The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz cover art

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

The Number One Sunday Times Bestseller

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

By: Jeremy Dronfield
Narrated by: John Sackville
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield, read by John Sackville.

In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was seized by the Nazis. Along with his teenage son, Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in Germany. There began an unimaginable ordeal that saw the pair beaten, starved and forced to build the very concentration camp they were held in.

When Gustav was set to be transferred to Auschwitz, a certain death sentence, Fritz refused to leave his side. Throughout the horrors they witnessed and the suffering they endured, there was one constant that kept them alive: the love between father and son.

Based on Gustav's secret diary and meticulous archive research, this book tells his and Fritz's story for the first time - a story of courage and survival unparalleled in the history of the Holocaust.

 20th Century Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Judaism Military Modern War Heartfelt Inspiring Scary Thought-Provoking Holocaust Survival

Critic reviews

An emotionally devastating story of courage - and survival
An extraordinary tale
The almost unbelievable true story of Fritz Kleinman, who volunteered to follow his father, Gustav, into Auschwitz. It's a terrible and dramatic account of the humiliations and evils suffered by Jews in concentration camps and a moving testimony to the bond between fathers and sons
The inspiring true story of Gustav and Fritz Kleinmann, an Austrian father and son who managed to survive internments in concentration camps from Buchenwald to Auschwitz. Dronfield draws extensively on Gustav's diary, allowing us inside the incredible bond between father and son that kept them together through harrowing experiences, and, like all the best narrative nonfiction, the story is both immersive and extraordinary. Deeply moving and brimming with humanity.
A deeply humane account. This book could not be more timely and deserves the widest possible readership
An absolutely extraordinary story. It is the greatest father and son story I've ever come across in my life
Extraordinary
We should all read this shattering book about the Holocaust. An astonishing story of the unbreakable bond between a father and a son. Brilliantly researched and written with searing clarity
An extraordinary tale of endurance and filial love. It is a miraculous story with many twists and Dronfield tells it well in an energetic and lively style
A unique story of defiance and hope amid the genocide
All stars
Most relevant
A truly horrifying and compelling story that should never be forgotten. Very well narrated book.

Horrifying

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hard hitting, painful hearing and brutal as you will ever hear.and ends with tears in your eyes.

Hard hitting in your gut story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fabulous story. Joyous ending. Would definitely recommend. Would listen again for sure. Best book so far.

Heartwrenching

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully read.
Yet another account of the despicable behaviour and contrasting resilience and strength of survivors of the holocaust.
What an amazing family.

An incredible account of bravery and resilience

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have known bits about the holocaust, from School and general knowledge. But I learnt so much from this personal account, that is delivered like a horror story but factually correct. I understand so much more now about the logistics and system in which the nazi's carried out the genocide of the Jews. shocking, but if you need to "switch you mind off" in order to be able to stomach the truth, this has enough of a storyline that you can follow along as if it's fiction

can't believe it is real!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews