The Auschwitz Photographer: The Forgotten Story of the WWII Prisoner Who Documented Thousands of Lost Souls

· Sourcebooks, Inc.
3 reviews
Ebook
352
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The Nazis asked him to swear allegiance to Hitler, betraying his country, his friends, and everything he believed in.

He refused.

Poland, 1939. Professional photographer Wilhelm Brasse is deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and finds himself in a deadly race to survive, assigned to work as the camp's intake photographer and take "identity pictures" of prisoners as they arrive by the trainload. Brasse soon discovers his photography skills are in demand from Nazi guards as well, who ask him to take personal portraits for them to send to their families and girlfriends. Behind the camera, Brasse is safe from the terrible fate that so many of his fellow prisoners meet. But over the course of five years, the horrifying scenes his lens capture, including inhumane medical "experiments" led by Josef Mengele, change Brasse forever.

Based on the true story of Wilhelm Brasse, The Auschwitz Photographer is a stark black-and-white reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust. This gripping work of World War II narrative nonfiction takes readers behind the barbed wire fences of the world's most feared concentration camp, bringing Brasse's story to life as he clicks the shutter button thousands of times before ultimately joining the Resistance, defying the Nazis, and defiantly setting down his camera for good.

The Nazis asked him to swear allegiance to Hitler, betraying his country, his friends, and everything he believed in. He refused. Poland, 1939. Professional photographer Wilhelm Brasse is deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and finds himself in a deadly race to survive, assigned to work as the camp's...

Discover more

Ratings and reviews

3 reviews
brf1948
October 31, 2021
I received a free electronic ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Luca Crippa, and Sourcebooks. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this history of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Luca Crippa is an author I will follow, one I am happy to recommend to friends and family. We begin this journey, based on the actual memories of Brasse, in Poland in 1939. Professional photographer Wilhelm Brasse was scooped up and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his connection to photography was discovered he was appointed as the photographer of the incoming trainloads of deportees arriving in Auschwitz - he photographed thousands of people over his five years served in Auschwitz, those who were incarcerated as well as the ones who went directly to the gas chambers. Hitler's obsessive need to keep solid records gave us a window into the horror he inflicted on the world. The photographs Brasse was requested to take, photos of the enforcers of Hitler's orders, shots to send to their girls, or families, aided in the post-war prosecution of those guards.
Did you find this helpful?

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.