja ymmärrystä leirin toiminnasta - ja he käyttivät sitä selviytyäkseen. Myöhemmin tulleilla tätä etua ei ollut.