With the commemoration of the liberation date of Auschwitz just passing, the liberation of multiple concentration camps and death camps across the German Reich was also continuing. This is an important time to reflect on the atrocities that took place. ‘The Boy Who Followed His Father to Auschwitz’ is a hugely compelling, thought provoking true story which underlines the power that love and strength can have in facing such atrocities. I urge everybody to read it; to gain a perspective on life and true detailed insight into how humanity could survive such an event. Above all, this book demonstrates a bond between father and son, that was never to be broken, despite the deepest of cuts.
In the book there is an image of the Kleinmann family; they took this image just as Nazi’s took hold of Austria, in fear of what their life had to hold, this image is the last one they ever managed to take. The book focuses on Fritz and Gustav, as well as the stories of the rest of the members of the family. The book is based on extensive historical research and interviews with Kurt Kleinmann, the youngest son, the diary Gustav kept during this period, and the memoir written by Fritz, who indebted his life to keeping the memory of those suffering in the Holocaust alive.
Living in Austria, Jews began to be prosecuted rapidly, their lives were all but destroyed, the Kleinmann family torn apart, Fritz and Gustav found themselves together in a concentration camp. The story follows their trials and tribulations in surviving the horrors in the camp, importantly highlighting the importance of doing it together. Fritz often explains the importance of this support network. I will leave you to read the book to uncover the profound story of strength and courage, and I hope it will impact you in some way.
I believe it, for us in this modern society, unfathomable that an event with such ferocity could happen on such a scale, with a total disregard to people completely devaluing the worth of humanity. This event was under 100 years ago, people are not so different to now, how could this system of mass murder, torture and degradation have formed? This is a question that needs to be pondered, and to which no answer can fully explain or justify.
A quote which exemplifies the mere degradation of human value is as follows, referring to the grass and garden area in the camps:
“the contrast between the care given to these patches of decoration compared with the abuse and murder of human beings was a paradox which drove some prisoners mad”
What is important about this book is the way it counters this inhumanity, in its face, strength, courage and love is found everywhere. It is completely unbelievable to hear these stories of kinship, comradeship and resistance under such circumstances, the strength I did not know existed. The stories of survivors seem stories of both chance and their will and tenacity which gave them multiple opportunities for survival. Often, decisions that meant near death decisions ended up being saviours. The stories really strengthen a belief in love that can find its way to you in the darkest of moments.
A scene in the book really extends this point, to show the endless limits of courage and grit to survive, a scene that exemplifies the will to live, and will leave an irreversible picture in your mind. A quote I took away from it is as follows:
“The machine it seemed, could be beaten by a person with the necessary strength and will” “The man seemed to have tapped himself with unparalleled seam of strength and will.”
What struck me was that the fate for so many was not so good; the book shows how so abruptly and paradoxically that love was not enough for so many. Who chose who was worthy of living and who was not, why was this transmission of strength not enough? Why could this event take place and destroy the lives of so many that too deserved the same relief and survival?
Important to take way from this, is the perspective in which we should see our life, we are so lucky to be living today, the small things that we worry about should not be, some not even worthy of comparison. I often find that the large figures, general contextual knowledge and broad ideas do not relay to me the true devastation of the Holocaust. What really affects me is hearing from people who actually suffered, the detailed stories really make you connect and feel that person’s life that could be anyone of us. It just shows, that when it needs to be, human strength is near endless. Hearing the stories of individuals really makes you feel the pain that facts and figures truly cannot.
People often say history is pointless, what is the point in learning about the past? But that is just the point, it teaches us so much about the strength of humanity and the will to live. Jeremy Dronfield and the Kleinmann’s have given the Holocaust a voice that can connect with people in a way that history often doesn’t. He has masterfully crafted a true heartfelt story that transmits the essence of pain.