This pow­er­ful, mov­ing mid­dle-grade adap­ta­tion of the adult inter­na­tion­al best­selling nar­ra­tive non­fic­tion book, The Boy Who Fol­lowed His Father into Auschwitz, shines a light on the true sto­ry of two broth­ers who expe­ri­enced the atroc­i­ties of the Holo­caust in very dif­fer­ent ways.

Fritz Klein­mann was four­teen when the Nazis took over Vien­na. Kurt, his lit­tle broth­er, was eight. Under Hitler’s bru­tal regime, their Aus­tri­an Jew­ish fam­i­ly of six was cru­el­ly torn apart.

Tak­en to Buchen­wald con­cen­tra­tion camp, Fritz and his Papa, Gus­tav, under­went hard labor and star­va­tion. Mean­while, Kurt made the dif­fi­cult voy­age, all alone, to Amer­i­ca, to escape the war.

When Papa was ordered to the infa­mous Auschwitz con­cen­tra­tion camp, Fritz — des­per­ate not to lose his beloved father — insist­ed he must go too. Togeth­er, they endured count­less atroc­i­ties to survive.

Jere­my Dron­field authen­ti­cal­ly and accu­rate­ly cap­tures this fam­i­ly tale of brav­ery, love, hope, and sur­vival with the help of exten­sive research and pri­ma­ry sources like Gustav’s diary and inter­views with fam­i­ly mem­bers. Maps, black-and-white pho­tos, a time­line of events, a glos­sary, and more are included.