Quando estava a ler o livro, procurei no google mais informações sobre o autor. Encontrei alguns artigos que questionavam a veracidade da história no que diz respeito à entrada dele em Auschwitz, mas ninguém sabe se é mesmo verdade ou não. A verdade é que há factos e testemunhos que comprovam ou pelo menos estão em conformidade com a maior parte dos relatos aqui contados e que, ao contrário do que eu estava à espera, a história sobre o campo de concentração de Auschwitz constitui apenas uma pequena parte desta história. No final, não fiquei desiludida porque aprendi bastante sobre o percurso de um soldado britânico na guerra. O soldado Avey leva-nos ao Egipto, à Àfrica do Sul, à Grécia, Àustria, Polónia. Mostra-nos os europeus a lutar (e a matar) no deserto de outro continente, enquanto nas metrópoles os mesmos soldados procuram divertir-se. Mostra-nos, mesmo sem entrar num campo de concentração, a degradação humana, e a resiliência daqueles que sobreviveram. Descreve-nos a fome, o frio, e, pior do que tudo, a desumanização. Há histórias que Audrey nunca mais esqueceu, mesmo depois de 60 anos a viver uma vida normal. E eu também não quero esquecer. Reading this book is like listening to your grandpa tell you stories about his youth. I really enjoyed Avey's experience in Africa as well as how he and his fellow POW's attempted to sabotage the Nazi's war effort in the work camp. Avey had an impressive mental toughness that allowed him to survive. I think one of his biggest acts of bravery was helping a Jewish soldier by securing cigarettes for him. It turns out those cigarettes saved that man's life by allowing him to buy new boots and survive the death march. The weakest part of the book is how he supposedly 'broke into Auschwitz.' I realize publishers try to come up with snazzy titles to generate sales but this was really misleading. Avey claims to have swapped places with a Jewish prisoner (Hans) for 2 separate nights so he could bear witness with his own eyes and confirm what was going on (this was maybe 3 or 4 pages in the entire book). Now-I say 'supposedly' and 'claim' because it didn't seem believable that any of this happened (several researchers and experts on WWII also dispute his claims). Assuming he did swap places with Hans, his reasons were extremely weak (he could already see what going on) and he put Hans as well as everyone in Hans' block at risk. I'm not sure how someone could mistake him for a prisoner (the POW's were fed much better than the Auschwitz prisoners) and one of the prisoners should (would have?) turned him in for a favor. After the war was over, it was very sad to learn about his PTSD but inspirational to learn how he was reunited with Ernst's (the man he helped save with the cigarettes) family. Grade: 3/5
Do You like book Auschwitz. Ero Il Numero 220543 (2011)?
There have been books written about the Holocaust and various movies as well over the years, but I've never quite encountered a book quite like Denis Avey's "The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz". This is his re-telling of his experiences in WWII from the campaign in the desert through becoming a POW multiple times & eventually ending up at Auschwitz III. It was there that he got the idea (& did so twice) to swap out for a day with Jew named Hans to experience life from the "other side". Avey recounts in great detail his experiences in battle, as a POW in the concentration camp as well as in the time after the fact as the Germans were fighting to hold onto control of anything near the end. From the shores of North Africa through a death march across Central Europe, Avey's story will engross the reader and while the last third of the book deals w/ his life after the war & repatriation home, it doesn't take anything away from the overall story and meaning of his experiences. At times the book is a bit hard to read because of the graphic details of what he witnessed, but like so many other soldiers coming home from war it's a part of what they went through. Overall, though, this is a book that I highly recommend for anyone with an interest in WWII, the Holocaust, & Auschwitz in general. This book is a bargain at any price & well worth the read since it'll stick with you for a long time to come.
—nickiaddict
As other have pointed out a lot of this books takes place outside of Auschwitz. This book is the memoirs of the authors whole war experience including fighting in Africa for many months, being captured as a POW in Greece and finally being sent to Auschwitz to join other POWs there. The POWs where in a different part of the camp than the Jews were. The author switched places with one of the Jews to bear witness to what was happening to them. His friendship and intervention led to at least on more person surviving Auschwitz. It took a long time after the war before he felt he could talk about what happened and that people would listen. He also discusses having PTSD after the war and how there wasn't really any help for people struggling with what he was going thru. The expectation for their generation was that they would put their chin up, keep it there, and not talk about the horrible things they went thru. Even his family never asked him about it. His father (A WWI combat vet) lied about his age and enlisted and was a POW as well. They never discussed the horrible things they saw or experienced though they had many opportunities.
—booklover
Interesting read but hard to understand initially
—monkeylover
