War in the Shadow of Auschwitz

Memoirs of a Polish Resistance Fighter and Survivor of the Death Camps

By: John Wiernicki

Narrated by: Charles Henderson Norman

In 1943 Polish underground fighter John Wiernicki is captured and beaten by the Gestapo, then shipped to Auschwitz. In this chilling memoir, Wiernicki, a Gentile, details life in the infamous death camp, and his battle to survive, physically and morally, in the face of utter evil. The author begins by remembering his aristocratic youth, an idyllic time shattered by German invasion. The ensuing dark days of occupation would fire the adolescent Wiernicki with a burning desire to serve Poland, a cause that led him to valiant action and eventual arrest. As a young non-Jew, Wiernicki was acutely sensitive to the depravity and injustice that engulfed him at Auschwitz. He bears witness to the harrowing selection and extermination of Jews doomed by birth to the gas chambers, to savage camp policies, brutal SS doctors, and rampant corruption with the system. He notes the difference in treatment between Jews and non-Jews. And he relives fearful unexpected encounters with two notorious "Angels of Death": Josef Mengele and Heinz Thilo. War in the Shadow of Auschwitz is an important historical and personal document.

©2001 John Wiernicki (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Wiernicki's memoir is a haunting and intimate account of the Holocaust, written with an almost unbearable clarity." ( Booklist)

"In this simple but harrowing memoir, Wiernicki recounts his involvement with the Polish underground and his subsequent imprisonment in Nazi labor and death camps. That the author is a gentile survivor makes his testimony especially significant..." ( Publishers Weekly)

Uniquely told, historical, yet personal & moving.

Would you listen to War in the Shadow of Auschwitz again? Why?

Yes, I always enjoy picking up on details I missed the first time around!

What did you like best about this story?

This was my first time hearing one of these personal counts from a resistance point of view, slightly different than other survivor stories, yet ot remains up close and personal.

Have you listened to any of Charles Henderson Norman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Initially the narrators voice seemed robotic and I almost stopped listening, But I grew to enjoy it. So glad I didn't put it down!

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was recieved via Audiobook Boom, at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

A compeling recounting of survival

Would you listen to War in the Shadow of Auschwitz again? Why?

Yes, but not for a while. This biography was both amazing and horrifying. It's very well written and the level of detail makes it posible for you to almost see what's happening. This is normally a good thing but when you're reading about life in a concentration camp it can be tough to listen to. However this is nothing compared to how hard it must hae been to live through it.

What does Charles Henderson Norman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration was fantastic, I think I could happily listed to Charles read a dictionary. His narration played an important role is making this book comealive.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Lest we forget!

Any additional comments?

The subject makes it difficult to listen to, but stories like John's are important and listening to it is a valiable way to spend some time.

Note: This book was supplied free by the author/narrator/publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow....Just Wow

Loved every minute of it, extremely hard at some points and had me at tears at many. Good Narration as well.

Inspiring Story of Survival

The story of a young man in his mid teens in Poland at the outbreak of WWII. At the risk of a spoiler alert, he spent most of the war a prisoner in/near Auschwitz. The litany of people he encountered most of whom did not survive the war and even the many of captors who were later tried and executed for their crimes was heartrending. I found myself trying to decide how I might have responded at that age and expecting that I would most likely not have survived. Sure, perhaps a bit dry in parts, but gosh dangit, that is what the reality was!

The narrator did an excellent job carrying the what I will call stoic pathos of the author through his journey and quest to survive. Obviously he had a good handle on the Polish and German vocabulary integral to such a story.

Powerful but certainly not light reading/listening.

A very interesting book.

It was an interesting book to listen to. A lot of details of how it was in the Polish resistance movement. And about surviving in the deathcamps. The narrator did a good job with this book. The voice and the book was a "good match".

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.