The Auschwitz Escape Quotes

“The question shouldn't be "Why are you, a Christian, here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?' The real question is "Why aren't all the Christians here?”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Evil, unchecked, is the prelude to genocide. - Anonymous”
― Joel C Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“books are burned, they will, in the end, burn people, too.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“It’s not for us to choose our times, Jacob. But we must be ready when they come.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“What an honor to be chosen to care for God’s chosen people.” Luc reflected on that for the next few days. He hadn’t really thought about it as an honor. It just seemed the right thing to do. The Bible commanded him to love his neighbors. Weren’t these his neighbors, even if they didn’t believe the same things he believed?”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Jacob remembered it distinctly because it was his twenty-second birthday, and he was annoyed at being awakened by his uncle at 1:17 in the morning. But Avi had no time to be sentimental. He ordered Jacob to hightail it with him through a bone-chilling winter night to get to some safe house they’d never been to before and make it there by the top of the hour. Jacob had been hoping to sleep in a little and maybe eat a half-decent meal before sitting down to plan the sabotage of a radio tower near Antwerp, an operation scheduled for the coming weekend. But none of that was to be.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Adolf Hitler and his Brownshirts had surged to power. Now they held Germany by the throat. The Gestapo was rapidly creating a cruel and brutal police state that treated all but true Aryans like dogs and swine. That was certainly true for Jews like the Weisz family. In just the last few years, they and all of the Jewish families in Germany had been stripped of their citizenship and denied many of their most basic rights. Jacob’s father, an esteemed professor of German history, had been summarily fired from his prestigious post at Frederick William University in Berlin. The Weisz family had been forced out of their beautiful, spacious home in the suburbs of the capital. They’d had a big red J stamped on their official papers and had been denied permission to leave the country. So they had left Berlin and made a new home in Siegen.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Evil, unchecked, is the prelude to genocide.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“...the question shouldn't be, "why are you, a Christian here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?" The real question is, "Why aren't all Christians here?”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Evil was defeated because good people rose to the challenge and refused to surrender.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“To”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“I can't explain the motive of ever Christian, but for me... the answer is obvious. Our Savior was Jewish. His disciples were Jewish. They were born in Israel. They lived in the Promised Land. Jesus preached to 'the lost sheep of Israel.' He died on the cross in Jerusalem. He was raised from the dead in Jerusalem. And the Bible teaches that our Savior is coming back again to reign and rule from Jerusalem. Why shouldn't we love Jews, then? Jesus never taught us to hate anyone. He taught us to love, and he set the supreme example for us to follow. Jesus commanded us to love one another. He commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. You're my neighbor, Jacob, If not you, then who? You're from the same family and people as my Savior. How could I hate you or do you wrong?”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Where books are burned, they will, in the end, burn people, too.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Why are you, a Christian, here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?’ The real question is ‘Why aren’t all the Christians here?”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Or maybe he should always just expect the worst. Most often he would be right, and the few times he was not, at least he would be pleasantly surprised.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Attack a heavily guarded train full of Jewish prisoners?” one asked. “Have you lost your mind, Avi?” “Of course not—have you?” Avi retorted, his face flush with anger. “They’re Jewish prisoners. Isn’t it our job to save them—or some of them, at least—if we possibly can?” “Not if it’s a suicide mission,” the commander shot back. “How do you plan to do it?” “I’d like twenty-two men,” Avi said. “Two experts in explosives to blow up the tracks. Two snipers plus another half-dozen trained marksmen to take out the SS troops and provide cover. I’ll also need a half-dozen men with bolt cutters and wire cutters and the like to open up the train cars, and a third half-dozen to drive the getaway cars.