The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg– 468 pages
Book Blurb:
A terrible darkness has fallen upon Jacob Weisz’s beloved Germany. The Nazi regime, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, has surged to power and now hold Germany by the throat. All non-Aryans — especially Jews like Jacob and his family — are treated like dogs. When tragedy strikes during one terrible night of violence, Jacob flees and joins rebel forces working to undermine the regime. But after a raid goes horribly wrong, Jacob finds himself in a living nightmare — trapped in a crowded, stinking car on the train to the Auschwitz death camp. As World War II rages and Hitler begins implementing his “final solution” to systematically and ruthlessly exterminate the Jewish people, Jacob must rely on his wits and a God he’s not sure he believes in to somehow escape from Auschwitz and alert the world to the Nazi’s atrocities before Fascism overtakes all of Europe. The fate of millions hangs in the balance.
My Review: 5 stars
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This was an absolutely fabulous book filled with historical accuracy, harrowing scenes and great characters that reads at an incredibly fast pace. This is the first Joel C. Rosenberg book I’ve read (he’s written tons of thrillers) and I’ve come to understand this is his first attempt at Historical Fiction. Well welcome to the genre Mr. Rosenberg because this was a wonderfully told story about a horrible subject matter, Auschwitz. The two main protagonists, Jacob, a German Jew and Jean-Luc Leclerc, a Christian pastor are both extremely relatable and will have you cheering for them both. Atrocities done in the camps by the officers and guards were damnable yet there was some glimmers of hope from the prisoners in the resistance. Together, with a large amount of trust and luck, they worked to help feed and protect each other and even help plan escapes. There is an equal amount of respect paid to Christianity and Judaism throughout this book so it didn’t come as a huge surprise that the author, even with the last name Rosenberg, is an evangelical Christian. I highly recommend this book to all readers.
Quotes I Liked:
Anyway, one day my father said he’d heard that Freud had quipped, ‘What, only our books? In earlier times, they would have burned us.’”
-“Evil, unchecked, is the prelude to genocide. – Anonymous”
-“The question shouldn’t be “Why are you, a Christian, here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?’ The real question is “Why aren’t all the Christians here?”
