I Escaped from Auschwitz

The Shocking True Story of the World War II Hero Who Escaped the Nazis and Helped Save Over 200,000 Jews

Rudolf Vrba, Robin Vrba, Nikola Zimring, Robin Vrba, Nikola Zimring

• Publisher: Racehorse
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN:
  9781631584725
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies

The Stunning and Emotional Autobiography of an Auschwitz Survivor

April 7, 1944—This date marks the successful escape of two Slovak prisoners from one of the most heavily-guarded and notorious concentration camps of Nazi Germany. The escapees, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, fled over one hundred miles to be the first to give the graphic and detailed descriptions of the atrocities of Auschwitz.

Originally published in the early 1960s, I Escaped from Auschwitz is the striking autobiography of none other than Rudolf Vrba himself. Vrba details his life leading up to, during, and after his escape from his 21-month internment in Auschwitz. Vrba and Wetzler manage to evade Nazi authorities looking for them and make contact with the Jewish council in Zilina, Slovakia, informing them about the truth of the “unknown destination” of Jewish deportees all across Europe. This first-hand report alerted Western authorities, such as Pope Pius XII, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, to the reality of Nazi annihilation camps—information that until then had only been recognized as nasty rumors.

I Escaped from Auschwitz is a close-up look at the horror faced by the Jewish people in Auschwitz and across Europe during World War II. This newly edited translation of Vrba’s memoir will leave readers reeling at the terrors faced by those during the Holocaust. Despite the profound emotions brought about by this narrative, readers will also find an astounding story of heroism and courage in the face of seemingly hopeless circumstances.
 

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword from Sir Martin Gilbert
• Author’s Preface
• Chapter 1 A Son Like Me
• Chapter 2 I Became a Wanted Man
• Chapter 3 The SS in Action
• Chapter 4 The Theory of the Camps
• Chapter 5 New Arrival
• Chapter 6 Introduction to Auschwitz
• Chapter 7 A Naked World
• Chapter 8 The Night in August
• Chapter 9 “This is Not a Synagogue!”
• Chapter 10 My Condition Improves
• Chapter 11 Ivan the Terrible
• Chapter 12 “Gassing People is Not Easy”
• Chapter 13 “Never Trust a German”
• Chapter 14 Escape
• Chapter 15 Hiding Out
• Chapter 16 We Get the Word Out
• Editor’s Note
• Epilogue
• Appendix I Vrba-Wetzler Report (including the Mordowicz-Rosin Report)
• Appendix II A Tale of Darkness: Story of the Mordowicz-Rosin Report
• Appendix III The Preparation for the Holocaust in Hungary: An Eyewitness Account