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Escape from Auschwitz: I Cannot Forgive
Describes how Siegfried Lederer escaped from the concentration camp in Auschwitz with the aid of an SS guard
359 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
908 people are currently reading
12703 people want to read
About the author
Rudolf Vrba
27 books27 followersRudolf Vrba (born Walter Rosenberg) was a Slovak-Jewish biochemist who, as a teenager in 1942, was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. He became known for having escaped from the camp in April 1944, at the height of the Holocaust, and for having co-written a detailed report about the mass murder that was taking place there.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 481 reviews
January 15, 2021
I Escaped from Auschwitz: The Shocking Story of the World War II Hero who Escaped the Nazis and Helped Save Over 200,000 Jews was the autobiography of Rudolf Vrba. I listened to the audiobook on Overdrive that was read by Steven Jay Cohen. Rudolph Vrba survived Auschwitz and wrote this harrowing and deeply personal account of his life that showed him as a young boy who grew up in Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia, with his mother, his unsuccessful journey he took to try and escape the fate of being transported to a work camp and ultimately his arrival at Auschwitz. It was so hard to listen to many parts. Vrba sparred no details of the brutalities he witnessed, his outrage, and the many atrocities the Nazi SS carried out. Vrba arrived at Auschwitz when he was 17 years old in April 1942 and remained there until June 1944 when he successfully escaped. From early on, Vrba was determined to survive. If luck was at all possible at a place like Auschwitz, luck was on Vrba’s side in his work assignments and friends he met. Vrba always showed courage and determination. When Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, two Slovak prisoners at Auschwitz, miraculously escaped from Auschwitz, they had one thing on their mind. Their goal was to alert Jewish leaders about what atrocities were taking place behind the barbed wire fences of Auschwitz and to save hundred of thousands Hungarian Jews from being deported only to face the act of being gassed to death. Vrba’s accounts were the first to reach world leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt and even the Pope. He was able to let the world know what was actually taking place at Auschwitz and put a stop to it.
I Escaped from Auschwitz was a gut wrenching, emotional and honest account of one man’s survival and escape from the horrific atrocities of Auschwitz. Vrba showed such courage and bravery to get his message and accounts into the hands of people who were able to help stop the senseless murders of the Jewish people. The facts that Vrba included in his book were not easy to listen to or read but they were necessary to ensure that we never forget the 6 million that perished at the hands of the Nazis. I Escaped from Auschwitz was a very well written book that should be read. I highly recommend this book.
I Escaped from Auschwitz was a gut wrenching, emotional and honest account of one man’s survival and escape from the horrific atrocities of Auschwitz. Vrba showed such courage and bravery to get his message and accounts into the hands of people who were able to help stop the senseless murders of the Jewish people. The facts that Vrba included in his book were not easy to listen to or read but they were necessary to ensure that we never forget the 6 million that perished at the hands of the Nazis. I Escaped from Auschwitz was a very well written book that should be read. I highly recommend this book.
September 28, 2021
Rudolf Vrba kam 1942 als 17-Jähriger nach Auschwitz, bis ihm im April 1944 die Flucht gelang. In diesem Buch berichtet er über seine Erlebnisse dort und die Greueltaten des Holocaust.
Es ist egal, wie viel man bereits über den Holocaust gehört oder gelesen hat, jeder Bericht ist aufs Neue wieder schockierend! Ich musste dieses Buch immer wieder pausieren, weil es einfach so erschreckend war, über die Ereignisse damals zu lesen.
Packender als jeder Thriller, emotionaler als der kitschigste Liebesroman.
Die Geschichte ist mir unter die Haut gegangen, hat mich beeindruckt. Ich werde sicher noch lange daran denken.
Es ist egal, wie viel man bereits über den Holocaust gehört oder gelesen hat, jeder Bericht ist aufs Neue wieder schockierend! Ich musste dieses Buch immer wieder pausieren, weil es einfach so erschreckend war, über die Ereignisse damals zu lesen.
Packender als jeder Thriller, emotionaler als der kitschigste Liebesroman.
Die Geschichte ist mir unter die Haut gegangen, hat mich beeindruckt. Ich werde sicher noch lange daran denken.
March 15, 2014
I have read many books on the holocaust. If I had to recommend one, it would be this one for several reasons.
1) It is very well written. Not every holocaust survivor is an author, so some books are not very well written. This one is.
2) Vrba has been in Auschwitz for close to two years and has performed very different roles and tasks. He has lived in the main camp, and in Birkenau. He has been part of different commandos. So we get a very good view on many different parts of the camp.
3) Vrba has escaped Auschwitz, which is very rare. So for that reason alone it's an interesting testimony.
4) The Vrba-Weltzer report is published in this book, along with some other interesting reads in the appendixes.
5) We get a clear view on the morbid role Jewish leaders, the Vaada and people like Kaszner have played. Instead of publishing and broadcasting the Vrba report to prevent hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews from being deported to Auschwitz, they found it necessary to try and cut a deal with Himmler to save people close to themselves.
I would place this book next to Ludo Van Eck's "Het Boek der Kampen", though the latter is more factual and doesn't read like a novel.
1) It is very well written. Not every holocaust survivor is an author, so some books are not very well written. This one is.
