The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
Author: Jeremy Dronfield
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2020-05-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0063019302

“Brilliantly written, vivid, a powerful and often uncomfortable true story that deserves to be read and remembered. It beautifully captures the strength of the bond between a father and son.”--Heather Morris, author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz The #1 Sunday Times bestseller—a remarkable story of the heroic and unbreakable bond between a father and son that is as inspirational as The Tattooist of Auschwitz and as mesmerizing as The Choice. Where there is family, there is hope In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholster from Vienna, and his sixteen-year-old son Fritz are arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Germany. Imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp, they miraculously survive the Nazis’ murderous brutality. Then Gustav learns he is being sent to Auschwitz—and certain death. For Fritz, letting his father go is unthinkable. Desperate to remain together, Fritz makes an incredible choice: he insists he must go too. To the Nazis, one death camp is the same as another, and so the boy is allowed to follow. Throughout the six years of horror they witness and immeasurable suffering they endure as victims of the camps, one constant keeps them alive: their love and hope for the future. Based on the secret diary that Gustav kept as well as meticulous archival research and interviews with members of the Kleinmann family, including Fritz’s younger brother Kurt, sent to the United States at age eleven to escape the war, The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz is Gustav and Fritz’s story—an extraordinary account of courage, loyalty, survival, and love that is unforgettable.


The Boy Who Drew Auschwitz

The Boy Who Drew Auschwitz
Author: Thomas Geve
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2021-07-27
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0063062011

A real account of a boy’s life during the Holocaust in Auschwitz, Gross-Rosen and Buchenwald, recorded in his own words and color drawings. In June 1943, after long years of hardship and persecution, thirteen-year-old Thomas Geve and his mother were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Separated upon arrival, he was left to fend for himself in the men’s camp of Auschwitz I. During twenty-two harsh months in three camps, Thomas experienced and witnessed the cruel and inhumane world of Nazi concentration and death camps. Nonetheless, he never gave up the will to live. Miraculously, he survived and was liberated from Buchenwald at the age of fifteen. While still in the camp and too weak to leave, Thomas felt a compelling need to document it all, and drew over eighty drawings, all portrayed in simple yet poignant detail with extraordinary accuracy. He not only shared the infamous scenes, but also the day-to-day events of life in the camps, alongside inmates’ manifestations of humanity, support and friendship. To honor his lost friends and the millions of silenced victims of the Holocaust, in the years following the war, Thomas put his story into words. Despite the evil of the camps, his account provides a striking affirmation of life. The Boy Who Drew Auschwitz, accompanied by fifty-six of his color illustrations, is the unique testimony of young Thomas and his quest for a brighter tomorrow.


The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Author: John Boyne
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2012-08-02
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1448139880

Discover an extraordinary tale of innocence, friendship and the horrors of war. 'Some things are just sitting there, minding their own business, waiting to be discovered. Like America. And other things are probably better off left alone' Nine-year-old Bruno has a lot of things on his mind. Who is the 'Fury'? Why did he make them leave their nice home in Berlin to go to 'Out-With' ? And who are all the sad people in striped pyjamas on the other side of the fence? The grown-ups won't explain so Bruno decides there is only one thing for it - he will have to explore this place alone. What he discovers is a new friend. A boy with the very same birthday. A boy in striped pyjamas. But why can't they ever play together? ‘A small wonder of a book’ Guardian BACKSTORY: Read an interview with the author JOHN BOYNE and learn all about the Second World War in Germany.


Measure of a Man

Measure of a Man
Author: Martin Greenfield
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2014-11-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1621572668

He's been called "America's greatest living tailor" and "the most interesting man in the world." Now, for the first time, Holocaust-survivor Martin Greenfield tells his whole, incredible life story. Taken from his Czechoslovakian home at age fifteen and transported to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz with his family, Greenfield came face-to-face with "Angel of Death" Dr. Joseph Mengele and was divided forever from his parents, sisters, and baby brother. In haunting, powerful prose, Greenfield remembers his desperation and fear as a teenager alone in the death camp--and how an impulsive decision to steal an SS soldier's shirt dramatically altered the course of his life. He learned how to sew; and when he began wearing the shirt under his prisoner uniform, he learned that clothes possess great power and could even help save his life. Measure of a Man is the story of a man who suffered unimaginable horror and emerged with a dream of success. From sweeping floors at a New York clothing factory to founding America’s premier handmade suit company, Greenfield built a fashion empire. Now 86-years-old and working with his sons, Greenfield has dressed the famous and powerful of D.C. and Hollywood, including Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama and celebrities Paul Newman, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jimmy Fallon. Written with soul-baring honesty and, at times, a wry sense of humor, Measure of a Man is a memoir unlike any other--one that will inspire hope and renew faith in the resilience of man.


