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The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II
The almost unbelievable story of Denis Avey, now 92, began in 1944 when he was captured and sent to a POW work camp. He was put to work every day in a German factory, where he labored alongside Jewish prisoners from a nearby camp called Auschwitz. The stories they told him were horrifying. Eventually Avey's curiosity, kind-heartedness, derring-do, and perhaps foolhardiness drove him to suggest--and remarkably manage--switching places with two of the Jewish prisoners in order to spend a couple of harrowing days and nights inside. Miraculously, he lived to tell about it.
Surely deserving of its place alongside the great World War II stories, this is an incredible tale of generosity, courage, and, for one Jewish prisoner whom Denis was able to help, survival. Amazingly, breathtakingly, it is told here for the first time.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 908 reviews
September 15, 2019
This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting as a fair chunk of it related to battles fought in the desert. I do realise that all these hard fought battles are valid in contributing to the outcome of World War II, but the title indicates that it’s about someone swapping places with a Jewish prisoner of war and entering Auschwitz concentration camp. It turns out that this swap was for a total of two nights, and covered just a tiny portion of the book, and whilst this appears an admirable thing to do, I do think that the title is something of a misrepresentation.
Unfortunately the author comes across as quite arrogant, and most of his ‘escapades’ appear to have been experienced only by himself, with no one to corroborate his many stories. That in itself makes me question just how much of this account is true - surely during any armed conflict, you are part of a unit, carrying out ops together in the company of your battalion, and on the orders of your commanding officer. This is definitely not the case for Mr Avey, and he comes across as very self serving.
There are many moving accounts from those who survived places like Auschwitz, and the horror and brutality that they suffered,( both mental and physical ), can only be imagined. However, for me, this is not one of those accounts, in fact something about it just doesn’t ring true.
P.S - After completing my review, I felt really bad, it sounded so negative, so I decided to google the book, just to see if anyone else felt the same way that I did, and I discovered that there has been a fair amount of controversy regarding the legitimacy of the author’s claims, and sadly I have to agree with those concerns.
Unfortunately the author comes across as quite arrogant, and most of his ‘escapades’ appear to have been experienced only by himself, with no one to corroborate his many stories. That in itself makes me question just how much of this account is true - surely during any armed conflict, you are part of a unit, carrying out ops together in the company of your battalion, and on the orders of your commanding officer. This is definitely not the case for Mr Avey, and he comes across as very self serving.
There are many moving accounts from those who survived places like Auschwitz, and the horror and brutality that they suffered,( both mental and physical ), can only be imagined. However, for me, this is not one of those accounts, in fact something about it just doesn’t ring true.
P.S - After completing my review, I felt really bad, it sounded so negative, so I decided to google the book, just to see if anyone else felt the same way that I did, and I discovered that there has been a fair amount of controversy regarding the legitimacy of the author’s claims, and sadly I have to agree with those concerns.
August 21, 2023
The compelling title, The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II, as well as the book's description on the back cover and the inside flap persuaded me to purchase the book. Who would deliberately decide to enter Auschwitz?
I am a strong believer in the power of true personal stories where courage, grit, determination, ethics, and leadership are demonstrated. I couldn't wait to read about Denis Avey's choice to go inside of Auschwitz.
After reading many rambling chapters, I began to wonder when the story would move to his decision to enter Auschwitz. I read several Goodreads reviews and learned that only 10 pages of the book are about Avey's time in Auschwitz and that he only spent two nights in the concentration camp.
Although I think his story is critical to tell, I put the book in the DNF pile because the large majority of the book is not about his experience inside Auschwitz. The title of the book is misleading regarding what the majority of the book covers.
I am a strong believer in the power of true personal stories where courage, grit, determination, ethics, and leadership are demonstrated. I couldn't wait to read about Denis Avey's choice to go inside of Auschwitz.
After reading many rambling chapters, I began to wonder when the story would move to his decision to enter Auschwitz. I read several Goodreads reviews and learned that only 10 pages of the book are about Avey's time in Auschwitz and that he only spent two nights in the concentration camp.
Although I think his story is critical to tell, I put the book in the DNF pile because the large majority of the book is not about his experience inside Auschwitz. The title of the book is misleading regarding what the majority of the book covers.
February 23, 2014
This book was a disappiontment. Before I start reading, I expected That the story was going to be about Auschwitz. But more than 50 pages was about the desert. When Denis' finally arrived in Auschwitz, I discovered That he only pretended to be jewish for 2nights. About This experience, he wrote ten pages And That was it. The book was good but it goed you an idea about soldiers in world war two And not really about the jewish. I think the book has a wrong title And a wrong plot. To discribe This book , you can use the words 'desert', 'British soldiers',.. But not 'a man who went to Auschwitz And pretended to be a Jewish' cause That's not where it is about , it is about a soldier fighting in world war two who was sent to Auschwitz as a soldier And has to work with the Jewish, not as One.
If you want to know more about Auschwitz And how the Jewish survived there, This is not a good book.
If you want to read a story about someone helping the jewish, it is an amazing book.
If you want to know more about Auschwitz And how the Jewish survived there, This is not a good book.
If you want to read a story about someone helping the jewish, it is an amazing book.
April 27, 2015
Description: The almost unbelievable story of Denis Avey, now 92, began in 1944 when he was captured and sent to a POW work camp. He was put to work every day in a German factory, where he labored alongside Jewish prisoners from a nearby camp called Auschwitz. The stories they told him were horrifying. Eventually Avey's curiosity, kind-heartedness, derring-do, and perhaps foolhardiness drove him to suggest--and remarkably manage--switching places with two of the Jewish prisoners in order to spend a couple of harrowing days and nights inside. Miraculously, he lived to tell about it.
Narrated by James Langton
Narrated by James Langton
April 4, 2012
I'm in two minds about this book. On one hand it's a very sad, bleak but honest description of the horrors of war and the horrible suffering of the victims of the Nazi regime. On the other it's the biography of a man who really doesn't seem very likeable.
The Holocaust and other atrocities committed by the Axis powers (as well as some Allied actions) are some of the darkest blights in mankind's history. For those who went through it their experiences are unimaginable. The horror, the misery, the brutality of it all. And for the author to have gone through it all and survived I respect him greatly.