2) Vrba has been in Auschwitz for close to two years and has performed very different roles and tasks. He has lived in the main camp, and in Birkenau. He has been part of different commandos. So we get a very good view on many different parts of the camp.
3) Vrba has escaped Auschwitz, which is very rare. So for that reason alone it's an interesting testimony.
4) The Vrba-Weltzer report is published in this book, along with some other interesting reads in the appendixes.
5) We get a clear view on the morbid role Jewish leaders, the Vaada and people like Kaszner have played. Instead of publishing and broadcasting the Vrba report to prevent hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews from being deported to Auschwitz, they found it necessary to try and cut a deal with Himmler to save people close to themselves.
I would place this book next to Ludo Van Eck's "Het Boek der Kampen", though the latter is more factual and doesn't read like a novel.
April 17, 2012
This book was an interesting and tantalizing read. As i went to Poland to visit Auschwitz half way through reading this book it painted me am impeccable image of what the living conditions and the over all life of a prisoner was like in a concentration camp. And gave another side of the catastrophe as he escaped. I could hardly put this book down and i think it is even more special that it was written by a man who had experienced first hand what the dreaded Auschwitz was really like.
October 29, 2022
Zut, zut.. Ik weet natuurlijk veel beter, maar toch bleef ik ergens hopen... dat dit fictie is,
NIET dus!!
NIET dus!!
March 29, 2025
Even when you think you know the rough history of Auschwitz, this is still likely an eye-opener in terms of a vivid description of the horror and evil. Not to try gross anybody out, but who would’ve thought sleeping in an upper bunk is such a big deal (what having connection in the camp can buy you): dysentery is a common problem for inmates.
October 23, 2010
This is an amazing story, both for it's pure memoir qualities in telling the author's history, but also in the historical impact his escape could have had and eventually did have.
The author's main goal, once away from the infamous death camp, was to make sure the world was made aware of what was happening in Poland, to ensure that the over 1 million potential victims in Hungary did not suffer the fate of the millions of innocents who had already perished. He and the friend he escaped with provided incredible amounts of factual, quantitative information of exactly what had already occurred.
The fact that politician decided to *not* share this information with the Hungarian Jewish population in time only make the story more powerful.
Well written, filled with both sincere emotion and objective observation, Rudolf Vrba's story is one that is a must read for anyone interested in the subject.
The author's main goal, once away from the infamous death camp, was to make sure the world was made aware of what was happening in Poland, to ensure that the over 1 million potential victims in Hungary did not suffer the fate of the millions of innocents who had already perished. He and the friend he escaped with provided incredible amounts of factual, quantitative information of exactly what had already occurred.
The fact that politician decided to *not* share this information with the Hungarian Jewish population in time only make the story more powerful.
Well written, filled with both sincere emotion and objective observation, Rudolf Vrba's story is one that is a must read for anyone interested in the subject.
October 5, 2020
In his memoir, Rudolf Vrba recounts a horrific story of his incarceration and eventual escape from the extermination camp Auschwitz and the consequences his report had on the so-called Hungarian Aktion. It’s definitely not for the faint of the heart. Vrba conceals nothing when he talks about his own experiences and experiences his fellow inmates had to go through. Savage beatings, the brutality of the Kapos, rare sympathetic SS guards (one of which actually did help one of the inmates escape with his brave action), the comradery and the betrayals - it all comes alive before one’s eyes with the most gut-wrenching honesty. In the dog-eat-dog world of Auschwitz, a young boy was forced to grow into a man under the most savage conditions and I couldn’t help but applaud his integrity, bravery, and desire to save others from the fate that millions of the perished had already shared. Unlike many others, Vrba didn’t run just to get away; he ran with a sole objective - to prevent the Hungarian Jews from allowing themselves to be tricked into boarding the dreaded cattle trains and die in the Auschwitz gas chambers. Risking his own life and freedom, he made it to the Jewish leaders and presented them with a detailed report of what was going on behind the barbed wire cordon of the sinister extermination facility. You’ll have to read to find out what happened next; I’ll just say, this memoir is definitely a must-read for everyone, not only people interested in the history of the Holocaust. The inhumanity of people treating others as inferiors due to the color of their skin or nationality is very much alive and we have to educate ourselves to prevent history from repeating itself. Read this book. You won’t regret it.
March 25, 2018
I heard of Elie Wiesel and I heard of Primo Levi, both survivors and writers about the Holocaust, but why had I never heard of Rudolf Vrba? Not only did Vrba survive two years in Auschwitz and not only was he one of only a handful of inmates to escape from there, but Vrba and fellow escapee Alfred Wetzler, wrote the first detailed report in April 1944 of the horrific, factory-slaughter of Jews and others, taking place at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Not only I had never heard of Vrba, but I was unaware of the incredible Vrba-Wetzler Report, also known as the Auschwitz Protocol, which included the detailed numbering system of the transported populations of prisoners and realistic estimates of the numbers murdered. This book is a brisk account of Vrba's imprisonment, his escape, and the writing of the report. This edition has several appendices, including the report itself, further published commentary by Vrba, and a historian's view of the report. Vrba, this book, and this edition deserve to be widely known.
