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The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

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The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

By: Jeremy Dronfield
Narrated by: John Sackville
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield, read by John Sackville.

In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was seized by the Nazis. Along with his teenage son, Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in Germany. There began an unimaginable ordeal that saw the pair beaten, starved and forced to build the very concentration camp they were held in.

When Gustav was set to be transferred to Auschwitz, a certain death sentence, Fritz refused to leave his side. Throughout the horrors they witnessed and the suffering they endured, there was one constant that kept them alive: the love between father and son.

Based on Gustav's secret diary and meticulous archive research, this book tells his and Fritz's story for the first time - a story of courage and survival unparalleled in the history of the Holocaust.

©2019 Jeremy Dronfield (P)2019 Penguin Audio 20th Century Historical Judaism Military Modern War Holocaust Survival
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Set in the context of the relentless, unthinkable inhumanity and evil perpetrated on an extraordinary, industrial scale by the Nazi machine, this is not only an astonishing story of survival, but an account of how humanity, resistance, ingenuity, decency, hope and dignity among otherwise ordinary people can combine to prevail over the murderous indifference of a brutal regime. A poignant and confronting story of extreme hardship and unmitigated cruelty that is ultimately uplifting and inspiring.

A Profoundly Moving Story, Beautifully Written, Magnificently Read

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This book has been brilliantly written, written in a way that makes it extremely vivid. It is a powerful and often uncomfortable true story that deserves to be read and remembered.

brilliantly written

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An outstanding read/listen! Hard to find a point to stop listening. The whole story is very well written and well researched for its use of dates and events. The narrator is brilliant. It can be very confronting at times but I would highly recommended it.

Brilliant story!

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So heartbreaking and yet also miraculous! What an incredible story, thank you for those who did the research and put all the effort in to getting this told. These facts need to be known so the world can never do this again!

This story needs to be heard

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This is a story of the sheer horrors of man kind during the second world war. However it is simply captivating to hear the friendship forged the helped keep so many alive. After my recent visit to eastern and central Europe on a high school music tour and visiting the camp of Auschwitz the story is a griping one that echoed through the walls of the camp. During the visit the sheer closeness to where they experienced it but also the distance to how I could never experience and comprehend the pain they went through. It is a simply gripping true story of family, friends and there journey to survival. would highly recommend.

Simply chilling but captivating

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Compelling. Detailed. Immersive. NarrAted perfectly. Tone. Pace. Pronunciation. Story is written beautifully. An exemplary audiobook. You will not be disappointed. I listened to this within 2 days.

Narrator is perfect for story

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Absolutely amazing book, highly recommend everyone to “read” this book. Well worth it, such an amazing journey

Heart wrenching

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Possibly the best holocaust book (14 so far) that I have listened too. The unbelievable detail of places, events, names due to Gustav’s diary guarded with his life for over five years seven months of hell.

“They took their past with the understanding that the living must gather the memories of the dead and carry them into the safety of the future.”

A must read/listen.

Gustav and Fritz Kleinmann “outlasted the people who had tried to destroy them”

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A heart warming story agood storyline..One of strength and determination of survival. plus the evil people can inflicted on other without regard

good read

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Great story telling about the atrocities during the world war 2 in the concentration camps. You ride the wave of highs and lows of the Gustav and fritz from the start to the finish

Well worth the read!!

Haunting yet brilliant book!

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