But respecting someone is not the same as liking them. Throughout the book the author takes pains to show how insulated he made himself from his fellow men, from the very first day. He also took the route he thought would benefit himself and only himself. Every time he escaped he did so by himself. He said it was because he didn't want to feel responsible for what happened to anyone else but to me there's almost a touch of cowardice in that sort of sentiment. I can't claim to even begin to understand what he was going through but it still doesn't seem right to not help others when you can.
The same thing happened when he was in the Auschwitz camp. Again he highly insulated himself. not even letting people know his real first name which surely couldn't have caused any harm. The best thing he did there was helping Ernst and that's the most humane thing he did during the entire book. I find it very hard to comprehend why he did the swap. I get that it was an honourable gesture but I also think it was misguided and could have caused far more harm then good. Was it cruel to Hans to give him this small taste of better treatment before sending him back? Could it have caused some resentment to him from other prisoners? Could all the bribes and hard work to organise the swaps been more beneficial if used to provide something better for the Jews rather than the swap?
We'll never know. Maybe like Ernst's cigarettes those couple nights in the other camp helped Hans survive as well. I don't think everything in the book happened exactly as told but memory is a tricky thing, especially after so long so any discrepancies I don't hold against the author. The editors seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to verify as much as they can and supply details around all the events.
A horrible time and something that should never be forgotten. Lest we forget.
The Holocaust and other atrocities committed by the Axis powers (as well as some Allied actions) are some of the darkest blights in mankind's history. For those who went through it their experiences are unimaginable. The horror, the misery, the brutality of it all. And for the author to have gone through it all and survived I respect him greatly.
But respecting someone is not the same as liking them. Throughout the book the author takes pains to show how insulated he made himself from his fellow men, from the very first day. He also took the route he thought would benefit himself and only himself. Every time he escaped he did so by himself. He said it was because he didn't want to feel responsible for what happened to anyone else but to me there's almost a touch of cowardice in that sort of sentiment. I can't claim to even begin to understand what he was going through but it still doesn't seem right to not help others when you can.
The same thing happened when he was in the Auschwitz camp. Again he highly insulated himself. not even letting people know his real first name which surely couldn't have caused any harm. The best thing he did there was helping Ernst and that's the most humane thing he did during the entire book. I find it very hard to comprehend why he did the swap. I get that it was an honourable gesture but I also think it was misguided and could have caused far more harm then good. Was it cruel to Hans to give him this small taste of better treatment before sending him back? Could it have caused some resentment to him from other prisoners? Could all the bribes and hard work to organise the swaps been more beneficial if used to provide something better for the Jews rather than the swap?
We'll never know. Maybe like Ernst's cigarettes those couple nights in the other camp helped Hans survive as well. I don't think everything in the book happened exactly as told but memory is a tricky thing, especially after so long so any discrepancies I don't hold against the author. The editors seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to verify as much as they can and supply details around all the events.
A horrible time and something that should never be forgotten. Lest we forget.
December 14, 2015
A fascinating, emotionally charged tale of the horrors, sorrows and anguish experienced by Denis Avey’s and his time in World War II, being captured by the Germans and the difference between the POW’s and the Jews in Auschwitz. The story starts before the war and goes through all the experiences from training for the war, fight, being a prisoner and life afterwards. He talks not only about the problems, but the friendships he made. One in particular was a friendship he made with one of the Jewish prisoner; he also told how not once but twice they swapped places and he was able to experience how the Germans treated the Jews while his friend got a chance to sleep and eat a little better for a change.
This book really gives you an insight into War, Prisoner of War Camps as well as the Concentration/Extermination Camps and what is known as a ‘Death March’. Not only is at an interesting story about the horrors of the war, but the emotional and psychological traumas experienced afterwards. An interesting and compelling memoir to read, I would highly recommend it.
This book really gives you an insight into War, Prisoner of War Camps as well as the Concentration/Extermination Camps and what is known as a ‘Death March’. Not only is at an interesting story about the horrors of the war, but the emotional and psychological traumas experienced afterwards. An interesting and compelling memoir to read, I would highly recommend it.
April 23, 2021
I read a lot of books (listen) on WWII and the Holocaust, so this one was of interest to me – especially reading about someone who chose to break into Auschwitz – I had not read of anyone doing that (except for the Boy in the Striped Pajamas – but that was unwittingly). I enjoyed The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz from beginning to end but just to let you know that the first half of the download focused mainly about his start in the war – leading up to his time in the Italian POW camp for the British and then on to the work camp in Auschwitz, where he was right there doing the forced labor with the ‘stripees’ as they were called. These POW prisoners didn’t share the same camp/sleeping quarters with the Jewish prisoners, and had a smidgen more benefits in that they weren’t beaten for the pleasure of doing so by the Germans – but that was about it. Reading about the war of the British troops in the desert sands of Africa, Libya along with Egypt, Italy, was new information for me (as much as I read, I still don’t know all there is to know about WWII because I only recently began to have an interest – an offshoot of reading about the Holocaust). This will not only be of interest to those who know facts and figures about this part of WWII, but I could see it being of significance to those of us who do not, as it was for me. Reason being is that it is a full blown and absorbing account of Denis Avey’s experience. By the time he gets to Auschwitz, , it’s the next half of the book – so there’s plenty to read for everyone. One thing I was taken aback by was his response to his deceased father's leather bound book collection. It wasn't even necessary to the story to mention and he never apologized for it....strange little twist.
February 27, 2012
A very interesting and personal story of a British soldier during World War II who was kept as prisoner of war (POW) near Auschwitz. The first part of the book covers his experiences in the desert of Africa where he fought against Italians and Germans. It's almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be there but the author gives a detailed and authentic picture. While I respect his braveness I must confess that I don't find him very likeable. Only a good portion of luck let him survive and many similar men who thought that they could get away with everything died.
The second part is about Auschwitz. As prisoner of war the author was kept under normal conditions near Auschwitz but not in a KZ. This cannot be said about the Jews who had to work with them. I have seen some documentaries and you can also find original footage from Auschwitz on YouTube. It leaves you speechless and this is what has happened to the author as well. He probably only tells parts of what he has seen and even these few things are very shocking.