May 8, 2021
This is a remarkable story that needs to be heard whenever the world seems to be going crazy. Rudy was the first man who escaped from Auschwitz and lived to tell the tale. Unfortunately many people didn't want to believe him, but his eye-witness accounts of "The Canada stores" brought America into the second world war. After the war he became a Neuroscientist and taught at the University of British Columbia. I met Rudy in the coffee shop of Regent College bookstore in 1996 just as I was starting my career in publishing. It was one of the first books I reprinted, and Rudy wrote a new preface, which I typeset and appended to the Regent College Publishing edition. My life has never been the same since that encounter. I think it is because, unlike in the movies, it taught me that life has no soundtrack to tell you who the villains are and who the hero are. You might just be having coffee one day and then it turns out that the guy you're having with actually changed the course of human history.
May 24, 2021
I Escaped from Auschwitz by Rudolf Vrba
Rudolf Vrba was a real Mensch in every sense of the word. His experience in Auschwitz reads like a heart-pounding thriller, but his account is a true story of grit, determination, and integrity.
Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler carried out one of the most daring escapes from Auschwitz. They hid huddled in a stack of lumbar inside Auschwitz for three days, right under the SS guards and their dog's noses.
They also spent 15 harrowing days on the run from the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied Poland with no identity papers, no money, no food. They trekked through 85 miles of rugged terrain, moving only at night by the light of the moon, as armed patrols with dogs chased them.
Their ultimate goal after their escape was to warn the world about Germany's death factories so Jews would stop passively boarding trains that took them to be gassed and staved at camps. At that time the SS was preparing to deport 1 Million Hungarian Jews to their deaths at Auschwitz. To get the word out, they co-authored the infamous Vrba-Wetzler Report, which provided incontrovertible evidence of the Nazi’s mass extermination of Jews at death camps.
Before the Vrba-Wexler Report, Jewish leadership in Palestine was reluctant to press for military action because they were concerned that bombing the camps could kill more Jews, and they feared encouraging the misperception that World War II was a “Jewish war”. Antisemitism was a socially acceptable attitude in society and Jewish Leadership knew this all too well.
Excerpt from the Vrba–Wetzler Report:
The whole murder machinery of death camps worked because what happened at places like Auschwitz, Treblinka, Bełżec, Chelmo, etc... was a well-guarded secret. Jews from all over Europe were told they were going to be "resettled" into a new life.
Hungarian Jews are forced to line up for "selection" at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Judenrampe. Unbeknownst to them, more than 90% of them will be immediately killed in a nearby gas chamber.
After the Vrba-Wexler Report, Jewish leadership implored American officials to bomb Auschwitz. Yet the Americans denied the requests, citing several reasons: military resources couldn't be diverted because they were needed for non-Jewish Polish citizens; bombing Auschwitz might be ineffective, and bombing might provoke even more vindictive German action. The issue is still passionately debated to this day. The failure to bomb Auschwitz became synonymous with the world's indifference to Jewish genocide, Jewish suffering, and antisemitism.
Here are some fast facts about Auschwitz:
* More people died at Auschwitz than the combined number of British & American WWII losses.
* Over 1.5 million people, the vast majority of whom were Jews, were killed at Auschwitz.
* Nazi records show that up to 12,000 people were gassed on a daily basis in Auschwitz.
* 90% of the people deported to Auschwitz were killed immediately upon their arrival. Only 10% or less were selected for the backbreaking slave labor at the subcamps.
* The average life span of those selected to work as slave laborers in Auschwitz was 7 weeks.
* Auschwitz was both a concentration camp (KL) and an extermination camp.
* Auschwitz was a vast complex of 44 subcamps where inmates performed backbreaking slave labor, from dusk to dawn, with no breaks, no food, no water. Most died of exhaustion, collapsing when their emaciated, dehydrated bodies finally gave out.
* Auschwitz-Birkenau was Nazi Germany's largest concentration camp covering 472 acres surrounded by deadly electric fences.
* In just 3 years, 6 tons of gold were collected from Auschwitz victims and sent to the Berlin State Bank.
Rudolf Vrba was a real Mensch in every sense of the word. His experience in Auschwitz reads like a heart-pounding thriller, but his account is a true story of grit, determination, and integrity.
Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler carried out one of the most daring escapes from Auschwitz. They hid huddled in a stack of lumbar inside Auschwitz for three days, right under the SS guards and their dog's noses.
They also spent 15 harrowing days on the run from the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied Poland with no identity papers, no money, no food. They trekked through 85 miles of rugged terrain, moving only at night by the light of the moon, as armed patrols with dogs chased them.
Their ultimate goal after their escape was to warn the world about Germany's death factories so Jews would stop passively boarding trains that took them to be gassed and staved at camps. At that time the SS was preparing to deport 1 Million Hungarian Jews to their deaths at Auschwitz. To get the word out, they co-authored the infamous Vrba-Wetzler Report, which provided incontrovertible evidence of the Nazi’s mass extermination of Jews at death camps.
Before the Vrba-Wexler Report, Jewish leadership in Palestine was reluctant to press for military action because they were concerned that bombing the camps could kill more Jews, and they feared encouraging the misperception that World War II was a “Jewish war”. Antisemitism was a socially acceptable attitude in society and Jewish Leadership knew this all too well.
