“The Auschwitz Escape” by Joel C. Rosenberg – Resisting at the Core

Though the occupying Nazi force during the Second World War was indeed overwhelming for many countries, there are still countless people who risked and gave it all they had to resist the invading force.

The Auschwitz Escape by Joel Rosenberg presents us the story of Jacob Weisz, a man involved in the German resistance. Though Weisz is indeed German himself, he sees what scourge the invading Nazi force truly is, and decides that it is his duty to preserve the Fatherland he knows and fight back against this oppression.

Shortly after joining the underground resistance, Jacob and his friend find themselves in the middle of a raid, and then packed off on a cramped train to Auschwitz, the most infamous of death camps. In it, they must gather whatever strength and faith they have left, escape and tell the world about all the atrocities they are witnessing within.

Though this is of course a work of historical fiction, it does tell a story that happened countless times, to both better and worse degrees. To be frank, even though this is certainly an unforgettable tragedy at which none can laugh, I was still rather skeptical about the whole thing, mainly due to the overwhelming amount of literature already available on the subject.

Though the ending can be seen from afar, Rosenberg still manages to do a rather decent job at creating tension by making situations from which it’s hard or near-impossible to see an exit for the protagonists.

The characters are very moving in their own ways, all of their stories eventually ending in the tragedy that is Auschwitz, no matter if they began with hope or love.

Perhaps one of the best aspects of this book is that Rosenberg manages to stir within the reader that indomitable desire to fight evil and pure hatred for whoever propagates it.

He discusses subjects such as the force of hope that can keep a person going even through the darkest of days, how to reconcile faith in the face of such an inexplicable evil, the importance of fighting back against evil rather than sitting by, and more.

All in all, The Auschwitz Escape is an interesting and moving novel on many dimensions, offering a captivating and nerve-wracking story coupled with some profound thinking on the oldest subject there is: the battle of good against evil. If that sounds like something you’d like, then don’t pass up your chance to read this book.

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Joel C. Rosenberg Personal site Joel C. Rosenberg is an American author and communication strategist. He is an Evangelical Christian who has written numerous books on the subject of terrorism and how it relates to biblical prophecies. These books include The Ezekiel Option, for which he was awarded the Gold Medallion Book Award.