What I found almost unbelievalble is the fact that he exchanged clothes with a Jew to enter the KZ to witness the rest of the horror with his own eyes. Actually he doesn't gain much knowledge and to me it looks like he is hiding his real motivation. It does fit into his character though.
In case you wonder why the author hasn't told his story earlier, my grandfather was a POW himself and he never talked about it, not even to my grandmother...
The second part is about Auschwitz. As prisoner of war the author was kept under normal conditions near Auschwitz but not in a KZ. This cannot be said about the Jews who had to work with them. I have seen some documentaries and you can also find original footage from Auschwitz on YouTube. It leaves you speechless and this is what has happened to the author as well. He probably only tells parts of what he has seen and even these few things are very shocking.
What I found almost unbelievalble is the fact that he exchanged clothes with a Jew to enter the KZ to witness the rest of the horror with his own eyes. Actually he doesn't gain much knowledge and to me it looks like he is hiding his real motivation. It does fit into his character though.
In case you wonder why the author hasn't told his story earlier, my grandfather was a POW himself and he never talked about it, not even to my grandmother...
March 26, 2012
This book is a personal account of a soldier during world war II, and while it focuses on how he was a POW working in the same fields as Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz, it also tells about his time before that, when he was captured by the Afrika corps, when he was wandering around Greece and Italy, and serving in Egypt. But the tale of how he switched out with a Jewish prisoner not once but twice, just for a night, is the central draw of the story.
I'm not really big on history and nonfiction, especially personal tales because there's always the question of how much was made up when there's no one to prove or tell otherwise. And if I question it, it makes me question the emotions I felt while reading the story, which I don't have to do in fiction because I know it's not real. But there's a different emotion that comes when a story when it's supposed to be true.
I'm not sure how I felt about the believability aspect of this whole story. With the title, I thought that he was helping Jews escape from Auschwitz rather than just taking their place for a day and letting them go back to their miserable existence after that. So while this seemed more realistic than helping them escape, I'm still not sure why he would do such a thing. It seems a very vague basis to do such a dangerous switch, and his tone through the rest of the story has an arrogance to it that makes me question.
It was still an interesting story, but I wouldn't recommend it to others as a must read.
I'm not really big on history and nonfiction, especially personal tales because there's always the question of how much was made up when there's no one to prove or tell otherwise. And if I question it, it makes me question the emotions I felt while reading the story, which I don't have to do in fiction because I know it's not real. But there's a different emotion that comes when a story when it's supposed to be true.
I'm not sure how I felt about the believability aspect of this whole story. With the title, I thought that he was helping Jews escape from Auschwitz rather than just taking their place for a day and letting them go back to their miserable existence after that. So while this seemed more realistic than helping them escape, I'm still not sure why he would do such a thing. It seems a very vague basis to do such a dangerous switch, and his tone through the rest of the story has an arrogance to it that makes me question.
It was still an interesting story, but I wouldn't recommend it to others as a must read.
June 17, 2019
Boek kwam heel langzaam op gang, heb echt lang gedaan over de eerste helft. De tweede helft daarentegen heb ik binnen twee dagen gelezen, heel aangrijpend en geeft flinke stof om over na te denken.
April 14, 2024
This was a great true story of WWII. It’s hard to believe that this torture of people really happened, but it did. This was told by a British POW and the things that happened to him and what he saw happening at Auschwitz are heart wrenching.
March 14, 2023
4,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Recensie volgt later.
Recensie volgt later.
November 6, 2015
What an amazing story! Denis Avey! A British POW shipped to a camp in Poland as a "difficult" prisoner found himself mysteriously working alongside prisoners who were even lower down the pecking order at IG Farben and wearing striped pyjamas. These pitiful individuals were marched off to a separate camp at the end of each day. Avey determined to find out more and persuaded Ernst Lobethal to change places with him for 24 hours.
Avey managed to get a letter through to Ernst sister in Birmingham and asked her via a cryptic message to send the only thing that might possibly be useful.... Cigarettes.... To himself.... Which he was then able to give gradually to Ernst who was able to use them to trade.
Denis never knew until he was an old man that this single compassionate but wise act had in fact directly led to Ernst surviving the long march out of Auschwitz because he had wisely traded 2 whole packets of the precious cigarettes to have his shoes repaired with thick walking soles.
Ernst Lobet's five hour testimony has been preserved for posterity by the Shoah foundation and it was this testimony that Denis was finally shown only after his book had been written!
The book is the powerful testimony of one man who could not forget and, despite his nightmares and wish to just get on with life , eventually found a way to tell the story.
"He was tested in the fire and not found wanting"
Despite the horror of Avey's war time experiences he tells the story with a light touch and does not miss opportunities for a touch of humour or a story against himself. Avey's honesty about the attitude of postwar Britain to returning POWs does not make for easy reading it shines a light in some dark corners of national life yet he recounts this too without bitterness.
Some ignorant people have had the temerity to suggest that because some authorities claim that Auschwitz III did not have the famous sign over the entrance Avey's story is flawed. Yet Avey himself points out that Primo Leviwho was also in that camp, mentions the sign no less than 3 times! Sadly Levi died long before Avey began to tell his story or I am sure he would have been foremost in speaking out against such ignorant calumny.
Some people complain about the title of Avey's story.... I find these comments and complaints extraordinary! Avey's determination to interact with those more desperate than himself despite the extreme risk can be seen now as the defining moment of his life even though at the time it appeared to be just one event in a complex story. It was this really that drove Avey to eventually tell the story. It was this that defines the man and reveals his deep compassion, empathy and courage and reveals above all his determination to remain true to himself in a place dedicated to destroying people. Avey's compassionate act, though it felt very small and inadequate to him had consequences far beyond those he could imagine and ultimately brought freedom and joy to one who was condemned to having his future and his past exterminated for the crime of being a Jew.
Two thousand years ago Jesus told a small band of followers the story of "the Good Samaritan " a story that has resonated down the centuries and influenced millions of people. Yet the Good Samaritan carried out his act of compassion with no risk to himself ....
Avey chose not to look away or cross over the road......
Avey managed to get a letter through to Ernst sister in Birmingham and asked her via a cryptic message to send the only thing that might possibly be useful.... Cigarettes.... To himself.... Which he was then able to give gradually to Ernst who was able to use them to trade.
