This telling of what Rudolph Vrba went through to survive being captured and brought to I believe three different concentration camps, including the infamous Auschwitz in which he escaped from, is truly the stuff of nightmares. I tried in order to have a detailed review to jot down notes about important historical facts, but gave up not 10% in the book after 15 pages of notes.

I appreciate how he started the book, spotlighting that he initially put this story down as a series of articles in a newspaper, and wasn’t until his milkman called him a liar did he think to write the book. The milkman had an issue believing mothers marched themselves and their babies in gas chambers without protest, and stated the only way you would get that baby in the gas chamber was prying it from the mothers dead arms. When the Eureka moment hit Rudolph that this man didn’t understand the mothers had no idea they were walking into a gas chamber did he think to write the book. Knowing this, I found I could appreciate the book and its existence more, and actually did enhance my reading experience of its contents.

It gives you an insight on the times as well as he details having to carry a Fascist newspaper on him to blend in with the crowd when travelling on trains or busses, or how terrified friends and family were of him when he went to visit them. Friends were scared because if he was caught in their house, their whole family could be shot, family because too many people in one area could draw attention. The bravery he displayed by ripping the Star of David off his jacket is admirable, as punishment for that was very severe.

Understanding truly what the average Jew had to go through to protect their community was the most shocking revelation of all. I read through this book how Rudolph was viciously beaten for 3 hours… just because the guard needed something to do when Rudolph was caught once. Any information Rudolph could have given about where family members were and what false documents they were hiding behind, or what friends sheltered him could have stopped the beating, but Rudolph gave nothing showing toughness nobody alive today could comprehend. Eventually the guard grew bored of beating the hell out Rudolph and stopped.

When he got thrown into concentration camps, you get a look into how intellect, not luck, is the key success. Reading about how Rudolph used his intelligence, charm, and raw survival instincts to work and sneak into the lax areas close to where food is shipped and stored instead of not taking risks and allowing yourself to wither away to death I found resourceful. The easy jobs were closest to where the food was stored, and if you went there and waited for someone to drop something just pretend to fall over grab the food and quickly eat it before you get up.

In closing, I would say this is a must read for everyone on earth. As history repeats itself, I find a lot of the world looks very much like the beginning of how concentration camps were first thought up.