“Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe”
By Steve Sheinkin. Roaring Books Press, New York, 2023, 243 pages, Grades 7 and higher.
The Holocaust, or Shoah, was a time of unmitigated hatred and violence in the period of the Third Reich. Beginning soon after Hitler seized power in 1933, the Shoah – the catastrophic destruction of Jews – lasted until early 1945.
All Jewish people under German control were marked for annihilation. Non-Jews such as Roma (Gypsies,) Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals, trade unionists and others were also placed on the death list. To carry out this lethal and horrifying plan, the Nazis eventually developed the “Final Solution.” This led to the building of death camps like Sobibor, Treblinka and the construction of the infamous concentration and death camp named Auschwitz.
Knowing how evil their plan was, the Nazis tried to hide their monstrous crimes. Virtually no one could escape from Auschwitz because of the camp security measures. But two young men, Rudi Vrba and Alfred Wetzler devised a dangerous and ingenious escape. They would bring the famous Auschwitz Protocol with them exposing the hideous crimes of the Final Solution. Steve Sheinkin writes a dramatic account of the arrests and imprisonment of both men and their dauntless courage in planning their escape. The name of this compelling book is “Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe.”
Rudi Vrba is a normal teenager in Slovakia in the late 1930s. His close friend, Gerta Sidonova, comes from a prosperous family near Rudi’s home. Both are Jewish, but neither is particularly religious. Hitler begins taking over countries bordering Germany in 1938, and this includes Slovakia. Soon Jews begin to face ostracization, the loss of civil rights, and finally, their economic status.
As the Nazi hand of death begins to fall on Jews in Slovakia, both teens try to escape to Hungary. Rudi is quickly arrested and eventually sent to Auschwitz. Gerta will be arrested by the Germans, but makes a daring escape and survives the war. Rudi has a different reality.
Surviving the initial selections, Rudi works in a number of areas in Auschwitz. He makes friends with Filip Muller, who has survived death by becoming a Sonderkommando. This group takes the corpses from the gas chambers to the incinerators. Filip tells Vrba the exact accounts of what happens to those doomed to be gassed.
Rudi adds this to his list of steps taken by the Nazis as they prepare to kill their victims. He feels helpless in the face of this demonic evil, but is determined to tell the world about the process used at Auschwitz to murder people. But the camp is so closely guarded that escape is nearly impossible. Vrba soon meets Alfred Wexler, and together they plan a daring escape. On the night of April 7, 1944, they elude the Nazis and escape from Auschwitz. How did they do it?
Vrba’s detailed account of the crimes of Auschwitz is known as the Vrba-Wexler Report. It is sometimes called the Auschwitz Protocol. The Protocol is a gruesome read, but needs to be remembered in the face of Holocaust deniers and the rise of anti-Semitism. Sheinkin is to be commended for writing this important testimony of the courage of those fighting the violent hatred of the Third Reich.
This is not a pleasant book to read, but one of great importance. I hope you get a chance to check it out of the library or to buy your own copy. Highly recommended.