Denis never knew until he was an old man that this single compassionate but wise act had in fact directly led to Ernst surviving the long march out of Auschwitz because he had wisely traded 2 whole packets of the precious cigarettes to have his shoes repaired with thick walking soles.
Ernst Lobet's five hour testimony has been preserved for posterity by the Shoah foundation and it was this testimony that Denis was finally shown only after his book had been written!
The book is the powerful testimony of one man who could not forget and, despite his nightmares and wish to just get on with life , eventually found a way to tell the story.
"He was tested in the fire and not found wanting"
Despite the horror of Avey's war time experiences he tells the story with a light touch and does not miss opportunities for a touch of humour or a story against himself. Avey's honesty about the attitude of postwar Britain to returning POWs does not make for easy reading it shines a light in some dark corners of national life yet he recounts this too without bitterness.
Some ignorant people have had the temerity to suggest that because some authorities claim that Auschwitz III did not have the famous sign over the entrance Avey's story is flawed. Yet Avey himself points out that Primo Leviwho was also in that camp, mentions the sign no less than 3 times! Sadly Levi died long before Avey began to tell his story or I am sure he would have been foremost in speaking out against such ignorant calumny.
Some people complain about the title of Avey's story.... I find these comments and complaints extraordinary! Avey's determination to interact with those more desperate than himself despite the extreme risk can be seen now as the defining moment of his life even though at the time it appeared to be just one event in a complex story. It was this really that drove Avey to eventually tell the story. It was this that defines the man and reveals his deep compassion, empathy and courage and reveals above all his determination to remain true to himself in a place dedicated to destroying people. Avey's compassionate act, though it felt very small and inadequate to him had consequences far beyond those he could imagine and ultimately brought freedom and joy to one who was condemned to having his future and his past exterminated for the crime of being a Jew.
Two thousand years ago Jesus told a small band of followers the story of "the Good Samaritan " a story that has resonated down the centuries and influenced millions of people. Yet the Good Samaritan carried out his act of compassion with no risk to himself ....
Avey chose not to look away or cross over the road......
March 3, 2019
A fascinating story of war in the western desert, leading to captivity for the author during the bulk of the war. Avey, a self-proclaimed leader, fought the war heroically (according to him) until he was wounded and captured. He survived brutal and dangerous transport and multiple prison camps, finishing up at a camp next door to an Auschwitz sub-camp where POWs and KZ (concentration-camp) inmates labored to construct a war factory.
The story is told in beautiful working-class English, though whether this comes from Avey or his journalist-co-writer Broomby we don't know. Avey, horrified by the mistreatment of the Jewish KZ slaves, does what he can to help individuals with scraps of food and cigarettes (used for barter.) He concocts the idea of swapping places with a KZ inmate named Ernst and eventually completes his plan, spending one night in the KZ barracks while Ernst, a German Jew, spends one night as a British Army POW in their barracks. The next day they swap back. The plan is repeated a few weeks later. Ernst gets a one night vacation from filth, starvation, and imminent murder and Avey gets to experience the horror first-hand.
It could have happened this way. A skinny POW could shave his head, dirty his face, and pass for a KZ inmate among thousands of similar slaves. Avey tells us he wanted to know, he wanted to remember names. But he was already doing that, working side-by-side with KZ inmates, sneaking conversations when the guards weren't looking. He could see the KZ; he could smell the crematorium and see the smoke. He had not seen the inside of the KZ barracks, but it surely would have been described to him.
If somebody or something gave him away during his night in the KZ, he would be killed. Friends of Ernst could have killed him, leaving Ernst alive and well as a POW. Was it worth the risk? After describing his disappointment at how little he learned on his first swap (the mass-murder apparatus was located in the main camp, miles away and unseen except by its victims) Avey decides to do it again.
It could have happened this way, but on balance, I believe he made it up. I don't see any motivation that would overcome the risk, especially on the second swap where he KNOWS there is nothing to be gained. All the witnesses (60+ years later) are dead.
But wait! Ernst is discovered to have survived the war, emigrated to America, prospered, and made a long video about every detail of his life during the war and in the KZ. He mentions a tall British POW called 'Ginger' (conveniently, for purposes of exaggerating his exploits, Avey claims to have never used his real name, making it difficult to verify his statements.) Ernst does NOT mention swapping places with the Brit called 'Ginger', only that they spoke and Ginger got him some cigarettes. Is it possible that Ernst did not remember escaping the KZ on two occasions by swapping with Ginger? Is it possible Ernst forgot or didn't mention the swaps because he considered them insignificant?
No. The logical conclusion is that Avey, a man with a strong need for attention, invented the swaps and never 'broke into Auschwitz.'
The book is more fascinating for the possibility that its premise is fiction.
The story is told in beautiful working-class English, though whether this comes from Avey or his journalist-co-writer Broomby we don't know. Avey, horrified by the mistreatment of the Jewish KZ slaves, does what he can to help individuals with scraps of food and cigarettes (used for barter.) He concocts the idea of swapping places with a KZ inmate named Ernst and eventually completes his plan, spending one night in the KZ barracks while Ernst, a German Jew, spends one night as a British Army POW in their barracks. The next day they swap back. The plan is repeated a few weeks later. Ernst gets a one night vacation from filth, starvation, and imminent murder and Avey gets to experience the horror first-hand.
It could have happened this way. A skinny POW could shave his head, dirty his face, and pass for a KZ inmate among thousands of similar slaves. Avey tells us he wanted to know, he wanted to remember names. But he was already doing that, working side-by-side with KZ inmates, sneaking conversations when the guards weren't looking. He could see the KZ; he could smell the crematorium and see the smoke. He had not seen the inside of the KZ barracks, but it surely would have been described to him.
If somebody or something gave him away during his night in the KZ, he would be killed. Friends of Ernst could have killed him, leaving Ernst alive and well as a POW. Was it worth the risk? After describing his disappointment at how little he learned on his first swap (the mass-murder apparatus was located in the main camp, miles away and unseen except by its victims) Avey decides to do it again.
