The Stone Crusher: The True Story of a Father and Son’s Fight for Survival in Auschwitz

404 Pages·2018·9.84 MB·English

by  Jeremy Dronfield

HISTORY / HOLOCAUST / BIOGRAPHY
T
H
“Heart-wrenching yet compelling, The Stone Crusher is E
I
the vivid true story of a father and son’s survival of abso-
S N 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish
lute horror. Beautifully written, deeply poignant in its
upholsterer in Vienna, was arrested by
T
detail, it is a necessary testament today in the fi ght against the Nazis. Along with his sixteen-year-old
Holocaust denial.” O son Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in
Germany, where a new concentration
— Helen Fry, author of The London Cage: The Secret History of Britain’s N camp was being built. It was the beginning of a
STONE
World War II Interrogation Center six-year odyssey almost without parallel. They
E
helped build Buchenwald, young Fritz learning
THE
construction skills that would help preserve him

PRAISE FOR JEREMY DRONFIELD’S PREVIOUS BOOKS: from extermination in the coming years. But it
C
was his bond with his father that would ultimately
“Vivid and engaging . . . a moving “This book could read like a thriller, yet
R keep them both alive. When the fi fty-year-old
and appalling tale of the full horror the thorough research here provides a
of World War II’s last year on the weightier feast . . . a well-researched CRUSHER Gustav was transferred to Auschwitz—a certain
U death sentence—Fritz was determined to go with
eastern front.” and well-ordered biography.”
him. His wiser friends tried to dissuade him—“If
— Randall Hansen, author of Fire — Spectator
JEREMY DRONFIELD is a biographer, historian, S
and Fury: The Allied Bombing of you want to keep living, you have to forget your
novelist, and ghostwriter. Following a career in
Germany, 1942–1945 father,” one said. But that was impossible, and
“Meticulously researched and written H
archaeology, he began writing fi ction. His titles
with great verve, this biography is Fritz pleaded for a place on the Auschwitz trans-
include the bestselling thriller The Locust Farm “An elegant and sensitive biography . . . about as good as it gets.” E port. “He is a true comrade,” Gustav wrote in his
and The Alchemist’s Apprentice. His recent non- [an] absorbing book.”
secret diary, “always at my side. The boy is my
— Neil McKenna, author of
fi ction includes the bestselling Beyond the Call — Times (London) The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde R The True Story of a Father and Son’s greatest joy. We are inseparable.” Gustav kept his
and Dr James Barry: A Woman Ahead of Her
diary hidden throughout his six years in the death
Time. His website is jeremydronfi eld.com. “Immensely enjoyable. It’s a fascinating “A scintillating portrait . . . that feels Fight for Survival in Auschwitz camps—even Fritz knew nothing of it. From this
story, told with verve, sensitivity, and almost Dickensian in style.” diary, Fritz’s own accounts, and other eyewitness
skill—the result of an awe-inspiring J
— Guardian E testimony, Jeremy Dronfi eld has constructed a
amount of research and detective R
E riveting tale of a father-son bond that proved
work, managed with delicacy and M
“A riveting, tense, and ultimately Y stronger than the machine that sought to break
fl air. . . . A marvellous read, and a
satisfying account.” D them both.
story worth telling.” R
— Booklist O
— Rodney Bolt, author of N
F
The Librettist of Venice I
E
L
D
JEREMY DRONFIELD
Jacket design: Joan Sommers Design
Cover photo: © Paul Bucknall /Arcangel Images, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
017_00-CRP_Stone_Crusher_jacket_REV.indd 1 4/9/18 10:43 AM
STONE
THE

CRUSHER
The True Story of a Father and Son’s
Fight for Survival in Auschwitz
JEREMY DRONFIELD

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The Kleinmann family in April 1938. From left: Herta, Gustav, Kurt, Fritz, Tini, Edith.
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STONE
THE

CRUSHER
The True Story of a Father and Son’s
Fight for Survival in Auschwitz
JEREMY DRONFIELD

294265XGB_STONE_CS6_PC.indd 1 05/04/2018 14:02:02
Copyright © 2018 by Jeremy Dronfield
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978‑1‑61373‑963‑1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dronfield, Jeremy, author.
Title: The stone crusher : the true story of a father and son’s fight for
survival in Auschwitz / Jeremy Dronfield.
Description: First edition. | Chicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press
Incorporated, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018005240 (print) | LCCN 2018005978 (ebook) | ISBN
9781613739648 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781613739655 (Epub) | ISBN 9781613739662
(Kindle) | ISBN 9781613739631 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Kleinmann, Gustav, 1891‑1976. | Kleinmann, Fritz, 1923‑ |
Jews‑‑Austria‑‑Vienna‑‑History‑‑1933‑1945‑‑Biography. | Holocaust, Jewish
(1939‑1945)‑‑Austria‑‑Vienna‑‑Personal narratives. | Buchenwald
(Concentration camp)‑‑Biography. | BISAC: HISTORY / Holocaust. | HISTORY /
Jewish. | HISTORY / Military / World War II. | BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY /
Historical.
Classification: LCC DS135.A93 (ebook) | LCC DS135.A93 K574 2018 (print) | DDC
940.53/18092243613aB‑‑dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005240
Typesetting: Nord Compo
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
294265XGB_STONE_CS6_PC.indd 4 05/04/2018 14:02:02
C o n t e n t s
Preface ...................................................ix
Prologue.................................................. 1
Part I: Vienna
1 “When Jewish Blood Drips from the Knife. . .”................ 5
2 Traitors to the People..................................... 25
Part II: Buchenwald
3 Blood and Stone: Konzentrationslager Buchenwald ........... 43
4 The Stone Crusher........................................ 59
5 The Road to Life ......................................... 70
6 A Favorable Decision ..................................... 84
7 The New World......................................... 101
8 Unworthy of Life........................................ 115
9 A Thousand Kisses ...................................... 133
10 A Trip to Death......................................... 152
Part III: Auschwitz
11 A Town Called Oświęcim ................................ 161
12 Auschwitz‑Monowitz .................................... 178
13 The End of Gustav Kleinmann, Jew........................ 186
14 Resistance and Collaboration: The Death of Fritz Kleinmann... 198
15 The Kindness of Strangers................................ 217
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16 Far from Home ......................................... 231
17 Resistance and Betrayal .................................. 246
Part IV: Survival
18 Death Train............................................. 267
19 Mauthausen............................................. 280
20 The End of Days ........................................ 294
21 The Long Way Home.................................... 309
Epilogue: Jewish Blood................................... 317
Bibliography and Sources................................. 325
Acknowledgments ....................................... 333
Notes .................................................. 335
Index .................................................. 375
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To Kurt
and
in memory of
Gustav
Tini
Edith
Herta
Fritz
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