The Escape Artist is a story of endurance, escape and exposure. Walter Rosenberg (later to become Rudolf Vrba) was a young Slovak caught by local authorities aged 16 and sent to Auschwitz. At age 19, along with Fred Wetzler, he became one of the first Jews to escape.

Rosenberg recounts his experiences in Auschwitz and no matter how many times one reads or hears about it, these accounts do not lose their power and potency.

The power of this book lies in the fact that Rosenberg (Vrba) wanted his escape to mean something. Just before his escape he heard that Hungarian Jews were next for extermination. Rosenberg hoped his escape would help reveal the truth of Auschwitz and maybe prevent further atrocity. Alas, between May and July 1944, over 434 000 were sent to the camp with over 80 per cent gassed. This fact would haunt Rosenberg throughout his life, even though the publishing of his testimony was instrumental in putting pressure on the Hungarian Government to halt the transports and contributed to saving up to 200 000 lives. The final part of the book follows Rosenberg’s life after his escape.

As those who survived the Holocaust get fewer, books like this serve to remind us of what happened but, more importantly, about the nobility of those who survived. Their story demands to be told again and again.

Reviewed by Anthony Llewellyn-Evans

Jonathan Freedland