It could have happened this way, but on balance, I believe he made it up. I don't see any motivation that would overcome the risk, especially on the second swap where he KNOWS there is nothing to be gained. All the witnesses (60+ years later) are dead.
But wait! Ernst is discovered to have survived the war, emigrated to America, prospered, and made a long video about every detail of his life during the war and in the KZ. He mentions a tall British POW called 'Ginger' (conveniently, for purposes of exaggerating his exploits, Avey claims to have never used his real name, making it difficult to verify his statements.) Ernst does NOT mention swapping places with the Brit called 'Ginger', only that they spoke and Ginger got him some cigarettes. Is it possible that Ernst did not remember escaping the KZ on two occasions by swapping with Ginger? Is it possible Ernst forgot or didn't mention the swaps because he considered them insignificant?
No. The logical conclusion is that Avey, a man with a strong need for attention, invented the swaps and never 'broke into Auschwitz.'
The book is more fascinating for the possibility that its premise is fiction.
October 22, 2017
I have mixed feelings when it comes to this book. Mainly after reading a lot of negative comments on reviews online about this novel and about Denis Avey, a lot of people call him a liar, that the things he said he did, never really happened at all. But what gets me is...how do they know what happened then and to him? They weren't there, it happened over 70 years ago and many people had passed on or died during the war, so any witness may not be able to say it it happened or not.
Other people say that he's just a old man, making a mistake in the retelling of his history during the second world war, even Jew's have said that it couldn't of happened. But we don't know for sure,there is a reason why the past is the past. And the longer we more forward, the further the past goes and the less people there is to help state whether a story is true or not.
I would like to believe what I've read within this book, but like most post war stories which come out many years later, you have to take them with a pinch of salt, decide on whether you want to believe a piece of information or whether to decide straight away that this person has lied.
If everything that Dennis Avey has said happened, then I call him a brave man, to do something so daring and dangerous takes a lot of courage when facing down the members of the SS. But as most soldiers from the second world war, many don't speak about their experience until years later, sometimes even never at all. I personally have never spoken, or even known if any of my family served during the second world war, I do know that I have a 3x or 4x uncle who served in the battle of the Somme and is buried over in France from world war one.
But I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about the horror which went on during the war, from different views and to try and find out whether it happened or not, I would tell them to read this novel and then decide for themselves. I know, that had I read all these reviews before I started reading The man who broke in to Auschwitz, then my view on the book would be highly different.
At the end of the day, everyone has their own thoughts to what may of happened and not happened during those years. Just because someone may not believe a person when they are retelling their story, doesn't mean that they should abuse that person. After all, they thought for us in a time that protected our country, all they have to imagine is what life would be like if those men never gave their lives during the second world war, whether they died or are still alive now, because at the end of the day, nearly all those men lost their innocence in that war.
Other people say that he's just a old man, making a mistake in the retelling of his history during the second world war, even Jew's have said that it couldn't of happened. But we don't know for sure,there is a reason why the past is the past. And the longer we more forward, the further the past goes and the less people there is to help state whether a story is true or not.
I would like to believe what I've read within this book, but like most post war stories which come out many years later, you have to take them with a pinch of salt, decide on whether you want to believe a piece of information or whether to decide straight away that this person has lied.
If everything that Dennis Avey has said happened, then I call him a brave man, to do something so daring and dangerous takes a lot of courage when facing down the members of the SS. But as most soldiers from the second world war, many don't speak about their experience until years later, sometimes even never at all. I personally have never spoken, or even known if any of my family served during the second world war, I do know that I have a 3x or 4x uncle who served in the battle of the Somme and is buried over in France from world war one.
But I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about the horror which went on during the war, from different views and to try and find out whether it happened or not, I would tell them to read this novel and then decide for themselves. I know, that had I read all these reviews before I started reading The man who broke in to Auschwitz, then my view on the book would be highly different.
At the end of the day, everyone has their own thoughts to what may of happened and not happened during those years. Just because someone may not believe a person when they are retelling their story, doesn't mean that they should abuse that person. After all, they thought for us in a time that protected our country, all they have to imagine is what life would be like if those men never gave their lives during the second world war, whether they died or are still alive now, because at the end of the day, nearly all those men lost their innocence in that war.
May 4, 2013
I'm sure most of this account is true but as far as the Auschwitz swap is concerned I'm afraid I don't believe it. Most of the book is full of detail but the Auschwitz swap is covered in a few pages of description most people could write having watched a few films of this awful atrocity.This reads to me like a story of the war career the author wished he'd had not the one he actually had. Reading this book you would think Mr Avey single handedly won the war and revealed the truth about Auschwitz. He is constantly frustrated by the 'officers' and the fact that he isn't one. He is desperate to be a hero.
The book is flawed and anyone who has actually visited Auschwitz knows that the sign 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (work sets you free) is actually at the entrance of Auschwitz 1 not Auschwitz 3 where Mr Avey supposedly saw it. Maybe the mere idea of breaking into Auschwitz so appalls me that I cannot see the truth in Avey's account. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it. The only point I would make in Avey's defence is that the book has been written by a journalist who obviously sets the tone and this results in Avey being quite unlikeable from the outset.
The book is flawed and anyone who has actually visited Auschwitz knows that the sign 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (work sets you free) is actually at the entrance of Auschwitz 1 not Auschwitz 3 where Mr Avey supposedly saw it. Maybe the mere idea of breaking into Auschwitz so appalls me that I cannot see the truth in Avey's account. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it. The only point I would make in Avey's defence is that the book has been written by a journalist who obviously sets the tone and this results in Avey being quite unlikeable from the outset.
February 14, 2012
The beginning is very technical. One must be able to translate military jargon in order to fully grasp the situations described. I was able to get the gist but I'm pretty sure I missed a lot.
The Auschwitz portion wasn't as hard hitting as I expected. There's no real sense of time passing, thus I didn't grasp how long he spent there. He also seemed egocentric, as though it was necessary for him to switch places with one of the Jewish prisoners in order for him to believe that they were being treated horribly. He tried to explain the rationale but I wasn't buying it. It was stupid.
The best part, and the redeeming part, was the post-war section. I think the bulk of the book should have been more about this time. Again, he doesn't really describe time passing (he's just back from war and then suddenly it's 2003) very well but, this was the best, most moving part, and this is the part that hit me hardest.
