Eyewitness Auschwitz

Genre: Adult Books for YA readers
 Eyewitness Auschwitz is the true account of a man named Filip Muller's experience at the Nazi Death Camp Auschwitz.  He is allowed to live through the full run of the camp due to his appontment as body burner.  He and a few other Jews are given the job of running the crematorium and disposing of the hundreds of thousands of corpses that were the result of the gas chamers.  These gas chamers were disguised as showers and upon arival every week people were instructed to strip down and prepare for a shower after their long cramped duisgusting train ride to the camp.  They were then herded into the showers and cyclon b a deadly ghas was relaesed from a vent in the ceiling.  Filip muller had thoughts of suicide and joining them in these "showers" becuase of his sick twited rsponsibility.  On one such attempt he was told by one of the soon to be victim that he must in fact continue his service so that he may recount and live to tell the story of what really happened here.  The book is incredibly raw, graphic and sad.  He writes of his march away from the camp as the Russians draw nearer to the camp and his incredible luck of surviving the entire ordeal unitl the war is ended. 

    I have read and seen many things on and about the holocaust but this account is by far the most telling, terrifying and real story I've ever read.  It is most definately an adult work but in highschool we read Elie Weisels "Night" which was another memoir of a survivors experience in, through, and out of the death camps.  Students studyiung World War II and Nazi Germany will gain incredible insight from this piece and get an understanding of the true systematic anylation of the European Jewish people and every other people aka Gypsys, Gays and persons with disability or illness that were murdered.  This is not an easy read and goes deep into the evil hearts of men, it is moving and brought me to tears more than twice.  Their is much to be learned and reinforces the haunting phrase "Never Again".