Survivors Club

Survivors Club
Author: Michael Bornstein
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2017-03-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0374305714

"The incredible true story of Michael Bornstein--who at age 4 was one of the youngest children to be liberated from Auschwitz--and of his family"--


Boy from Buchenwald

Boy from Buchenwald
Author: Robbie Waisman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2021-05-11
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1547606010

It was 1945 and Romek Wajsman had just been liberated from Buchenwald, a brutal concentration camp where more than 60,000 people were killed. He was starving, tortured, and had no idea where his family was-let alone if they were alive. Along with 472 other boys, including Elie Wiesel, these teens were dubbed “The Buchenwald Boys.” They were angry at the world for their abuse, and turned to violence: stealing, fighting, and struggling for power. Everything changed for Romek and the other boys when Albert Einstein and Rabbi Herschel Schacter brought them to a home for rehabilitation Romek Wajsman, now Robbie Waisman, humanitarian and Canadian governor general award recipient, shares his remarkable story of transforming pain into resiliency and overcoming incredible loss to find incredible joy. Finalist for the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction Winner of the 2022 the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize


A Bright and Blinding Sun

A Bright and Blinding Sun
Author: Marcus Brotherton
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2022-05-24
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0316319104

From a New York Times bestselling author comes the incredible true story of an underage soldier's first love and loss on the battlefields of Bataan and Corregidor—perfect for fans of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz and Unbroken. Joe Johnson Jr. ran away from home at the age of 12, hopping a freight train at the height of the Great Depression. He managed to talk his way into the U.S. Army two years later. Seeking freedom and adventure, he was sent to the Philippines. Adrift in spirit, Joe visited a teenage prostitute, and they became unlikely, smitten allies. Yet when the Japanese attacked on December 8, 1941, their hopes of being together had to wait. Joe and his fellow soldiers fought for four brutal months in Bataan and Corregidor, until they were forced to surrender. The boy endured years of horror as a prisoner of war, only dreaming about seeing again the girl he’d come to love. This lyrically written and deeply encouraging saga will remind you that every life can be lifted, forgiveness is the patron of restoration, and redemption is available to all.


Last Stop Auschwitz

Last Stop Auschwitz
Author: Eddy de Wind
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2020-01-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1538701413

Written in Auschwitz itself and translated for the first time ever into English, this one-of-a-kind, minute-by-minute true account is a crucial historical testament to a Holocaust survivor's fight for his life at the largest extermination camp in Nazi Germany. "We know that there is only one ending to this, only one liberation from this barbed wire hell: death." -- Eddy de Wind In 1943, amidst the start of German occupation, Eddy de Wind worked as a doctor at Westerbork, a Dutch transit camp. His mother had been taken to this camp by Nazis but Eddy was assured by the Jewish Council she would be freed in exchange for his labor. He later found out she'd already been transferred to Auschwitz. While at Westerbork, he fell in love with a woman named Friedel and they married. One year later, they were transported to Auschwitz. Upon arrival, Friedel and Eddy were separated -- Eddy forced to work as a medical assistant in one barrack, Friedel at the mercy of Nazi experimentation in a nearby block. Sneaking moments with his beloved and communicating whenever they could, Eddy longed for the day he could be free with Friedel . . . Written in the camp itself in the weeks following the Red Army's liberation of the camp, Last Stop Auschwitz is the raw, true account of Eddy's experiences at Auschwitz. In stunningly poetic prose, he provides unparalleled access to the horrors he faced in the concentration camp. Including photos from Eddy's life before, during, and after the Holocaust, this poignant memoir is at once a moving love story, a detailed portrayal of the atrocities of Auschwitz, and an intelligent consideration of the kind of behavior -- both good and evil -- people are capable of. Never before published in English, this book is a vital and enduring document: a testament to the strength of the human spirit, and a warning against the depths we can sink to when prejudice is given power.


Hitler's Last Plot

Hitler's Last Plot
Author: Ian Sayer
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2019-04-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 030692157X

Revealed for the first time: how the SS rounded up the Nazis' most prominent prisoners to serve as human shields for Hitler in the last days of World War II In April 1945, as Germany faced defeat, Hitler planned to round up the Third Reich's most valuable prisoners and send them to his "Alpine Fortress," where he and the SS would keep the hostages as they made a last stand against the Allies. The prisoners included European presidents, prime ministers, generals, British secret agents, and German anti-Nazi clerics, celebrities, and officers who had aided the July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler--and the prisoners' families. Orders were given to the SS: if the German military situation deteriorated, the prisoners were to be executed--all 139 of them. So began a tense, deadly drama. As some prisoners plotted escape, others prepared for the inevitable, and their SS guards grew increasingly volatile, drunk, and trigger-happy as defeat loomed. As a dramatic confrontation between the SS and the Wehrmacht threatened the hostages caught in the middle, the US Army launched a frantic rescue bid to save the hostages before the axe fell. Drawing on previously unpublished and overlooked sources, Hitler's Last Plot is the first full account of this astounding and shocking story, from the original round-up order to the prisoners' terrifying ordeal and ultimate rescue. Told in a thrilling, page-turning narrative, this is one of World War II's most fascinating episodes.