The Auschwitz portion wasn't as hard hitting as I expected. There's no real sense of time passing, thus I didn't grasp how long he spent there. He also seemed egocentric, as though it was necessary for him to switch places with one of the Jewish prisoners in order for him to believe that they were being treated horribly. He tried to explain the rationale but I wasn't buying it. It was stupid.
The best part, and the redeeming part, was the post-war section. I think the bulk of the book should have been more about this time. Again, he doesn't really describe time passing (he's just back from war and then suddenly it's 2003) very well but, this was the best, most moving part, and this is the part that hit me hardest.
January 31, 2013
Contrary to what the title suggests, this book has little to do with Auschwitz. It's a desultory memoir of a British POW recounting his war years. He claims to have switched places with a Jewish inmate at Auschwitz and gained entrance to the notorious prison camp with the express purpose of reporting what conditions were like inside the camp. Strangely, he doesn't report anything until this book, published more than 60 years later. Coupled with the fact that it's difficult to imagine one sneaking in and out of Auschwitz, it's difficult to say whether the book is true. The book reminds me of the controversial book by Slavomir Rawicz, "The Long Walk" in which the author claims to have escaped a Russian gulag and marched to freedom across the Himalayas (encountering a Yeti along the way).
December 2, 2018
I have grown up with stories like these. Stories that made clear that we should never forget. Still, it took me till this summer to finally visit Auschwitz, which was one of the reasons why I picked up this book later this year. It's not easy to read, it's hard to imagine that what Avey describes actually happened. It's almost impossible to imagine that people are capable of doing it, but that is exactly why this story needs to be told. We have to remember what happened, but we also need to remember the small acts of kindness that happened in these situations as well.
January 22, 2024
Wauw, wat een indrukwekkend boek!
Boeken over de 2de wereldoorlog zijn soms zo mooi geschreven dat ik zou moeten weten dat ze geen goede verhalen voor bedtijd zijn maar toch laat ik me er elke keer door vangen.
Boeken over de 2de wereldoorlog zijn soms zo mooi geschreven dat ik zou moeten weten dat ze geen goede verhalen voor bedtijd zijn maar toch laat ik me er elke keer door vangen.
April 16, 2021
Wstrząsająca historia, którą warto się zainteresować. Choć były momenty, które mi się dłużyły, to całość naprawdę mi się podobała.
August 29, 2018
Um livro de não ficção, o relato de um jovem inglês que se alista não pela pátria, nem pelo rei mas por uma aventura juvenil que acabou por se tornar um conflito moral.
Um testemunho impressionante de um não judeu que o acaso levou a estar prisioneiro no E715 e que troca de lugar com um judeu para poder testemunhar pessoalmente de um dos maiores crimes da humanidade.
Este é um livro de memórias e para mim que já li vários sobre a época e sobre Auschwitz foi uma nova visão.
Um testemunho impressionante de um não judeu que o acaso levou a estar prisioneiro no E715 e que troca de lugar com um judeu para poder testemunhar pessoalmente de um dos maiores crimes da humanidade.
Este é um livro de memórias e para mim que já li vários sobre a época e sobre Auschwitz foi uma nova visão.
May 30, 2013
I had this book marked down as one to pick up from time to time and read a few pages and finish in a month or two. Didn't quite work like that. Couldn't put it down. Human conflict has always tended to bring out the best and worst in people and WWII excelled in bringing out the very worst in some people. Surviving was tough and you needed to be damn tough to survive what Denis Avey did yet as he is at pains to tell in this book his suffering while unimaginable to most of us today was far exceeded by those who incurred the full wrath of the Nazi killing machine.
The book is gripping and Denis does not spare us detail. Perhaps bizzarely the book also contains a lot of humour, at least in the pre-Auschwitz chapters. He first describes his background and how he fought across North Africa an experience that finished many of his friends and one that gave him a full taste of the horrors of war. Taken prisoner Denis is then lucky to survive rounds of neglect, ill treatment, disease and starvation eventually finding himself imprisoned in a Polish labour camp in Oswiecim. Aveys description of the Hell on Earth created by the Nazis is harrowing as it can only be. His bravey, or foolhardyness, in the face of this Hell and his efforts to continue to do something and to assist his fellow man are humbling.
Not surprisingly Denis Avey suffered serious pschological damage as a result of his experience for many years and at a time when such things were not acknowledged and support systems did not exist. I don't think many of us appreciate what those who lived through it continued to silently suffer with and struggle to overcome for the rest of their lives. Interestingly Avey notes that PoWs were seen as having let the side down and as having helped the German war effort through their labour. It seems the films some of us grew up on of the chaps carving their chess sets and their tunneling exploits were a myth that hid a grim reality that still has to be properly told. While officers may have lived it up to an extent the men were worked inhumanly and their deaths were of no consequence to the Nazis. Denis could only consider himself lucky not to be from the Red Army whose members were considered "sub-human" fit only for extermination as those in the camp beside him were.
As the living link to the worst episode of human history during the Twentieth Century gets ever thinner it is the recording of such witnesses and keeping of the memory alive that becomes all the more important. Being of little faith in humanity and looking at post WWII human behaviour sadly I think such things probably can and will happen again and are more likley to if people are not reminded of the past. Denis Avey in this book records the lives of many who were destroyed, helping to keep their memory alive. His witness is also a powerful cry for people today to understand the ultimate futility of hate and war and to resist all that would drag us back down that road. He set out to bear witness and that is just what this excellent book does.
The book is gripping and Denis does not spare us detail. Perhaps bizzarely the book also contains a lot of humour, at least in the pre-Auschwitz chapters. He first describes his background and how he fought across North Africa an experience that finished many of his friends and one that gave him a full taste of the horrors of war. Taken prisoner Denis is then lucky to survive rounds of neglect, ill treatment, disease and starvation eventually finding himself imprisoned in a Polish labour camp in Oswiecim. Aveys description of the Hell on Earth created by the Nazis is harrowing as it can only be. His bravey, or foolhardyness, in the face of this Hell and his efforts to continue to do something and to assist his fellow man are humbling.