Excerpt from the Vrba–Wetzler Report:
“Prominent guests from Berlin were present at the inauguration of Auschwitz's first crematorium in March 1943. The "program" consisted of the gassing and burning of 8,000 Krakow Jews. The guests, both officers and civilians, were extremely satisfied with the results, and the special peep-hole fitted into the door of the gas chamber and was in constant use. They were lavish in their praise of this newly erected installation.”
The whole murder machinery of death camps worked because what happened at places like Auschwitz, Treblinka, Bełżec, Chelmo, etc... was a well-guarded secret. Jews from all over Europe were told they were going to be "resettled" into a new life.
Hungarian Jews are forced to line up for "selection" at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Judenrampe. Unbeknownst to them, more than 90% of them will be immediately killed in a nearby gas chamber.
After the Vrba-Wexler Report, Jewish leadership implored American officials to bomb Auschwitz. Yet the Americans denied the requests, citing several reasons: military resources couldn't be diverted because they were needed for non-Jewish Polish citizens; bombing Auschwitz might be ineffective, and bombing might provoke even more vindictive German action. The issue is still passionately debated to this day. The failure to bomb Auschwitz became synonymous with the world's indifference to Jewish genocide, Jewish suffering, and antisemitism.
Here are some fast facts about Auschwitz:
* More people died at Auschwitz than the combined number of British & American WWII losses.
* Over 1.5 million people, the vast majority of whom were Jews, were killed at Auschwitz.
* Nazi records show that up to 12,000 people were gassed on a daily basis in Auschwitz.
* 90% of the people deported to Auschwitz were killed immediately upon their arrival. Only 10% or less were selected for the backbreaking slave labor at the subcamps.
* The average life span of those selected to work as slave laborers in Auschwitz was 7 weeks.
* Auschwitz was both a concentration camp (KL) and an extermination camp.
* Auschwitz was a vast complex of 44 subcamps where inmates performed backbreaking slave labor, from dusk to dawn, with no breaks, no food, no water. Most died of exhaustion, collapsing when their emaciated, dehydrated bodies finally gave out.
* Auschwitz-Birkenau was Nazi Germany's largest concentration camp covering 472 acres surrounded by deadly electric fences.
* In just 3 years, 6 tons of gold were collected from Auschwitz victims and sent to the Berlin State Bank.
March 29, 2025
4.5 stars!!
I commend and have immense respect for survivors of the Holocaust telling their story. I can’t even begin to imagine living through that and then living it every time it’s talked about. This was an incredible account. It was so well told. The author has a way of bringing all the emotions out of the reader. Heartbreaking. Horrific. Despicable. Awful…just awful.
I commend and have immense respect for survivors of the Holocaust telling their story. I can’t even begin to imagine living through that and then living it every time it’s talked about. This was an incredible account. It was so well told. The author has a way of bringing all the emotions out of the reader. Heartbreaking. Horrific. Despicable. Awful…just awful.
June 13, 2022
5 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Na heel veel boeken gelezen te hebben over WO2, zowel fictie als non-fictie, dan heb je het idee dat je alles wel al eens gehoord hebt. Fout, elke getuigenis onthult nog meer gruwelijkheden.
In deze getuigenis van Rudolf Vrba is het als lezer bijna onmogelijk je voor te stellen waar deze man allemaal doorheen is gegaan. Ik wist zelf niet veel over de Slowaakse joden, in dit boek staat meer dan in andere boeken over de Oost- Europese landen en hun oorlogsverleden.
Rudolf Vrba beschrijft hoe hij opgepakt werd, hoe het transport verliep, zijn vele baantjes in Auschwitz, de epidemieën in het kamp, de mishandelingen, de dood die overal aanwezig was en het einde van miljoenen mensenlevens in de gaskamers en crematoria.
Zijn ontsnapping was te danken aan zijn intelligentie, zijn doorzettingsvermogen en een dosis geluk. Hij wou de wereld op de hoogte brengen van de uitroeiing en de massamoorden.
Het is een heel heftige getuigenis, heel rauw en gruwelijk maar het zou verplichte literatuur moeten zijn opdat deze misdaden nooit vergeten zullen worden. Opdat we de huidige wantoestanden een halt kunnen toeroepen. Opdat er in de toekomst nooit meer zulke onmenselijkheden zullen plaats vinden. We mogen helden als Rudolf Vrba nooit vergeten. Nu nog meer dan ooit!
Na heel veel boeken gelezen te hebben over WO2, zowel fictie als non-fictie, dan heb je het idee dat je alles wel al eens gehoord hebt. Fout, elke getuigenis onthult nog meer gruwelijkheden.
In deze getuigenis van Rudolf Vrba is het als lezer bijna onmogelijk je voor te stellen waar deze man allemaal doorheen is gegaan. Ik wist zelf niet veel over de Slowaakse joden, in dit boek staat meer dan in andere boeken over de Oost- Europese landen en hun oorlogsverleden.
Rudolf Vrba beschrijft hoe hij opgepakt werd, hoe het transport verliep, zijn vele baantjes in Auschwitz, de epidemieën in het kamp, de mishandelingen, de dood die overal aanwezig was en het einde van miljoenen mensenlevens in de gaskamers en crematoria.
Zijn ontsnapping was te danken aan zijn intelligentie, zijn doorzettingsvermogen en een dosis geluk. Hij wou de wereld op de hoogte brengen van de uitroeiing en de massamoorden.
