The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz

THE MAN WHO BROKE INTO AUSCHWITZ is the extraordinary true story of a British soldier who marched willingly into Buna-Monowitz, the concentration camp known as Auschwitz III.

In the summer of 1944, Denis Avey was being held in a POW labour camp, E715, near Auschwitz III. He had heard of the brutality meted out to the prisoners there and he was determined to witness what he could.

He hatched a plan to swap places with a Jewish inmate and smuggled himself into his sector of the camp. He spent the night there on two occasions and experienced at first-hand the cruelty of a place where slave workers, had been sentenced to death through labour.

Astonishingly, he survived to witness the aftermath of the Death March where thousands of prisoners were murdered by the Nazis as the Soviet Army advanced. After his own long trek right across central Europe he was repatriated to Britain.

For decades he couldn't bring himself to revisit the past that haunted his dreams, but now Denis Avey feels able to tell the full story - a tale as gripping as it is moving - which offers us a unique insight into the mind of an ordinary man whose moral and physical courage are almost beyond belief.

“A 'strange, brave and bracing story'. - Canberra Times A simply written, compelling account of the extraordinary actions that eventually earned him teh British Hero of the Holocaust awards. - Saturday Agean excellent memoir of survival. - Publishers Weekly Denis is a hero in time of terror, a man of limitless moral and physical courage. - Henry Kamm, New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winnerThis is a most important book, and a timely reminder of the dangers that face any society once intolerance and racism take hold. - Sir Martin Gilbert'His descriptions are terrifyingly vivid. His bravery in saving the life of a Jewish prisoner is inspiring'. - News of the World A unique war story from a brave man. - Kirkus”

A 'strange, brave and bracing story'. - Canberra Times

A simply written, compelling account of the extraordinary actions that eventually earned him teh British Hero of the Holocaust awards. - Saturday Age

an excellent memoir of survival. - Publishers Weekly

Denis is a hero in time of terror, a man of limitless moral and physical courage. - Henry Kamm, New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner

This is a most important book, and a timely reminder of the dangers that face any society once intolerance and racism take hold. - Sir Martin Gilbert

'His descriptions are terrifyingly vivid. His bravery in saving the life of a Jewish prisoner is inspiring'. - News of the World

A unique war story from a brave man. - Kirkus

Denis Avey was born in Essex in 1919. He fought in the desert during the Second World War and was captured and held as a Prisoner of War in a camp near Auschwitz III. In 2010 he received a British Hero of the Holocaust award.

Rob Broomby is a British Affairs correspondent for the BBC World Service. He was formerly the BBC Berlin correspondent and has worked as a broadcast journalist mainly with BBC Radio for more than twenty years.

THE MAN WHO BROKE INTO AUSCHWITZ is the extraordinary true story of a British soldier who marched willingly into Buna-Monowitz, the concentration camp known as Auschwitz III.In the summer of 1944, Denis Avey was being held in a POW labour camp, E715, near Auschwitz III. He had heard of the brutality meted out to the prisoners there and he was determined to witness what he could.He hatched a plan to swap places with a Jewish inmate and smuggled himself into his sector of the camp. He spent the night there on two occasions and experienced at first-hand the cruelty of a place where slave workers, had been sentenced to death through labour.Astonishingly, he survived to witness the aftermath of the Death March where thousands of prisoners were murdered by the Nazis as the Soviet Army advanced. After his own long trek right across central Europe he was repatriated to Britain.For decades he couldn't bring himself to revisit the past that haunted his dreams, but now Denis Avey feels able to tell the full story - a tale as gripping as it is moving - which offers us a unique insight into the mind of an ordinary man whose moral and physical courage are almost beyond belief.

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