Winner of the National Jewish Book Award · New York Times Bestseller
"A brilliant and heart-wrenching book, with universal and timely lessons about the power of information—and misinformation. Is it possible to stop mass murder by telling the truth?" — Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
A complex hero. A forgotten story. The first witness to reveal the full truth of the Holocaust . . .
Award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Jonathan Freedland tells the astonishing true story of Rudolf Vrba, the man who―in an act of incredible resistance during WWII―broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of a truth too few were willing to hear.
In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became one of the very first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and make his way to freedom—among only a tiny handful who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen—a forensically detailed report about the Nazi concentration camps that eventually reached Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the Pope.
And yet too few heeded the warning that Vrba had risked everything to deliver. Though Vrba helped save two hundred thousand Jewish lives, he never stopped believing it could have been so many more.
This powerful Holocaust biography is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who, even as a teenager, understood that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death. Rudolf Vrba deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler, and Primo Levi as one of the handful of individuals whose stories define our understanding of Jewish history and the Holocaust.
This meticulously researched account of bravery and resistance uncovers the story of a man who risked everything for the truth:
- An Unprecedented Escape: Follow the gripping, minute-by-minute account of one of the only successful Jewish breakouts from Auschwitz, a feat of unbelievable courage and ingenuity.
- A Race to Warn the World: Discover the story behind the forensically detailed, 32-page report on the Nazi death machine smuggled out by Vrba―a report that reached Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Pope.
- Hero of the Holocaust: Learn about Rudolf Vrba, the brilliant, driven, and complex Auschwitz survivor who understood that the truth could be the difference between life and death.
- WWII Narrative Nonfiction: Based on years of research and new testimony, this is a vital work of Holocaust history that shines a light on a forgotten hero and his mission to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Jonathan Freedland is a columnist and former foreign correspondent for The Guardian. He is the host of BBC Radio 4’s contemporary history series The Long View, as well as two popular podcasts, Politics Weekly America and Unholy, the latter alongside the journalist Yonit Levi. He is the author of thirteen other books, including the award-winning bestseller The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World.