Not surprisingly Denis Avey suffered serious pschological damage as a result of his experience for many years and at a time when such things were not acknowledged and support systems did not exist. I don't think many of us appreciate what those who lived through it continued to silently suffer with and struggle to overcome for the rest of their lives. Interestingly Avey notes that PoWs were seen as having let the side down and as having helped the German war effort through their labour. It seems the films some of us grew up on of the chaps carving their chess sets and their tunneling exploits were a myth that hid a grim reality that still has to be properly told. While officers may have lived it up to an extent the men were worked inhumanly and their deaths were of no consequence to the Nazis. Denis could only consider himself lucky not to be from the Red Army whose members were considered "sub-human" fit only for extermination as those in the camp beside him were.
As the living link to the worst episode of human history during the Twentieth Century gets ever thinner it is the recording of such witnesses and keeping of the memory alive that becomes all the more important. Being of little faith in humanity and looking at post WWII human behaviour sadly I think such things probably can and will happen again and are more likley to if people are not reminded of the past. Denis Avey in this book records the lives of many who were destroyed, helping to keep their memory alive. His witness is also a powerful cry for people today to understand the ultimate futility of hate and war and to resist all that would drag us back down that road. He set out to bear witness and that is just what this excellent book does.
July 27, 2017
Até à pagina número 100 li sem grande interesse, não tinha a ver com o que me fez comprar o livro. A partir daí o livro ficou interessante embora eu ache que deveria ter tido mais enfoque na troca e o que Denis possa ter experenciado no campo de Auschwitz...afinal ele trocou duas vezes com Hans, por uma noite e viu o que comiam e como dormiam...falou com os colegas de Ernie que partilhavam com ele a mesma cama. Embora ele visse como era o dia-a-dia de trabalho exaustivo dos "risquinhas" como ele se refere aos judeus prisioneiros. De resto é bastante impressionante e comovente o relato das coisas que ele viu, viveu e testemunhou. Já li muitos livros dedicados ao tema da 2ª Guerra Mundial e por mais que leia fico sempre consternada e angustiada com o período mais negro da história recente da humanidade.
March 30, 2016
You read this and wish it was fiction, but human depravity cannot be wished away. Auschwitz was real.
People think it could never happen here. Don't you believe it; it doesn't take much.
People think it could never happen here. Don't you believe it; it doesn't take much.
January 13, 2022
Non tutti i sopravvissuti ad atrocità varie hanno la penna di Primo Levi. Essere assistiti da qualcuno che permetta di raccontarsi con efficacia, non è meno lodevole, ma mi sembra il segno di quanto il protagonista sia interessato a mantenere fede ai fatti. Una storia molto più variegata di quello che lasci intendere la copertina di questa edizione, ma non meno importante e - a tratti, chiaramente - avvincente quanto un buon romanzo d'azione.
August 19, 2011
The number of survivors of WWII are dwindling away. How grateful I am for those who tell the tale. That particular time in history should never be repeated. Mr. Avey completed an incredible journey - keeping his hope and love for fellow man alive. Would that we could all follow his example. We should never forget - in order to never again commit those atrocities. This should be required reading for all.
Memorable passages:
"It was days before I was able to reflect on those hours in Auschwitz III and appreciate the utter desperation of the place. It was the worst thing you could do to a man, I realised. Take everything away from him - his possessions, his pride, his self-esteem - and then kill him. Kill him slowly. Man's inhumanity to man doesn't begin to describe it. It was far worse than the horror I faced in the desert war."
"The question that insulted me most was, 'How many Germans did you kill?' We were forced to do the things we had done and it cheapened the whole thing to talk about it like that. They were inviting us to gloat about the things we wanted to forget. The enemy soldiers we had killed had paid the price and going on about it showed a lack of respect."
"There it was and it was so simple. It was the shoes. I had walked over all those bodies. People who slipped and were shot, got frost-bite and were shot, people whose wooden clogs bit into their swollen feet until they fell behind and were shot. Ernie had used the cigarettes to get the one thing that made the difference between life and death: strong boots."
"I began to understand why Ernie was telling his story. He was committing it to record so that others in the future would know that he, Ernie Lobet, once had a grandmother named Rosa who lived and was loved by her family. He too was bearing witness."
" 'For evil to succeed all that was needed was for the righteous to do nothing.' I was thrilled to hear his words. 'You cannot let things go...you have to fight for what you believe and you can't be passive, you cannot let somebody else do it for you'...People think it could never happen again and particularly that it could never happen here. Don't you believe it; it doesn't take much."
Memorable passages:
"It was days before I was able to reflect on those hours in Auschwitz III and appreciate the utter desperation of the place. It was the worst thing you could do to a man, I realised. Take everything away from him - his possessions, his pride, his self-esteem - and then kill him. Kill him slowly. Man's inhumanity to man doesn't begin to describe it. It was far worse than the horror I faced in the desert war."
"The question that insulted me most was, 'How many Germans did you kill?' We were forced to do the things we had done and it cheapened the whole thing to talk about it like that. They were inviting us to gloat about the things we wanted to forget. The enemy soldiers we had killed had paid the price and going on about it showed a lack of respect."
"There it was and it was so simple. It was the shoes. I had walked over all those bodies. People who slipped and were shot, got frost-bite and were shot, people whose wooden clogs bit into their swollen feet until they fell behind and were shot. Ernie had used the cigarettes to get the one thing that made the difference between life and death: strong boots."
"I began to understand why Ernie was telling his story. He was committing it to record so that others in the future would know that he, Ernie Lobet, once had a grandmother named Rosa who lived and was loved by her family. He too was bearing witness."
" 'For evil to succeed all that was needed was for the righteous to do nothing.' I was thrilled to hear his words. 'You cannot let things go...you have to fight for what you believe and you can't be passive, you cannot let somebody else do it for you'...People think it could never happen again and particularly that it could never happen here. Don't you believe it; it doesn't take much."
June 23, 2018
I just finished, The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by John Rambo. I mean Denis Avey, but that’s practically the same.
I can’t understand why the British needed the help of the Americans in WW2, with a guy like Avey in their ranks. A life saver, horse whisperer, engineer, inventor, developer, mathematicians, raid commando, ace marksman, prize boxer, black belt martial arts, skilled knife fighter, the best driver in the world. I mean the guy basically captured the entire Italian army single handed and with his bare hands. Ok, I’m exaggerating, but so is Avey.