Het is een heel heftige getuigenis, heel rauw en gruwelijk maar het zou verplichte literatuur moeten zijn opdat deze misdaden nooit vergeten zullen worden. Opdat we de huidige wantoestanden een halt kunnen toeroepen. Opdat er in de toekomst nooit meer zulke onmenselijkheden zullen plaats vinden. We mogen helden als Rudolf Vrba nooit vergeten. Nu nog meer dan ooit!
November 11, 2018
I have read a lot of stories about WO II, seen a lot of movies and visited Auschwitz myself. But this book let's you feel as if you are living there yourself. unbelievable heroic how Rudolf Vrba tells his story and saves so many lifes. Deffinately worth reading!
December 26, 2013
This is perhaps the most informative Holocaust narrative I have ever read.
December 4, 2010
**************************************SPOILERS*************************************************
"Arbeit Macht Frei" Work will make you free. As 17 year old Rudi Vrba got off a packed cattle car in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Rudi thought I can work hard then I will be free. Little did he know that he was entering one of the most horrific places on earth.
This is Vrba's account of what he faced and lived through as a Jewish teen during WWII. This book brought me to tears, at some points I wanted to scream at the pain and horror that any person who faced Auschwitz.
Vrba wrote through his 17 year old eyes. A boy who had to become a man. A Man who had to fight to survive. A man who wanted to save more from the horrific gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Faced daily with the threat of dying. Rudi had to be strong and his will to survive beyond any means. In his struggle all he could think of was to escape and warn others. He calculated that if the perscuted Jews rose and faught that the senseless murders would stop. Risking his own life, Rudi and his friend Wetzler. A struggle to get to safety both Vrba and Wetzler gave the accounts and numbers of those being murdered in cold blood in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Within the book not only is there the account of Vrba's escape but the Vrba-Wetzler report with the diagrams of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It includes the tattoo'd numbers on the prisioners of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Nations of which the Jews, Gypsi's, Russian POW, Ayrans and others captured by the Nazi's. Detailed numbers of the amount on the transports from each country.
When they Vrba and Wetzler completed their report it was to be sent to Hungry in order to save the lives of the Jews scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the distribution of the report. Hungrian Jewish leaders instead negotaited to save the lives of their famiy and close friends.
Thank goodness the report still made it to Britian, America, The Vatican and other influential Allies. Thought approximately 400,000 Hungrian Jews were tortured and murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau Thanks to Vrba and Wetzler the over a million scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau over 600,000 lives were spared and saved.
There has been a lot of controversy over the facts and the amount of people actually killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Vrba had a job at Auschwitz-Birkenau which gave him the upper hand in seeing just how many people were senslessly murdered. Between Vrba's account and Hoess, one of the head SS officers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the number both discussed was extremely similar.
The Nazi's knew what they were doing was srong, they tried to hide the evidence by burning their victims then using the ashes as fertilizer. We will never know exactly how many were murdered. How many families were wiped off the face of the earth beause of hate and prejudice.
An eloquently written account of the terrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Courage to escape and to warn other intended victims. A must read for anyone who is a history buff, or interested in WWII. Sad, and amazing. You will need a box of tissues. One of the best accounts of surviving Auschwitz that I have read.
"Arbeit Macht Frei" Work will make you free. As 17 year old Rudi Vrba got off a packed cattle car in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Rudi thought I can work hard then I will be free. Little did he know that he was entering one of the most horrific places on earth.
This is Vrba's account of what he faced and lived through as a Jewish teen during WWII. This book brought me to tears, at some points I wanted to scream at the pain and horror that any person who faced Auschwitz.
Vrba wrote through his 17 year old eyes. A boy who had to become a man. A Man who had to fight to survive. A man who wanted to save more from the horrific gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Faced daily with the threat of dying. Rudi had to be strong and his will to survive beyond any means. In his struggle all he could think of was to escape and warn others. He calculated that if the perscuted Jews rose and faught that the senseless murders would stop. Risking his own life, Rudi and his friend Wetzler. A struggle to get to safety both Vrba and Wetzler gave the accounts and numbers of those being murdered in cold blood in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Within the book not only is there the account of Vrba's escape but the Vrba-Wetzler report with the diagrams of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It includes the tattoo'd numbers on the prisioners of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Nations of which the Jews, Gypsi's, Russian POW, Ayrans and others captured by the Nazi's. Detailed numbers of the amount on the transports from each country.
When they Vrba and Wetzler completed their report it was to be sent to Hungry in order to save the lives of the Jews scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the distribution of the report. Hungrian Jewish leaders instead negotaited to save the lives of their famiy and close friends.
Thank goodness the report still made it to Britian, America, The Vatican and other influential Allies. Thought approximately 400,000 Hungrian Jews were tortured and murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau Thanks to Vrba and Wetzler the over a million scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau over 600,000 lives were spared and saved.
There has been a lot of controversy over the facts and the amount of people actually killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Vrba had a job at Auschwitz-Birkenau which gave him the upper hand in seeing just how many people were senslessly murdered. Between Vrba's account and Hoess, one of the head SS officers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the number both discussed was extremely similar.
