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The Auschwitz Escape

ECPA 2015 Christian Book Award Finalist!2014 finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards! Evil, unchecked, is the prelude to genocide. As the Nazi war machine rolls across Europe, young Jacob Weisz is forced to flee his beloved Germany and join an underground resistance group in Belgium. But when a rescue operation goes horribly wrong, Jacob finds himself trapped in a crowded cattle car headed to southern Poland. Sentenced to hard labor in the Auschwitz labor camp, Jacob forms an unlikely alliance with Jean-Luc Leclerc, a former assistant pastor who was imprisoned for helping Jews. They have been chosen for one of the most daring and dangerous feats imaginable escape from Auschwitz. With no regard for their own safety, they must make it to the West and alert the Allies to the awful truth of what is happening in Poland before Fascism overtakes all of Europe. The fate of millions hangs in the balance.

Paperback: 480 pages

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 1, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 141433625X

ISBN-13: 978-1414336251

Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.5 x 8.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,158 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #12,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #48 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Jewish #98 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Suspense #178 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Thrillers

I finished reading 'The Auschwitz Escape' by Joel Rosenberg yesterday. It's a one day read but it was delivered late in the afternoon Wednesday...hence the Thursday finish.If you are a fan of Joel's books, you will love this...it is historical fiction, but has a completely different 'feel' than his other fiction.I guess I would call it more somber and respectful because of the topic, but still has a lot of action and heartbreak, because of the highly emotional subject matter.Rosenberg is a master at developing a rapport between the reader and his characters very quickly... you feel so in touch with them. You feel their confusion, their suffering, and in some instances, their loss of faith.In the author's note, Joel said this was the most difficult book he's written. I have been trying all day to write this review for , but found it difficult to do so...the emotion is still with me, I suppose.It is a 5 star read, better than most autobiographies of Holocaust survivors that I've read. It is based on the true story of events presented...using fictionalized characters in many instances, while using real-life people to punctuate the horrors that occurred. I certainly recommend this book to all of you who love the Jewish people, and/or are interested in the gut-wrenching reality that was the Holocaust.I pray it never happens again, to any race of people...Keep the tissue box handy...

Arrests. Imprisonments. Slave-labor camps. Torture beyond imagination. Mass murders. This was the Nazi-imposed fate for all Jews and all those protecting them. Word was spreading like wildfire throughout Europe.The warnings reached Jacob Weisz, and he resolved to join an underground resistance group. When a rescue operation went awry in April 1943, Jacob became one of hundreds of thousands shipped by train to concentration camps. Auschwitz – a place where the “ovens never stopped working and the chimney never stopped belching out its black, putrid smoke along with the ashes of human bodies that fell from the sky like snowflakes morning, noon and night.” Mostly Jews.The volume of people brutally captured from their homes and shipped to death factories multiplied daily. As conditions worsened, Jacob found resolve and strength he did not know he had. “The Nazis had taken away his name, his clothes, his dignity. But only he could give away his will to fight, and he resolved not to do it.” Close to 800 people had tried to escape. No one made it. Maybe he would!Life in a death camp changed Jacob. He used to be timid; now he had something to say and would risk his life to say it. He was determined to escape to expose the atrocities to Jewish and Allied leaders, if only to keep one more Jew from being sucked into the Nazi killing machine.This book was born from the author’s visit to Auschwitz in 2011. Vivid characters, disturbing but realistic details, and compelling writing brings this horrific time in history to life. The book leaves the reader with the questions: Do I put this information back on the shelf of history, or do I look for ways to care for and protect the Jewish people today?Why should Christians care about the Jews? A couple who protected Jacob in his escape answered this way, “Our Savior was Jewish. His disciples were Jewish. They were born in Israel. They lived in the Promised Land. Jesus died on the cross in Jerusalem. He was raised from the dead in Jerusalem….and our Savior is coming back again to reign and rule from Jerusalem….You’re from the same family and people as our Savior, Jacob.”The Auschwitz Escape is an important part of the author’s other writings, all focusing on the dangers the nation and people of Israel face in the world. The parallels between this 1940’s European context and the present-day Middle East perils are crucial to understand as humanity faces the potential of another holocaust. Every world leader and citizen should read this book.(I received a complimentary copy from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for an honest and objective review.)

I am not a super emotional person, and I cried on and off for about 3 hours while reading this book. The weight – that 500,000 people relied on someone that I knew would never succeed – was heartbreaking. The fact that Roosevelt and Churchill really knew about Auschwitz and could have at least bombed it – that broke my heart too. The fact that Jacob grew so much as a character, and his uncle never saw this, really broke my heart.While my two favorite characters were dying, I just bawled my eyes out. The events leading up to a certain character’s death was incredibly emotional, especially since they were talking over an issue I feel very strongly about. I really enjoyed Jacob’s development as a character. He starts out as a meek peacemaker, and ends with astounding courage and the urge to help others. He is definitely not without his faults, even as the novel lingers to a closing, but he is a great character. I also think Jacob may be the only Christian fiction protagonist that isn’t a Christian… I really admire this.This is a Christian fiction novel written by a Christian with an Orthodox Jewish background. An extra bonus to the fantastic characters and emotional writing; religion, Christianity in particular, was handled surprisingly and refreshingly realistically, yet it wasn’t bashed like some secularists do. It is very realistic, yet is full of hope. At the end of the story, although secular Jacob does become more Jewish (this is mostly due to Jacob’s religious Jewish wife, whom he loves dearly), although no Jew becomes a Christian.Jean-Luc, a Protestant pastor at Le Chambon in France, is a great Christian man, who is not arrogant, pushy or ignorant, and he certainly is not your typical Christian. (And Rosenberg knows it) Luc is the only main character in the story that is a Christian. Luc is perfect, but in a quite, humble way, not like your typical Christian fiction character. Never does he get preachy or boast – directly or indirectly – “I’m not perfect, but Jesus is!!” in a way that really implies he is stuck up and he never tries to convert any of his Jewish friends. In fact, he doesn’t really bring it up – but you can completely see it in his lifestyle and when the other Jewish characters notice it, they do ask about his faith. Actions speak a LOT louder than words. His perfect, humble nature is very realistic to the plot, as well, as most Christian resistance members were similar to Luc. He truly reminded me of my all-time favorite book character Johannes from I Am David by Anne Holm.Other realistic aspects are: A bunch of the Nazis went to “church” on Easter Sunday. One of the most inspiring and brave characters is an atheist. My admiration for Rosenberg went up 1,000% when he brought up…MARTIN LUTHER and his role during the Holocaust, and not in a positive light. Luc admits that Luther was pretty much a jerk and was responsible for most of Hitler’s propaganda.I was very surprised at how much research Rosenberg put into this – from the Twentieth Train (which I have heard of but not researched – was proud of myself for recognizing this), to Witold Pilecki, to the little town of Le Chambon in France (which I love). The back has a list of documentaries and books related to the story, and I will definitely be placing them on my top-priority list. He really did write the Auschwitz Protocol and try to get the word out to the Allies.THE REAL STORY: Slovakian Jew Rudolf Vrba, who Jacob is based on, escaped Auschwitz in the exact same way Jacob and Luc did – by hiding in a wood stack and waiting three agonizing long days. Vrba really did use tobacco/gasoline to fool the guards and he really did tie straps of flannel around his mouth so he would not cough. The only main difference is, although Vrba did hide with a friend, his friend…survived… (SHAME on you, Rosenberg!!) Other events like the Twentieth Train incident (lantern and all) really did happen. A man with three of his friends really did drive out of Auschwitz in the Commandant’s car. Le Chambon is known for rescuing 5,000 Jews.

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