I used to have a commanding officer, whenever we told him stuff that happened on a mission, within a few months he would be retelling that same story, but with him in the main role. I think Avey suffers from the same condition. He collected a bunch of war time stories and has put himself in them as the main character when retelling them.
Why is the book called “The man who broke into Auschwitz”? Well your guess is as good as any. Cause all he has to say about the camp is, they slept with three on a wooden board and ate cabbage soup. So basically, he says nothing on Auschwitz and seems to know nothing more than anyone that has read a history book in his life.
My guess for the title choice is because “The Adventures of Baron von Munchhausen” was already taken.
If you want to learn anything about Auschwitz, forget about this book, it’s not about Auschwitz, it’s about an old man and his tall tales.
Needless to say, I moved the book from the history section of my library to the fiction section. I’m still considering if to put it in historical fiction or fantasy. But why the second star than? Oh, well, I don’t mind reading fiction.
I can’t understand why the British needed the help of the Americans in WW2, with a guy like Avey in their ranks. A life saver, horse whisperer, engineer, inventor, developer, mathematicians, raid commando, ace marksman, prize boxer, black belt martial arts, skilled knife fighter, the best driver in the world. I mean the guy basically captured the entire Italian army single handed and with his bare hands. Ok, I’m exaggerating, but so is Avey.
I used to have a commanding officer, whenever we told him stuff that happened on a mission, within a few months he would be retelling that same story, but with him in the main role. I think Avey suffers from the same condition. He collected a bunch of war time stories and has put himself in them as the main character when retelling them.
Why is the book called “The man who broke into Auschwitz”? Well your guess is as good as any. Cause all he has to say about the camp is, they slept with three on a wooden board and ate cabbage soup. So basically, he says nothing on Auschwitz and seems to know nothing more than anyone that has read a history book in his life.
My guess for the title choice is because “The Adventures of Baron von Munchhausen” was already taken.
If you want to learn anything about Auschwitz, forget about this book, it’s not about Auschwitz, it’s about an old man and his tall tales.
Needless to say, I moved the book from the history section of my library to the fiction section. I’m still considering if to put it in historical fiction or fantasy. But why the second star than? Oh, well, I don’t mind reading fiction.
June 17, 2011
This book has been brilliantly written! Denis Avey, along with Rob Broomby, let me feel the emotion, the horror, sorrow, heartache, anguish, everything that Denis went through in those horrible years!
Denis tells of his early life as a youngster, training for the war, then heading over to fight. He tells of the mate he went with, Les, how he'd grown up with him, dated his sister, the hardship they went through together.
When he eventually was caught, and became a POW, there is the story of the ship he was on, with hundreds of other prisoners, being torpedoed, and how he escaped from that. Recaptured, he eventually ended up at the labour camp E715, very near Auschwitz. He witnessed the brutality meted out to the prisoners there, and the idea came to him that he needed to see what went on, he HAD to see what went on. The fact that he went into Auschwitz not once, but twice, of his own free will, is astounding!
There is a whole lot more for you to read in Denis' book, but I will leave it now, so I don't spoil it for you.
Just let me say, it is most definitely worth a read, I am amazed at Denis' courage, both back in the war years and now, for telling the story of what went on, the story that no-one wanted to hear, or admit happened......
Denis tells of his early life as a youngster, training for the war, then heading over to fight. He tells of the mate he went with, Les, how he'd grown up with him, dated his sister, the hardship they went through together.
When he eventually was caught, and became a POW, there is the story of the ship he was on, with hundreds of other prisoners, being torpedoed, and how he escaped from that. Recaptured, he eventually ended up at the labour camp E715, very near Auschwitz. He witnessed the brutality meted out to the prisoners there, and the idea came to him that he needed to see what went on, he HAD to see what went on. The fact that he went into Auschwitz not once, but twice, of his own free will, is astounding!
There is a whole lot more for you to read in Denis' book, but I will leave it now, so I don't spoil it for you.
Just let me say, it is most definitely worth a read, I am amazed at Denis' courage, both back in the war years and now, for telling the story of what went on, the story that no-one wanted to hear, or admit happened......
February 24, 2012
From Amazon:
"THE MAN WHO BROKE INTO AUSCHWITZ is the extraordinary true story of a British soldier who marched willingly into Buna-Monowitz, the concentration camp known as Auschwitz III.
In the summer of 1944, Denis Avey was being held in a POW labour camp, E715, near Auschwitz III. He had heard of the brutality meted out to the prisoners there and he was determined to witness what he could.
He hatched a plan to swap places with a Jewish inmate and smuggled himself into his sector of the camp. He spent the night there on two occasions and experienced at first-hand the cruelty of a place where slave workers, had been sentenced to death through labour.
Astonishingly, he survived to witness the aftermath of the Death March where thousands of prisoners were murdered by the Nazis as the Soviet Army advanced. After his own long trek right across central Europe he was repatriated to Britain.
For decades he couldn't bring himself to revisit the past, but now Denis Avey feels able to tell the full story - a tale as gripping as it is moving - which offers us a unique insight into the mind of an ordinary man whose moral and physical courage are almost beyond belief. "
"THE MAN WHO BROKE INTO AUSCHWITZ is the extraordinary true story of a British soldier who marched willingly into Buna-Monowitz, the concentration camp known as Auschwitz III.
In the summer of 1944, Denis Avey was being held in a POW labour camp, E715, near Auschwitz III. He had heard of the brutality meted out to the prisoners there and he was determined to witness what he could.
He hatched a plan to swap places with a Jewish inmate and smuggled himself into his sector of the camp. He spent the night there on two occasions and experienced at first-hand the cruelty of a place where slave workers, had been sentenced to death through labour.
Astonishingly, he survived to witness the aftermath of the Death March where thousands of prisoners were murdered by the Nazis as the Soviet Army advanced. After his own long trek right across central Europe he was repatriated to Britain.
For decades he couldn't bring himself to revisit the past, but now Denis Avey feels able to tell the full story - a tale as gripping as it is moving - which offers us a unique insight into the mind of an ordinary man whose moral and physical courage are almost beyond belief. "
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