The Nazi's knew what they were doing was srong, they tried to hide the evidence by burning their victims then using the ashes as fertilizer. We will never know exactly how many were murdered. How many families were wiped off the face of the earth beause of hate and prejudice.
An eloquently written account of the terrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Courage to escape and to warn other intended victims. A must read for anyone who is a history buff, or interested in WWII. Sad, and amazing. You will need a box of tissues. One of the best accounts of surviving Auschwitz that I have read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2014
Hmm. This is a difficult review to write. I gave this book 5 stars prior to reading anything else you can find out about Rudolf Vrba on the internet.
Then after being awoken by my pneumonia infected husband at 5 a.m., I laid in bed thinking about what I had read and the account established within this memoir. I consider myself a bit of a Holocaust junkie, and this was different in that Vrba does not shy away from any of the atrocities committed at Auschwitz, Birkenau, or a host of other camps he writes about (not necessarily experienced but wrote via study). Then, I reopened the book and read through a few of the appendices in the back, one includes a detailed map of the gas chambers at Birkenau. This is when I got confused, so I turned back to the portion of the memoir that discusses Vrba's time on "the ramp" sorting clothing, hauling out dead bodies, and basically watching the procession of people directly to the gas chambers. He never once mentions going inside of the gas chambers to haul out bodies, and he obviously was never sent there himself. How could he have such a detailed version of what happened once they were inside. So, I'm leaning towards the belief that although I am positive Vrba experienced horrific atrocities across the number of places he visited, I do believe he relied on information provided after the war was over to embellish his story.
Another interesting note (and again, maybe because I've read countless memoirs and non-fiction about the Holocaust, I'm scrutinizing more than I should). Vrba mentions Hess and Himmler multiple times, but only Josef Mengele once. I find this odd, as Mengele was ultimately responsible for the decision about who died and who lived.
Then I read the internet posts (not that all are accurate) and found that Vrba is given a fairly scathing review not from only Holocaust studiers, but from other survivors as well. He comes under fire not only for his portrayal of the Hungarian Judenrat but for his memory as well.
That all being said, I would still give this a 5 star rating, but with some hesitation and reminder that one's memory can always be a little cloudy.
Then after being awoken by my pneumonia infected husband at 5 a.m., I laid in bed thinking about what I had read and the account established within this memoir. I consider myself a bit of a Holocaust junkie, and this was different in that Vrba does not shy away from any of the atrocities committed at Auschwitz, Birkenau, or a host of other camps he writes about (not necessarily experienced but wrote via study). Then, I reopened the book and read through a few of the appendices in the back, one includes a detailed map of the gas chambers at Birkenau. This is when I got confused, so I turned back to the portion of the memoir that discusses Vrba's time on "the ramp" sorting clothing, hauling out dead bodies, and basically watching the procession of people directly to the gas chambers. He never once mentions going inside of the gas chambers to haul out bodies, and he obviously was never sent there himself. How could he have such a detailed version of what happened once they were inside. So, I'm leaning towards the belief that although I am positive Vrba experienced horrific atrocities across the number of places he visited, I do believe he relied on information provided after the war was over to embellish his story.
Another interesting note (and again, maybe because I've read countless memoirs and non-fiction about the Holocaust, I'm scrutinizing more than I should). Vrba mentions Hess and Himmler multiple times, but only Josef Mengele once. I find this odd, as Mengele was ultimately responsible for the decision about who died and who lived.
Then I read the internet posts (not that all are accurate) and found that Vrba is given a fairly scathing review not from only Holocaust studiers, but from other survivors as well. He comes under fire not only for his portrayal of the Hungarian Judenrat but for his memory as well.
That all being said, I would still give this a 5 star rating, but with some hesitation and reminder that one's memory can always be a little cloudy.
September 22, 2023
The best book that I have read on the Holocaust. Excellent non-fiction book. His report was one of the first to document the atrocities at Auschwitz. The original report is stored in the FDR presidential library.
I visited the Auschwitz Memorial in Kansas City last year. There were approximately 66 different exhibits and one of them was dedicated to this book and the amount of lives that the book had saved. That made it clear to me the historical significance of this book.
I visited the Auschwitz Memorial in Kansas City last year. There were approximately 66 different exhibits and one of them was dedicated to this book and the amount of lives that the book had saved. That made it clear to me the historical significance of this book.
June 25, 2014
After visiting Auschwitz/Birkenau two weeks ago, this was the right moment to read this book. Unbelievable that this could happen. A must-read for everyone.
March 28, 2016
A must read for anyone interested in the Holocaust.
May 8, 2016
Wat een ongelooflijk goed boek! Heftig ontroerend en bizar wat er in de Tweede Wereldoorlog allemaal is gebeurd.. Onbeschrijfbaar eigenlijk.. Ik denk dat dit het mooiste heftigste en bizarre boek is dat ik ooit heb gelezen!
September 3, 2012
Truly one of the best books I have ever read....full of history....and at the end of the book the reader is told what happened to each of the war criminals.
February 27, 2013
I bought this book from the bookstore at Auschwitz when we visited on a trip from Krakow. It really helped hammer home the enormous monstrosity that happened there.
May 20, 2025
This memoir could never be less the 5 stars. This is a true story of a Slovacian jew who, against all odds, escaped the death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau and then saved thousands of Hungarians from sure death. His soul reason for escape was to inform the world of what was really happening. And he did, a hero he is!
