Their story has been told several times over the years — by them and others. The reasons that it has been repeatedly ignored and forgotten are among those prompting Freedland to tell it again. Freedland recounts Rosenberg’s experiences and his dawning recognition of what the Nazis were doing and how it depended on obscuring the truth.

https://forward.com/culture/521558/jonathan-freedland-escape-artist-auschwitz-vrba-rosenberg-wetzler/

I've got to say: this is, hands down, the best book about the Holocaust I've ever read.
(Feel free to use that blurb on the paperback!)

https://forward.com/forward-newsletters/forwarding-the-news/521904/the-man-who-escaped-auschwitz-to-warn-the-world/

Non-fiction sometimes has the worst "reputation". It is slow, dull, and boring. Then you pick up a non-fiction book that sets your soul alight, makes your pulse race, or firmly puts a lump in your throat. This is the type of non-fiction that you never forget. The Escape Artist is exactly this type of book. How could such a thing ever happen in the first place? We have come so far - but when reading this book and reflecting on the events of today you can't help but ask the question: have we really? Rudi Vrba (Walter Rosenberg) saved the lives of 200,00 Hungarian Jewish people. This book brings the (mostly) unknown story to light.

An engrossing and moving account of the life of Rudi Vrba. Vrba was an extraordinary man who, when imprisoned in Auschwitz at 19, made it his mission to learn as much as possible about how the death camp operated and to escape to report to the world what was happening. AND THEN HE DID. He and his friend Fred Wetzler were the first Jews to escape Auschwitz, and only two more followed. Vrba led a troubled life, but he deserves a place alongside others like Anne Frank and Primo Levi who helped the world understand the Holocaust.

Rudolph Vrbo seems primed from youth to become the man for the moment. When he is interned as a young man in Auschwitz, he begins to compile mental lists of the victims--numbers, occasions, incidents and events. Jonathan Freedland takes us inside Vrbo's experience from the beginning to his ultimate escape. His intention is not just attaining his own freedom, but more importantly to put a stop to the killing machine. What happens, and more shockingly, what does not happen is in large part the subject of the second half of the book. Freedland leads the reader along the challenging journey with this very complicated man, in a well researched, balanced and very well written book.

In April 1944, two Jewish prisoners, nineteen-year-old Walter Rosenberg and twenty-five-year-old Fred Wetzler, carried out a daring plan to escape from Auschwitz. Walter was desperate to break out of this horrendous place, not only because of its filth, lack of edible food, brutality of its guards, and ever-present threat of extermination. He was anxious to publicize what he knew about the Nazis' methodical efforts to eliminate European Jewry. Walter understood that many Jews believed the Nazis' lies about what would happen to them after resettlement. The Germans assured the Jews that they would remain with their families and keep their possessions. Walter hoped that if the victims knew the truth about their fate, they would find the strength to fight back with whatever tools they had at their disposal.

Jonathan Freeland's "The Escape Artist" is a compelling account of suffering, despair, and heroism. Walter was born in Slovakia, a country whose leaders collaborated enthusiastically with Hitler's henchmen. Because he was a Jew, this teenager, who had a facile mind and loved learning, was barred from attending school. Even before he was sent to Auschwitz, Walter's combination of chutzpah, savvy, and luck helped him outwit his enemies on more than one occasion.

In this well-researched book, Freedland describes Walter's experiences in Auschwitz, where he was incarcerated for almost two years. When Walter arrived as a seventeen-year-old, he was ordered to carry out exhausting tasks that sapped what little energy he had. Fortunately, he would later be transferred to "Kanada," a warehouse where the clothing, jewelry, money, and other belongings confiscated from the Jews were sorted for distribution to the Germans. The author provides telling details that prove, in no uncertain terms, that government officials, clergymen, and others in positions of power could have saved Jewish lives, but refused to do so; that few individuals took Walter's warnings to heart, even when he credibly sounded the alarm about the Nazis' heinous crimes; and finally, that survivors of Auschwitz, like Rudi, were often so traumatized that they had difficulty reintegrating themselves into society. Freedland follows up his suspenseful description of Walter's flight from Auschwitz with compelling historical information about what happened to Rudolph Vrba—the name Walter used after the Holocaust—when the war was finally over. Although Rudi went on to become a scientist and testified for the prosecution at Nazi war crimes trials, he was also paranoid, high-strung, and prone to explosive outbursts of anger. In "The Escape Artist," Freedland portrays Vrba as a tragic figure who embraced life but was far too troubled to fully appreciate it, even after his wartime experiences were a distant but haunting memory.

What a remarkable story and remarkable book. The true account of Rudolph Vrba 's life is told. He, and a fellow prisoner, were the first Jews to escape from Auschwitz, and attempted to expose the horrors that were being perpetrated on his fellow human beings.
This is a relatively unknown story and Freedland is to be commended for bringing it to us. So many fascinating and important books have been written about the Holocaust. This book provides so much more information and first person details. What's equally important is an examination of Rudolph Vrba, the person. The author honestly fills in his life following World War II.
This is such a significant work. I felt so privileged to learn about Vrba and what he had accomplished in his life.

This thrilling story of escape from Auschwitz stands out among other books on the subject. Two young prisoners managed to avoid capture and delivered detailed report on the death camp horrors saving thousands of Hungarian Jews from deportation. The author also shares with us the story of how one of them, Rudolf Vrba, fared in his life after the war and how his wartime experiences affected him. Although he was among the very few who succeeded in escape, he had gone on to have a full life professionally, and continued his activism, he never escaped the camps entirely. That part of the book offering an insight into the life of this heroic person was particularly interesting.
Great read for people interested in the history of Holocaust and psychology of survival.

The Escape Artist
by Jonathan Freedland
Pub Date: October 18, 2022
Harper
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
This is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who even as a teenager understands that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death, a man who deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler and Primo Levi as one of the handfuls of individuals whose stories define our understanding of the Holocaust.
To me, this was a powerful book. I am glad I read it.
4 stars