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The True Story of a Father and Son's Fight for Survival in Auschwitz
by Jeremy Dronfield
Jeremy Dronfield has constructed a riveting tale of a father-son bond that proved stronger than the machine that sought to break them both.
In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was arrested by the Nazis. Along with his sixteen-year-old son Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in Germany, where a new concentration camp was being built. It was the beginning of a six-year odyssey almost without parallel. They helped build Buchenwald, young Fritz learning construction skills which would help preserve him from extermination in the coming years.
But it was his bond with his father that would ultimately keep them both alive. When the fifty-year-old Gustav was transferred to Auschwitz - a certain death sentence - Fritz was determined to go with him. His wiser friends tried to dissuade him - "If you want to keep living, you have to forget your father," one said.
But that was impossible, and Fritz pleaded for a place on the Auschwitz transport. "He is a true comrade," Gustav wrote in his secret diary, "always at my side. The boy is my greatest joy. We are inseparable." Gustav kept his diary hidden throughout his six years in the death camps - even Fritz knew nothing of it.
"Starred Review. Today, when studies are showing many Americans know little about the Holocaust, this will serve as a compelling remedy: a personal and universal account of brutality at its worst and of family devotion at its best." - Kirkus
"While some readers may find Dronfield's attempt to conclude on a positive note ("In the end the Kleinmann family not only survived, but prospered") forced, this account personalizes an atrocity, the depravity of which is difficult to come to grips with." - Publishers Weekly
"A riveting, tense, and ultimately satisfying account." - Booklist
"A scintillating portrait...that feels almost Dickensian in style." - Guardian
This information about The Stone Crusher was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jeremy Dronfield was born in Wales. After completing a doctorate in archaeology at Cambridge, he began writing fiction. His first novel, The Locust Farm, was shortlisted for the John Creasey Memorial award for debut crime fiction. His subsequent novels include the critically acclaimed The Alchemist's Apprentice. He also has a parallel career as a ghostwriter and non-fiction author. You can find information and news about Jeremy and his books at www.jeremydronfield.com.
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