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The Angel of Auschwitz: [Extended Version]
“I vow to you, Adolf Hitler, as Führer and chancellor of the German Reich loyalty and bravery. I vow to you and to the leaders that you set for me, absolute allegiance until death. So help me God!”
The SS Oath of Loyalty – words that became the very death sentence for millions of Jews and Germans alike. Six decades later, we still ask ourselves why and how did it happen? "The Angel of Auschwitz", a tragic epic of historical fiction, explores these inquiries through the eyes of an unlikely antagonist-turned-protagonist – the Nazi soldier.
"The Angel of Auschwitz" chronicles the life of Wolfgang Bremmer, an adolescent boy from the hills of Hamburg during the Nazi occupation of Germany. As a Hitler Youth, Wolfgang is captivated by the prowess of the Nazis and thrust into the ideologies of Adolf Hitler. With an adoration for the new Fűhrer and the Third Reich, Wolfgang enlists as a young man in the SS-Death’s Head Division, the gatekeepers of the regime’s most lethal concentration camp, Dachau. It is here he is introduced to Theodor Eicke’s “School of Violence” and becomes one of the most ruthless guards the SS has ever seen. After joining Hitler’s Mobile Killing Units, he participates in the invasion of Poland and the evacuation and extermination of its Jewish inhabitants. Wolfgang is the ideal Nazi warrior: vicious, ruthless, and entirely intolerant.
But evil erodes even the hardest of hearts and Wolfgang grows weary in the midst of all the death and destruction. His conscience begins to return and with that a gnawing guilt for what he and his fellow Germans have done and are about to do. But with the fear of punishment for treason, Wolfgang is trapped in the cyclone of violence. That is, until he is promoted as a guard at the Reich’s most sophisticated concentration camp, Auschwitz. In the belly of such a beast as Auschwitz, Wolfgang discovers a secret that will not only save his own life and salvation, but the lives of so many prisoners as well.
The SS Oath of Loyalty – words that became the very death sentence for millions of Jews and Germans alike. Six decades later, we still ask ourselves why and how did it happen? "The Angel of Auschwitz", a tragic epic of historical fiction, explores these inquiries through the eyes of an unlikely antagonist-turned-protagonist – the Nazi soldier.
"The Angel of Auschwitz" chronicles the life of Wolfgang Bremmer, an adolescent boy from the hills of Hamburg during the Nazi occupation of Germany. As a Hitler Youth, Wolfgang is captivated by the prowess of the Nazis and thrust into the ideologies of Adolf Hitler. With an adoration for the new Fűhrer and the Third Reich, Wolfgang enlists as a young man in the SS-Death’s Head Division, the gatekeepers of the regime’s most lethal concentration camp, Dachau. It is here he is introduced to Theodor Eicke’s “School of Violence” and becomes one of the most ruthless guards the SS has ever seen. After joining Hitler’s Mobile Killing Units, he participates in the invasion of Poland and the evacuation and extermination of its Jewish inhabitants. Wolfgang is the ideal Nazi warrior: vicious, ruthless, and entirely intolerant.
But evil erodes even the hardest of hearts and Wolfgang grows weary in the midst of all the death and destruction. His conscience begins to return and with that a gnawing guilt for what he and his fellow Germans have done and are about to do. But with the fear of punishment for treason, Wolfgang is trapped in the cyclone of violence. That is, until he is promoted as a guard at the Reich’s most sophisticated concentration camp, Auschwitz. In the belly of such a beast as Auschwitz, Wolfgang discovers a secret that will not only save his own life and salvation, but the lives of so many prisoners as well.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2014
52 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 18, 2018
It's difficult, I suppose, to imagine an entire race of people brainwashed into believing they are superior to all other races and cultivating that belief into genocide. Start when they're young and malleable and through peer pressure and the fear of failing, you'll have a perfect little Nazi, one who will even turn in his parents for not respecting the Nazi ideology. The remainder of the book explains how love can override those imperatives. Very thought provoking.