September 24, 2023
Wat een emotioneel boek over het concentratiekamp Auschwitz. Een ooggetuige die zo specifiek zijn tijd daar verteld. Als je meer wil weten over de concentratiekampen in de Tweede Wereldoorlog is dit boek zeker een aanrader.
March 28, 2025
It was really tough to listen to at times because of how brutally the people were treated. However, the storytelling was really great and it was interesting to hear about his experiences.
April 23, 2019
Kniha tazka fyzicky aj obsahom. Uplne vazne... ked som cital dlhsi usek vkuse, tak ma uz bolela jak ruka, tak srdce. Najma osud ceskeho "septembroveho" rodinneho transportu bol mimoriadne smutny.
Udalosti tej doby nastavili zrkadlo celemu ludstvu. Nasli sa vtedy ludia, ktori sa podelili o posledny kusok jedla so spoluvaznom, vymenili snubny prsten za trochu vody pre ostatnych, alebo riskovali zivoty seba a svojej rodiny, aby pomohli uplne cudzim ludom, utecencom z tabora smrti. Nasli sa aj taki, ktori zabili ineho, iba preto ze mohli, alebo z cistej zlomyselnosti, alebo pre peniaze. Nasli sa aj ludia, ktori uprimne verili, ze su viac nez ostatni, iba preto ze sa narodili inej rasy.
Nerad moralizujem, ale neda mi to. Dnes sa staci pozriet na socialne siete, a hned si mozeme spravit realny obraz o sucasnosti. Nie sme o nic lepsi (a snad ani o nic horsi) ako boli ludia vtedy. To je dost smutne vzhladom na minulost, pretoze to vyzera, ze sme sa vobec nepoucili. Ak nastanu obdobne okolnosti ake boli vtedy, historia sa velmi lahko moze zopakovat. Nevravim, pohli sme sa vpred. Mame globalne vyssiu zivotnu uroven, vyssiu priemernu vzdelanost, lahsi pristup k informaciam, biznis je dnes prepojeny globalne, a dalsie faktory. Ale moralne? Stale skatulkujeme, ci podla rasy, podla narodnosti, podla politickeho nazoru, podla sexualnej orientacie, podla toho na ktorej strane republiky sa kto narodil. Nechame sa rozdelovat na takych a onakych, miesto toho aby sme sa snazili najst spolocnu cestu. Uverime na rozpravku o neexistujucom nepriatelovi a zvezieme sa na vlne nenavisti a strachu. Bolo by az smiesne aki sme hlupi, keby to nebolo nebezpecne. Vzdy sa najdu ludia, ktorych ambicie prevysia ich moralne hodnoty. "Chaos is the ladder", a vo svete je chaosu cim dalej tym viac.
Naspet ku knihe. Precitanie si niektorych casti vyvolava otazky. Prekvapivo, prave otazka o pocte obeti, ktora byva v poslednych casoch spochybnovana, vyznieva celkom jasne. Odhad Rudolfa Vrbu, 2,5 miliona obeti, uplne nezavisle potvrdil vtedajsi velitel tabora Rudolf Hoss. Co som sa ale nedozvedel je, kedy sa teda zacali madarske transporty? Vrba pise, ze stretli prvy transport s madarmi uz koncom aprila '44 v Ziline, ale na viacerych inych miestach sa pise o oficialnom zacati madarskych transportov v polovici maja '44... ale to je detail. Dalej neviem pochopit, ako sa mohli niektori vyznamni predstavitelia SS ocitnut pred sudom s 25 rocnym oneskorenim (Frankfurtsky proces z r '63), kedy uz boli niektore ich zlociny dokonca premlcane. Rovnako je pre mna nepochopitelny osud Jakoba Friesa, clena SS, "najbrutalnejsieho muza v tabore Auschwitz", o ktorom dokonca samotni kumpani z SS vypovedali, ze sa ho bali. Dostal 14r za zlociny spachane pred Osviencimom. Za Osviencim nikdy nebol potrestany. Kym ostatni brutalni vrahovia z Osviencimu dostali trest smrti obesenim, Jakob Fries uz v 1960 volne behal na slobode a v 1963 svedcil vo Frankfurtskom procese ako ctihodny svedok.
Tema ma zaujala a inspirovala do dalsieho citania na rovnaku tematiku.
Udalosti tej doby nastavili zrkadlo celemu ludstvu. Nasli sa vtedy ludia, ktori sa podelili o posledny kusok jedla so spoluvaznom, vymenili snubny prsten za trochu vody pre ostatnych, alebo riskovali zivoty seba a svojej rodiny, aby pomohli uplne cudzim ludom, utecencom z tabora smrti. Nasli sa aj taki, ktori zabili ineho, iba preto ze mohli, alebo z cistej zlomyselnosti, alebo pre peniaze. Nasli sa aj ludia, ktori uprimne verili, ze su viac nez ostatni, iba preto ze sa narodili inej rasy.