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Neither believes Asche has made a final decision on timing, but both believe that it’s possible the decision could have already been made and simply not yet communicated down the ranks. Either way, they are terrified. At first, both thought the Jews were just being sent to work camps. But they, too, are beginning to hear whispers of ghastly things happening at Auschwitz.” “Why are they talking to you?” one of the commanders inquired. “One is doing it for money,” Avi said bluntly. “The other is stricken with guilt. He no longer wants to be part of organizing these convoys. Indeed, he’s actually planning to flee his post and try to leave the country, too, though we’ve begged him to stay.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“To be honest, I’m not sure about that either,” Avi said. “At the moment, we believe they have about eight hundred Jews in the transit camp. I’m told when they get to fifteen hundred, the twentieth train will depart.” “How do you know this?” Morry asked. “I have two reliable sources. One is inside Asche’s headquarters,” Avi replied, referring to the Gestapo’s feared Avenue Louise compound in Brussels. “The other works at the prison at Boortmeerbeek. They are both patriotic Belgians. Both are civilians who have been forced to work for the Nazis. Neither knows of the other, but their stories match, and I have great confidence in these sources.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Come on, Avi, those are baseless rumors,” Morry sniffed. “The Nazis are killing Jews—how did you put it—‘systematically’? Rubbish. What would be the point? They need Jewish labor to build and run their factories. They need Jewish hands to produce matériel for the German war effort.” “Maybe yes, maybe no,” Avi replied. “I agree it sounds incredible. But this much we know for certain: our own people are being shipped out of Belgium to the most feared camp the Nazis have. What exactly happens at Auschwitz? I have no idea. But I’ve just learned that Kurt Asche—Hitler’s personal representative in Belgium on the ‘Jewish question’—is making plans as we speak to fill a twentieth train with more Jews and send them to Auschwitz as well.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“The nineteenth train departed the Mechelen camp on the fifteenth of January,” his uncle continued. “According to my sources, some sixteen thousand Jews have been deported to date. This would be bad enough, but there are reports that Auschwitz is not simply a slave-labor camp, as it has been described. At least one Nazi official in Brussels has privately told colleagues that Auschwitz is a ‘slaughterhouse’ or a ‘death factory.’ Some believe the Nazis are systematically killing Jews there by the hundreds, maybe by the thousands.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Instead Avi insisted they risk their lives by defying the Nazi curfew to get to a top-secret “emergency” meeting with Maurice Tulek and three other underground cell commanders, none of whom Jacob had ever met. “Gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to meet with me, and especially on such short notice,” Avi began as they huddled in the uninsulated attic of a farmhouse on the outskirts of a town called Herstal. “A few hours ago, I received credible intelligence that the Nazis have moved a total of nineteen trainloads of Jews—mostly women and children, but also men, especially the elderly—out of Belgium to a concentration camp in Poland, a camp known as Auschwitz.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“For the next several years, they gathered critical intelligence on German troop movements, blew up fuel depots, stole Nazi uniforms, and sabotaged lorries. Once, Avi and Jacob were ordered to attack a police station and grab any uniforms they could. They captured two police uniforms, two pistols, a small box of ammunition, and a money box with over ten thousand francs inside. What’s more, they escaped with a bonus neither of them had expected—a stash of six thousand food-ration coupons, which they promptly gave to Morry to distribute among the various Jewish Resistance members scattered throughout the country.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“At first the team’s primary goal was helping Jewish families escape the Third Reich. Together, they helped more than three hundred families pass through Belgium. Some went to England, and some made it to Canada. Jacob and his new friends provided safe houses, basic provisions, clothes, and false documents along the way. Once the invasion occurred, however, Maurice Tulek redirected them from rescuing Jews to other tasks considered more vital to the Allies.