July 28, 2014
Thinly disguised conversion narrative
Thinly disguised conversion narrative
the blurb for this book sounded as though it were a biography, but it isn't. it's a poorly edited Jesus-book. it tells the imagined story of Brummer's life and conversion with actual dialogue, and it's pretty ridiculous, to be honest. Falconi uses modern language in the people's speeches that is totally inaccurate for the time. the novel (I'm not sure what else to call it) fluctuates between really long excerpts from Mien Kamph, religious drivel, and extended descriptions of gratuitous violence. if one is looking for a text extolling faith, this might be one to reach for, but, if you were looking for actual Holocaust nonfiction, don't bother. luckily I borrowed this rather than purchased.
Thinly disguised conversion narrative
the blurb for this book sounded as though it were a biography, but it isn't. it's a poorly edited Jesus-book. it tells the imagined story of Brummer's life and conversion with actual dialogue, and it's pretty ridiculous, to be honest. Falconi uses modern language in the people's speeches that is totally inaccurate for the time. the novel (I'm not sure what else to call it) fluctuates between really long excerpts from Mien Kamph, religious drivel, and extended descriptions of gratuitous violence. if one is looking for a text extolling faith, this might be one to reach for, but, if you were looking for actual Holocaust nonfiction, don't bother. luckily I borrowed this rather than purchased.
May 27, 2014
Interesting concept, but sadly undeveloped. The theory is the young man falls in love with a woman and once he knows love, he sees how wrong he has been. The woman he falls in love with is barely mentioned in the book. She does nothing but exist to encourage this complete change of heart. It felt contrived and unrealistic and ignored the complicated psychology behind mass brutality. Many people can love others while still showing hatred and intolerance for others. There was great potential in this book, but overall it was disappointing.
August 14, 2014
Fantastic in the end
Fantastic in the end
I started this book with pure disgust thinking I couldn't finish it and would never grow to like the character who could so easily be a monster but in the end he truly was the "angel of Auschwitz." I am glad I pushed on and read the entire book. remarkable....
Fantastic in the end
I started this book with pure disgust thinking I couldn't finish it and would never grow to like the character who could so easily be a monster but in the end he truly was the "angel of Auschwitz." I am glad I pushed on and read the entire book. remarkable....
July 2, 2018
The reviews I read of how appalling the treatment of the Jews are in this book. It is appalling but it is also factual. If you don't think ti is, you need to do your research. I hope there were SS officers that had the redemption that Wolfgang Bremmer received. I'm afraid most work like Hauck.
My biggest problem was the editing of the book, I found 3 misspellings in my reading, and several grammar mistakes. Come on People, edit the books properly.
My biggest problem was the editing of the book, I found 3 misspellings in my reading, and several grammar mistakes. Come on People, edit the books properly.
February 5, 2019
Excellent Read
The story was brutal, but it also showed good in some people. You felt like you experienced the things that happened. The characters became your friends and enemies as well.
The story was brutal, but it also showed good in some people. You felt like you experienced the things that happened. The characters became your friends and enemies as well.
April 13, 2015
There are so many things wrong with this book but most of them weren't readily apparent until I completed it. I've read a fair amount of holocaust fiction and non-fiction. While much of what I've read hasn't pulled any punches regarding the treatment of camp detainees, nothing has been so gratuitously violent and graphic. This book is on another level. That is forgivable.
Completing the book, you get a strong sense that the author simply lost his way. The concept was great, I found the story to be engrossing. The completion fell flat. The author spends the majority of the book describing how these men were trained to be cold-blooded killers. The rest was how the main character "redeemed" himself. The redemption is sloppily credited to love of a woman we never get to know on any level and the sudden, virtually inexplicable faith of an atheist.
I wanted to love this book but it was a disappointment. I wanted to like the characters but they ended up feeling contrived and undeveloped.
Last but not least, I found the repeated, very graphic murder of children to be deplorable and disturbing. The graphic nature was, in no way, central to the plot.
Skip it, you're better off without the visual.
Completing the book, you get a strong sense that the author simply lost his way. The concept was great, I found the story to be engrossing. The completion fell flat. The author spends the majority of the book describing how these men were trained to be cold-blooded killers. The rest was how the main character "redeemed" himself. The redemption is sloppily credited to love of a woman we never get to know on any level and the sudden, virtually inexplicable faith of an atheist.