Nerad moralizujem, ale neda mi to. Dnes sa staci pozriet na socialne siete, a hned si mozeme spravit realny obraz o sucasnosti. Nie sme o nic lepsi (a snad ani o nic horsi) ako boli ludia vtedy. To je dost smutne vzhladom na minulost, pretoze to vyzera, ze sme sa vobec nepoucili. Ak nastanu obdobne okolnosti ake boli vtedy, historia sa velmi lahko moze zopakovat. Nevravim, pohli sme sa vpred. Mame globalne vyssiu zivotnu uroven, vyssiu priemernu vzdelanost, lahsi pristup k informaciam, biznis je dnes prepojeny globalne, a dalsie faktory. Ale moralne? Stale skatulkujeme, ci podla rasy, podla narodnosti, podla politickeho nazoru, podla sexualnej orientacie, podla toho na ktorej strane republiky sa kto narodil. Nechame sa rozdelovat na takych a onakych, miesto toho aby sme sa snazili najst spolocnu cestu. Uverime na rozpravku o neexistujucom nepriatelovi a zvezieme sa na vlne nenavisti a strachu. Bolo by az smiesne aki sme hlupi, keby to nebolo nebezpecne. Vzdy sa najdu ludia, ktorych ambicie prevysia ich moralne hodnoty. "Chaos is the ladder", a vo svete je chaosu cim dalej tym viac.
Naspet ku knihe. Precitanie si niektorych casti vyvolava otazky. Prekvapivo, prave otazka o pocte obeti, ktora byva v poslednych casoch spochybnovana, vyznieva celkom jasne. Odhad Rudolfa Vrbu, 2,5 miliona obeti, uplne nezavisle potvrdil vtedajsi velitel tabora Rudolf Hoss. Co som sa ale nedozvedel je, kedy sa teda zacali madarske transporty? Vrba pise, ze stretli prvy transport s madarmi uz koncom aprila '44 v Ziline, ale na viacerych inych miestach sa pise o oficialnom zacati madarskych transportov v polovici maja '44... ale to je detail. Dalej neviem pochopit, ako sa mohli niektori vyznamni predstavitelia SS ocitnut pred sudom s 25 rocnym oneskorenim (Frankfurtsky proces z r '63), kedy uz boli niektore ich zlociny dokonca premlcane. Rovnako je pre mna nepochopitelny osud Jakoba Friesa, clena SS, "najbrutalnejsieho muza v tabore Auschwitz", o ktorom dokonca samotni kumpani z SS vypovedali, ze sa ho bali. Dostal 14r za zlociny spachane pred Osviencimom. Za Osviencim nikdy nebol potrestany. Kym ostatni brutalni vrahovia z Osviencimu dostali trest smrti obesenim, Jakob Fries uz v 1960 volne behal na slobode a v 1963 svedcil vo Frankfurtskom procese ako ctihodny svedok.
Tema ma zaujala a inspirovala do dalsieho citania na rovnaku tematiku.
November 5, 2014
ALSO PUBLISHED AS "I CANNOT FORGIVE" - MEMORABLE, SCARY AND INSPIRATIONAL
This book has also been published under the title "I Cannot Forgive." Teenager Rudolf Vrba has a bright future ahead of him - but then WW2 begins, and as a Slovak Jew, he finds himself in Auschwitz. Plunged into a desperate world of unimaginable horror, he resolves to survive, escape and tell the world about the Nazis' awful extermination programme. Against all the odds, he succeeds...
A story like this would grip the reader even if it were fiction, but amazingly, it is true. Scary, tear-jerking and inspirational. I read this book six years ago and will remember it for the rest of my life.
This book has also been published under the title "I Cannot Forgive." Teenager Rudolf Vrba has a bright future ahead of him - but then WW2 begins, and as a Slovak Jew, he finds himself in Auschwitz. Plunged into a desperate world of unimaginable horror, he resolves to survive, escape and tell the world about the Nazis' awful extermination programme. Against all the odds, he succeeds...
A story like this would grip the reader even if it were fiction, but amazingly, it is true. Scary, tear-jerking and inspirational. I read this book six years ago and will remember it for the rest of my life.
June 28, 2020
This must be read by all people
I have read several holocaust books over the years. This book explains the how and why the Nazis were able to annihilate the Jews. This should be required reading in all schools. The courage of Vrba and Wexler to escape from Auschwitz then provide a detail report of the activities is super human. Then, the politics of the information in the works allows another 400,000 Jewish people to be gassed and cremated. This book stirs up anger and outrage. If nothing else, this book should be read to use as a warning to the activities in the world today.
I have read several holocaust books over the years. This book explains the how and why the Nazis were able to annihilate the Jews. This should be required reading in all schools. The courage of Vrba and Wexler to escape from Auschwitz then provide a detail report of the activities is super human. Then, the politics of the information in the works allows another 400,000 Jewish people to be gassed and cremated. This book stirs up anger and outrage. If nothing else, this book should be read to use as a warning to the activities in the world today.
February 11, 2017
Jeg fattes ord til at beskrive de forfærdelige, grusomme, bestialske og fuldstændig umenneskelige ting han fortæller om. Det ligger så langt uden for min forståelse, at noget sådan kan finde sted og så i det omfang. Det er bog der efterlod et kæmpe indtryk og berørte mig på så mange forskellige måder, at den vil blive ved mig i rigtig lang tid frem over. LÆS DEN!
http://bachsbooks.blogspot.dk/2017/02...
http://bachsbooks.blogspot.dk/2017/02...
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