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“They were also natives of Belgium, and this Avi prized above all. They knew Brussels in particular, inside and out, and they not only had excellent contacts throughout the country but seemed to excel at making new contacts that proved equally valuable. Jacob had never had friends like this in Siegen. His friends were not as interesting, not as well-read, and not nearly as committed to a common goal against a common foe. But here, in the danger-drenched climate of Nazi-controlled Europe, it was a combination that quickly bonded these four young men to each other and to Avi.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Whereas Micah was the leader and Henri was the professor, Jacques was the class clown. Mischievous and full of life, he was always playing pranks yet narrowly escaping getting caught by teachers and other authorities. And though he was no more Jewish than Henri, he, too, was very fond of the Kahn family and their Jewish friends. He abhorred the Nazi goose-steppers and the ugly anti-Semitism of the times. In Avi’s and Jacob’s eyes, these three young men were ideal recruits for the Resistance. They proved to be fast studies, hard workers, and exceedingly brave.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“The Nazi invasion didn’t happen by the end of 1939 after all. The German seizure of the Low Countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—didn’t occur until May of 1940, and Jacob was grateful for the extra months of training and conditioning. Maurice, Avi, and Jacob used the time to recruit and assemble the rest of their team of young Jewish insurgents.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“At one level, the whole notion seemed ludicrous, even suicidal. Yet in a way that he could not explain even to himself, his uncle’s intense sense of conviction about the matter struck a mystifying yet riveting chord deep in Jacob’s soul. Finally he shrugged and nodded, and as he did, Avi and Morry beamed with what appeared to be joy, a rather odd emotion to be feeling under the circumstances, Jacob thought. “Very good,” the Frenchman began. “I will personally oversee your training. You two must both get in much better shape. Physical conditioning is critical. Then we’ll cover setting up safe houses, forging documents, Morse code, building and fixing and operating all kinds of radios, surveillance, weapons training, hand-to-hand combat. But we don’t have much time. We’re expecting the Germans to invade by the end of the year. You sure you’re up for this?” Jacob looked at his uncle, then to Maurice Tulek, and nodded. “I’m ready.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“Morry’s right,” Avi said. “We’re not going to England, Jacob. We’re needed here.” “But I thought . . .” “No, Jacob. We cannot run. We cannot be selfish. We cannot think only of ourselves. The Jews of Germany are in danger. So are the Jews of Belgium. We need to help them get to England and America and Palestine.” “But, Uncle,” Jacob protested, “you said we had to get out. You said that we had to get to someplace safe.” “Things have changed,” Avi calmly replied. “Everything has changed. You and I can’t fix what happened to your family. But we can help other Jewish families in Siegen and beyond. After all, Jacob, if we don’t help them, who will?”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“As he and Avi compared notes on all that had transpired, Jacob found that though they grieved, they did not cry. They had lost everyone dear to them except each other. But fear was a tonic that somehow calmed their nerves and focused their minds. Soon they were deep inside Belgium and holed up in a barn behind a farmhouse, hiding in a loft under bales of hay. “So where exactly are we?” Jacob whispered as the sun began to rise. “Zellik,” Avi whispered back. “Where?” “A little village northwest of Brussels.” “How little?” “Don’t know—too small for us to go wandering around in daylight, that’s for certain.” “You know anybody here?” “One guy.” “Who?” “You’re about to find out. Come on. It’s time.” Avi climbed out of their hiding place and brushed himself off, then brushed pieces of straw off Jacob. Moving quickly and quietly, they sneaked to the side door of the barn, made sure the coast was clear, then sprinted for the farmhouse. When they reached a cellar door, Avi began knocking with some sort of a code.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape

“For three days and nights, Avi and Jacob stayed on the move. Avi did allow for a few breaks. And they did stop a few times to take brief naps. But only brief ones, and then they were moving again. On the fourth day, Avi and Jacob slipped over the German border into Belgium. They were not safe, Avi told him in hushed tones, but he had friends who could help them. Along the way, when they were high up in the mountains or moving through a thick forest, Avi allowed Jacob to talk, and to both of their surprise, Jacob spilled his guts. He told his uncle everything that had occurred after Avi left the house on Sunday night. Jacob explained what had happened when the Gestapo came and how both of his parents had been shot, one after the other.”
― Joel C. Rosenberg, The Auschwitz Escape