The Escape Artist
The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World
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The Escape Artist
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Freedland
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Written by:
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Jonathan Freedland
About this listen
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award · New York Times Bestseller
"A brilliant and heart-wrenching book, with universal and timely lessons about the power of information—and misinformation. Is it possible to stop mass murder by telling the truth?" — Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
A complex hero. A forgotten story. The first witness to reveal the full truth of the Holocaust . . .
Award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Jonathan Freedland tells the astonishing true story of Rudolf Vrba, the man who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of a truth too few were willing to hear.
In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became one of the very first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and make his way to freedom—among only a tiny handful who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen—a forensically detailed report that eventually reached Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the Pope.
And yet too few heeded the warning that Vrba had risked everything to deliver. Though Vrba helped save two hundred thousand Jewish lives, he never stopped believing it could have been so many more.
This is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who, even as a teenager, understood that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death. Rudolf Vrba deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler, and Primo Levi as one of the handful of individuals whose stories define our understanding of the Holocaust.
©2022 Jonathan Freedland (P)2022 HarperAudioYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about The Escape Artist
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- petlover
- 2023-09-02
The Best Historical Reflection of “The Final Solution” to date
I’ve read many books and have seen many films about Auschwitz and this by far outweighs the rest. It left me angry, sad, shocked, relieved and many more adjectives!
Freedland brought this story to life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David R Brake
- 2023-01-11
Four extraordinary stories woven together
The horrors of Auschwitz, an incredible escape, how we failed to act and his life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nano
- 2024-06-25
A MUST READ FOR ALL
I thought this was an amazing overview of the life of this very brave man who helped save the lives of many Jewish people, thereby giving them the opportunity to procreate and keep their race alive and well. It is mind-boggling to me how any person could ever treat another human with such evil and disregard for human life, as not just the Nazis, but others invoked upon the Jewish people at this point in history. It deeply saddens me, but I am so grateful the author took the task of writing this book on.
We need to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and we all need to learn from this. None of us are safe in this world from atrocities such as these people suffered. What can turn seemingly normal human beings into such monsters? We need to do better, we must do better, and keeping the Holocaust alive in our memories and history is a key component of this.
The author does a tremendous job of developing the main character in the story, depicting his intellect, his spirit, his sometimes misguided anger, abruptness or roughness. This helps us to understand the the heart and soul from which Walter (Rudy) operated. He depicted strength of the human spirit few of us could ever hope to achieve. I wish I had met him and known him. It would have been such a privilege to learn from a man such as this. Having said that, we are given the opportunity to do that on another level through this work.
Finally, I really appreciated the mention of documentaries, other texts and scholarly works woven throughout the story, that one can look to for further history on the Holocaust.
To the author, many thanks for your wonderful work!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Orcaman
- 2023-01-31
Moving story
Very well written and read aloud. Learned many important lessons about humanity and life. Well worth the read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2023-12-14
A “page turner” of an audiobook
I’ve listened to many stories of survival against all odds, and this one truly stands out as one I couldn’t wait to return to, day after day. A story superbly told and narrated by the storyteller.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-09-11
Outstanding
The historical story, the depth of research, the storytelling and the narration (by the author) are remarkable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Veronika
- 2024-05-17
A story of bravery and hope
Very well written and amazingly performed. One of those books that will leave you with thoughts of humanity, including human stupidity, and ignorance. Yet it is the story of one man that fought to live and lived a great life he did.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AaronGC
- 2023-01-07
Kept listening
It was hard to stop listening for me. An intriguing story. The first was more ‘eventful’ but the second half, although slower and less exciting, was more informative. I didn’t much of how the holocaust narrative was shaped and made me want to learn more. Love to narrator.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2025-02-24
Thank you, and the Rest is History!
I heard about this book through the Podcast “And The Rest is History”. I had never heard of anyone escaping Auschwitz, let alone surviving for so long after its escape enough to tell the tale. What made me do a double take, however, was hearing my countries name in a place of such horrors. I needed to know more. And I do not regret listening to this book, especially now, in this political crisis we are living in. Highly recommend to all. These stories need to be heard/read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2023-07-14
Moving, well written and researched necessary read
This book was amazing. So moving, so sad, but a very unique perspective on the Holocaust with emphasis on parts such as the stolen wealth from the Jews from the Reich and the treachery of Jewish officials in Hungary. It’s one of the most moving accounts of the Holocaust I’ve ever read. I feel very lucky to have read the story of this amazing hero and have heard the stories of other everyday people who helped him along the way. You can’t believe what people live through and go on. This story is many testimonies to the resilience of the human spirit, the capacity to recover after great evil, the need to go on. Thank you so much, Jonathan Freedland, for this amazing, needed account.
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1 person found this helpful