Auschwitz: A Doctorn's Eyewitness Account (Penguin Modern Classics) by Miklós Nyiszli

Auschwitz: A Doctorn's Eyewitness Account (Penguin Modern Classics) Reviews

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  spinoza

  Gives an important insight into Dr Mengele and Auschwitz from a forensic doctor. Bruno Bettelheims afterword shows how his thinking has dated since 1960
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  Melinda

  This book is, as stated, written from the perspective of a doctor. It is not, however a medical book and is definitely readily readable to the lay person. It was fascinating to read the accounts of the set ups of the crematoriums and their processes. Thank you, Dear Dr, for
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  Luke Holliday

  This book is a brutal eye witness account of the goings on, delivered by the last Jewish doctor to work and survive Auschwitz.
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  Koalamaiden

  This book was a good read. At times it was hard not to compare some details with other books Ive read. But overall a very interesting book for those with a interest.
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  Magnolia Wales

  I am fascinated by stories from the holicost. This account from a doctor at Auschwitz is horrifying.
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  Jodabow

  It was outstanding. Hard to believe that people could be treated like that by another person. Hitler was a psycho
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  neville roger beer

  Sobering and thought provoking this account of the holocaust reads clinically and almost dispassionately, displaying the numbness of emotion and life empathy needed by the author to survive the experience. You are left wondering whether anyone in this age could go thru this
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  David McCoy

  As one of the few survivors, this book gives a very precise account of life in the camps. Mainly because so few lived to tell.
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  Jenny

  A gripping personal eye witness account of tragedy on an industrial scale. It is hard to recommend a book on this subject, but I do feel this title could and should be required reading at some point during secondary education. Suffice it to say I read it from cover to cover in virtually one sitting a tribute to the authors sensitivity and style.This victim of the holocaust told his story in order that future generations could learn from and remember this horrific period in twentieth century history when man inflicted unspeakable pain and suffering on his fellow man. We should do him the courtesy of reading it.I had great difficulty in understanding the opinions and points of view expressed in the Afterword. I found the comments trite in certain parts and unforgivable in others.
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  Andy in Washington

  I started reading this book, and didnt put it down until I had finished it. I forgot about eating, sleeping, or even getting a drink of water. It is probably the most intense and captivating account of anything that I have ever read. And what was especially curious is that just as I got to the ending, which is somewhat happy, the sun was coming up. Symbolism at its best.What can I say about the book? It details some absolutely horrible sides of what we call civilization, and while Dr. Nyiszli doesnt go out of his way to be gory, he doesnt sugar coat it either. He relates his experiences very well, and his story will generate horrible mental imagery. Some of the stories are so beyond sad that you want to cry. The ending was a tribute to the strength of the human spirit.Dr. Nyiszli is also very candid about some of the choices he made during his experiences. His skills as a doctor and pathologist gave him a means of survival, and he used it. It is tempting to try to judge the man, but I could not bring myself to do it.Are his accounts 100% factual? I doubt it, but I believe he does as credible a job as is humanly possible in remembering and relating details about horrific experiences. Doing it without going mad is an accomplishment in itself. And even if some of the details are incorrect, I am confident the narrative accurately relates the overall experience.If I ran the world, this book would be required reading for every high school student in the world. Yes, it is gory, disturbing, and not at all a pleasant experience, but certain events should never be forgotten. It certainly puts our own life and death struggles in perspective, and provides a caution of just how thin the veneer of human civilization really is. It is one of those books that will pick you up and shake you.Hated reading it, but glad I read it.The Kindle edition also had an amazing forward written by Bruno Bettelheim which attempts to explain how millions of people went passively to their own death. This essay is a fantastic commentary, and is an excellent addition to the book.
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  Maz

  I visited Auschwitz in 2012. Until then, I had read various books that included some narrative accounts but nothing in depth. Like so many,I had read Anne Franks Diary but this clearly reflected the account of someone in hiding. I had read the natural follow on from this Night by Elie Wiesel which should also be compulsory reading as it almost follows on from where AF leaves off. I have also read the recent excellent publication Hanns and Rudolf about the hunt for Rudolph Hoess the designer and Kommandant at Auschwitz.I felt the need to try and comprehend just how such a place as Aushwitz managed to keep going for so long, how the Nazis there could actually undertake to do what they did and the SonnderKommandos who worked under instruction of the Nazis. This book provides a lot of the answers. Being a doctor, Miklos Nyiszlis account is very factual. One can sense at times just how difficult it is for him to keep his emotions out of the writing and this makes the account even harrowing at times. Although this is very difficult to read, it is compelling. The style of writing is very easily readable, so than some other publications. I would stress that this does not relieve you from the sense of horror and sheer incrdulity of what the Nazis did. There is one short chapture where the SonnderKommandos find a young girl alive in one of the gas chambers. Miklos makes every effort to save her and convince a senior nazi officer to let her live. However, the officer determines she must die and so she is killed. It is what is left unsaid after the factual account of this scenario that makes it even emotive. There are times when Miklos questions himself and his work in the camp and you do wonder, what would you have done in the same circumstances?this book is harrowing, but the author retains a factual clarity which somehow makes the acts perpetrated on the Jews even abhorent than one could ever comprehend.You wonder how anybody who went through Auschwitz or other camps, and survived, was ever able to return to any sense of normality after what they experienced.This publication should be compulsory reading on any school reading list of WW2 study. It would also prove a good text in the study of english writing.
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  Kindleユーザー

  ナチスの狂気こんな歴史があるのか病理実験で吐き気がした。
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  Muhammad Nizam Bin Mohtar

  An average written book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️