05/28/2018
The horrors of the Holocaust are effectively conveyed on a human scale in this gripping account of the experiences of Gustav Kleinmann and his son Fritz, from the German takeover of Austria in 1938 through their incredible survival of imprisonment in a series of concentration camps. Dronfield, a novelist and historian, has supplemented Gustav’s diary of life in the camps and Fritz’s memoir with other primary sources to craft an account accessible even to those with no knowledge of the relevant history. Following the imposition of Nazi proscriptions on Austrian Jews, the Kleinmanns scramble to sustain themselves while looking for a path to safety, hindered by the outside world’s general reluctance to offer refuge. Before they can find a way out of Vienna, both Gustav and Fritz, aged 14, are arrested and sent to Buchenwald. Their experiences alternate with those of their other family members— two of whom build new lives in the U.S. and England, and two of whom die. While some readers may find Dronfield’s attempt to conclude on a positive note (“In the end the Kleinmann family not only survived, but prospered”) forced, this account personalizes an atrocity, the depravity of which is difficult to come to grips with. Agent: Andrew Lownie, Andrew Lownie Literary Agency Ltd. (July)
In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was arrested by the Nazis. Along with his 16-year old son Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in Germany, where a new concentration camp was being built. It was the beginning of a five-year odyssey almost without parallel. They helped build Buchenwald, young Fritz learning construction skills which would help preserve him from extermination in the coming years. But it was his bond with his father that would ultimately keep them both alive. When the 50-year old Gustav was transferred to Auschwitz-a certain death sentence-Fritz was determined to go with him. His wiser friends tried to dissuade him-“If you want to keep living, you have to forget your father,” they said. But that was impossible, and Fritz pleaded for a place on the Auschwitz transport. “He is a true comrade,” Gustav wrote in his secret diary, “always at my side. The boy is my greatest joy. We are inseparable.” Gustav kept his diary hidden throughout his six years in the death camps-even Fritz knew nothing of it. In it he recorded his story, a tale of survival and a father-son bond which proved stronger than the machine that sought to break them both.
In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was arrested by the Nazis. Along with his 16-year old son Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in Germany, where a new concentration camp was being built. It was the beginning of a five-year odyssey almost without parallel. They helped build Buchenwald, young Fritz learning construction skills which would help preserve him from extermination in the coming years. But it was his bond with his father that would ultimately keep them both alive. When the 50-year old Gustav was transferred to Auschwitz-a certain death sentence-Fritz was determined to go with him. His wiser friends tried to dissuade him-“If you want to keep living, you have to forget your father,” they said. But that was impossible, and Fritz pleaded for a place on the Auschwitz transport. “He is a true comrade,” Gustav wrote in his secret diary, “always at my side. The boy is my greatest joy. We are inseparable.” Gustav kept his diary hidden throughout his six years in the death camps-even Fritz knew nothing of it. In it he recorded his story, a tale of survival and a father-son bond which proved stronger than the machine that sought to break them both.
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The Stone Crusher: The True Story of a Father and Son's Fight for Survival in Auschwitz
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The Stone Crusher: The True Story of a Father and Son's Fight for Survival in Auschwitz
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169615500 |
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Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
Publication date: | 07/01/2018 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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