Auschwitz Escape - The Klara Wizel Story

Amazing book well written. Inspiring I just can't imagine I come from a completely different generation the 80s and little safe old nz. You must read! I highly recommend I only read biographies and this is one of the best.My husband's oma (grandmother) was from Holland and also escaped Hitler after he captured her for 2 years, her father was part of the Dutch resistance, Hitler forced her to perform for them at the time she was 18 stunningly beautiful and the singer of the Dutch symphony orchestra, they used her for many reasons (ones no-one likes to imagine) she also spoke fluently in 6 languages which obviously would work to Hitler's advantage. I'm yet to read her diary and short story she has published only as family have informed me how hard it is to read its broken there hearts, (it's much harder to read the truth about ones u know and love) Oma was the most loving happy appreciative person I ever met always so full of life and love no hatred. Unfortunately she passed away last year surrounded by all her family safe in nz. I thank her for the warmth she exuded.I will be seeking through the websites provided from this story to share further personal information and perhaps even hopefully talk or make contact with any survivors that may have known or remembered our family survivors, you just never know.My heart goes out to the true survivors, and ones that moved on and made complete joy of their lives and all around them.Thank you Klara and all your family for your story

Excellent book describing the experiences of Klara Wizel. It was a excellent follow up also of what happened to her afterword.The story is amazing. The escape is intriguing. The highlight in the book is the amazing escape. I only wish the book had elaborated more on that. How can you make a hole in the wall and not get caught? What were others who were with her in that room thinking when she was busting out. Was there reaction? Why didn't anyone follow her? Why was there no guards outside. How was it that she wasn't noticed. After all she popped out. Wasn't she afraid of being caught? Sure she was. but I would like to have it elaborated. Was there ever any indication of the reaction of the Nazi's who had to have found a hole in the wall? I wish more of that part of the story was elaborated so I could have a better picture of it in my mind. Is the hole still there? This was a great book. If there was more elaboration on the escape I would definitely have give it a full five stars. To me it's worth 41/2 for sure.

Auschwitz Escape: The Klara Wizel Story is by Danny Naten and R.J. Gifford.Danny Naten had the honor of meeting Klara Wizel and talking to her. On the way home from that event, he was telling his wife about this meeting and the impression her story had on him. Klara had never told her story publicly and he felt it needed to be told. He convinced Klara to tell him her story and he and a friend would write her story to share it with the world and encourage them not to forget this happened. Unfortunately, Danny was unable to finish the book due to his death, so his wife helped R.J. Gifford get the book published.Klara was from Sighet, Transylvania in 1927. She lived there with her parents, five brothers, and four sisters. The family of twelve was very close and worked hard for what they had. Her Father was a holy man, a scholar who loved to study the Torah. He taught them the value of being generous to others. Though he had five girls to find dowries for, he paid the dowry for a young girl he met through the Rabbi. He was paying it in payments that ended only when they were placed on the trains headed to Poland. Klara had a fun and joyful childhood with many friends and activities. She and her best friend loved going to the theater, especially to see Gone With the Wind. She also knew Elie Wiesel and his sister Beatrice.When the family was placed on a transport, the family included her parents, her brothers Mendal and Mortho, Klara and her three sisters, Hedy, Rose, and Ancy. Klara’s brothers. Haskell and Joseph, were forced to join the Hungarian Army and her brother Lazar had left for Russia to try his luck there. Her sister Ety and her husband who were on a later transport. Upon arrival at Auschwitz, Mendal was sent with the men while Mortho and her Father were sent to the gas chambers. Her Mother and her sister Ancy were also sent to the gas chambers while the three other girls were sent into the camp and were able to stay together.Klara tells the story of her stay in the camp with her sisters and how the three of them kept each other going and as safe as possible. Klara, however, eventually stopped eating and was selected to be sent to the gas chamber. Her escape is miraculous. However, she was separated from Hedy and Rose.After the war, she went back to Sighet to find out about the rest of her family. She lived with Elie Wiesel’s sister Beatrice in her home until she could get back on her feet. She and Beatrice left and went to Prague where they heard many people were being reunited with loved ones. Beatrice already knew that her sister and Elie were in Paris and were OK. While in Prague, Klara received a letter from her sisters saying they were in Sighet so she went back only to find they had left for Cluj to be with relatives. She was reunited with them there. They finally a of Joseph’s death and Haskell’s being sent to Auschwitz; but they never found out what happened to Mendal and Haskell but assumed them dead. Their sister Ety was killed in Mauthausen. It wasn’t until twenty years later when the three girls and their families were in Canada and California that they learned that Lazar was alive in Russia. He joined them in Canada.This is one of the best memoirs I have read lately about a Holocaust survivor. It is very well-written and although you learn the horrors of Auschwitz, it is not very graphic. Her interactions with Mengele are very vivid and you can feel the evil he portrays as he stands in his immaculate uniform with the whitest white gloves directing people to life or death. It is chilling.

An amazing true story of a young woman who had all but given up on her own life and had been personally selected by Mengele to be gassed, after having endured a long time in Auschwitz. And right at the moment a miraculous lifeline emerges and she becomes once again her true self and the agent of her own salvation. It’s an amazing story about not giving up even when everything is seemingly lost. I want to add a word of appreciation for my friend Beverly Naten whose husband of Blessed Memory helped bring out the story and publish the book and made it into a Documentary. She asked me to read the book, which is an important book as it keeps alive the Memory of those who perished and those who survived the Shoah.

As expected, an excellent read .

Well, the ending was anyway. Klara's path was anything but. A product of a happy, joyous home in Romania, her family didn't go to Auschwitz until towards the end of WWII. She somehow survived all the horrors of the concentration camp while losing much of her family only to be picked by Dr. Mengele for the gas chambers because of her extreme weight loss. I won't give away the miraculous series of events after that but obviously Fate or whatever decides these things had other ideas. Simply and modestly told, it is quite the story relayed without undue emotion, blame or pathos.

VERY GOOD BOOK

This book is obviously factual and an easy read despite the story line. It is a fantastic insight into life at the time and how families were treated leading up to the outbreak of war and how they ended up in camps such as Auschwitz.It is a great book revealing some aspects of everyday life in the camp. Although we all wished such places had never existed the fact is that they did and we all owe it to people like Klara to hear their story and to respect those who did not get out.Compelling and upsetting at times, but we need to know how and why these camps were set up to ensure it never happens again. Good book for secondary schools I think.

Amazing story - informative, sad and true. An incredible insight to the horrific times so many innocent souls endured at Auschwitz. Should be read by all. May there never be another war!

Biography of strength and courage in appalling circumstances

A very poignant and moving story that was well written and gives a unique and disturbing insight into the horrors of Auschwitz. But despite the focus on Mengele being horrific, the strength and personality of Klara seems to outshine the horrors and remind us of the human spirit and strength.This is a book which will certainly appeal to people who are looking for a better understanding of the human impact of Auschwitz.So a four star rating is justified. I thought the book itself about what took place in the camp was quite brief but equally the human story and the focus on family values and the love within the family, despite all the tragedy, is important in order to retain a positive perspective.If I have time, I will try to watch the documentary.