I wanted to love this book but it was a disappointment. I wanted to like the characters but they ended up feeling contrived and undeveloped.
Last but not least, I found the repeated, very graphic murder of children to be deplorable and disturbing. The graphic nature was, in no way, central to the plot.
Skip it, you're better off without the visual.
February 16, 2017
This novel relates the seven years a young lieutenant served at the Nazi SS forces. Since his boot camp training until frustrated of so much cruelty, turned to help the prisoners and finally his own commandant shot him to death.
Mr. Falconi wrote this book in an every day’s language and a fluent narrative, describing places and situations that show the way SS forces were organized and the queer actions its members were ordered to accomplish; this way, providing a relaxed means to learn the basics of the SS organization for a person interested on that matter.
Mr. Falconi wrote this book in an every day’s language and a fluent narrative, describing places and situations that show the way SS forces were organized and the queer actions its members were ordered to accomplish; this way, providing a relaxed means to learn the basics of the SS organization for a person interested on that matter.
September 5, 2014
Thought provoking, brutal, interesting views of hitler youth and the development of brutality in death camps.
The story centers on one youth who grows through the hitler youth development program into a brutal person devoid of sympathy. Love changed that (predictable) but his struggles with his now two faces continues.
He helps save some eventually finding his own salvation.
Morally interesting. Exhausting to read. I was drained by the end.
Not for everyone but I am glad to have read it.
The story centers on one youth who grows through the hitler youth development program into a brutal person devoid of sympathy. Love changed that (predictable) but his struggles with his now two faces continues.
He helps save some eventually finding his own salvation.
Morally interesting. Exhausting to read. I was drained by the end.
Not for everyone but I am glad to have read it.
June 6, 2014
A true reason to believe in Angels
A true reason to believe in Angels
The cruel and inhumane treatment of our fellow man is unfortunately true and also shows the weakness of being exploited
A true reason to believe in Angels
The cruel and inhumane treatment of our fellow man is unfortunately true and also shows the weakness of being exploited
October 8, 2014
No, no no.
although I read this book with some interest and reluctance, when I realized I Was reading FICTION about the holocaust I was appalled. It was so phony and an obvious attempt to excuse behavior. Shame on the publishers and Amazon for selling it.
although I read this book with some interest and reluctance, when I realized I Was reading FICTION about the holocaust I was appalled. It was so phony and an obvious attempt to excuse behavior. Shame on the publishers and Amazon for selling it.
March 13, 2015
Phenomenal book of faith and bravery
I was amazed at how terrible the Jews were treated, but the book was gripping and I was in awe of the strength of these men and women who were tortured, but never lost faith...
I was amazed at how terrible the Jews were treated, but the book was gripping and I was in awe of the strength of these men and women who were tortured, but never lost faith...
May 27, 2015
Forgiveness and Mercy
This book is a perfect story of redemption in the midst of unimaginable evil. I recommend anyone who thinks your sins are unforgivable or you can't turn around-read this book.
This book is a perfect story of redemption in the midst of unimaginable evil. I recommend anyone who thinks your sins are unforgivable or you can't turn around-read this book.
Read
May 9, 2014It was short on facts and details. It was just not a very in depth look at this individual or her motives.
January 12, 2015
Horrifying yet a story of redemption
Seeing the brutality of the Nazi SS through SS eyes then reading about the power of God's love and forgiveness
Seeing the brutality of the Nazi SS through SS eyes then reading about the power of God's love and forgiveness
May 16, 2015
Interesting
I read a lot about the Holocaust. This was very different than anything I have read before .Just not sure about it Going to so some research
I read a lot about the Holocaust. This was very different than anything I have read before .Just not sure about it Going to so some research
July 29, 2015
Great book
When I started to read this book little did I know or suspect how it would end. When I started it I found that I could not put it down til the end. GREAT BOOK!!!!!
When I started to read this book little did I know or suspect how it would end. When I started it I found that I could not put it down til the end. GREAT BOOK!!!!!
November 18, 2015
This book is riveting!! !
A story told in the voice of the Nazi it is sometimes painful to read, but stay for the tale of redemption!
A story told in the voice of the Nazi it is sometimes painful to read, but stay for the tale of redemption!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews