Summary of Jeremy Dronfield's The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 For the first time in the history of Austria, the leadership of the state required an open commitment to the homeland. The country was divided on whether to remain independent from German tyranny or not.
#2 The Karmelitermarkt was the main market in Vienna, and it was here that Tini Kleinmann bought her supplies for the week. The marketplace was full of stalls owned by Jewish traders. The pro-independence slogans were everywhere, painted on the pavements in big, bold letters.
#3 The Austrian government’s campaign for the plebiscite was suspended due to the developing crisis. There were rumours that the Viennese police would side with local Nazis if it came to a confrontation.
#4 The family was happy and peaceful in their home, until a written ultimatum came from Germany demanding that the plebiscite be canceled and that Chancellor Schuschnigg resign. The Austrian government had until 7:30 p. m. to comply.

Sujets

• Autobiography
• Biography
• Jews
• Jewish

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 31 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822564565
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Jeremy Dronfield's The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

For the first time in the history of Austria, the leadership of the state required an open commitment to the homeland. The country was divided on whether to remain independent from German tyranny or not.

#2

The Karmelitermarkt was the main market in Vienna, and it was here that Tini Kleinmann bought her supplies for the week. The marketplace was full of stalls owned by Jewish traders. The pro-independence slogans were everywhere, painted on the pavements in big, bold letters.

#3

The Austrian government’s campaign for the plebiscite was suspended due to the developing crisis. There were rumours that the Viennese police would side with local Nazis if it came to a confrontation.

#4

The family was happy and peaceful in their home, until a written ultimatum came from Germany demanding that the plebiscite be canceled and that Chancellor Schuschnigg resign. The Austrian government had until 7:30 p. m. to comply.

#5

On Sunday, the radio was playing music when an announcement came over, postponing the referendum. It was like a tap on the shoulder. The music stopped, and a voice announced that Austria would be taken over by Germany if the referendum was not canceled.

#6

The synagogue was filled with the sound of the Hallelujah chorus, led by the cantor’s tenor, and the voices of the choir. Outside the synagogue, a mob was gathering.

#7

The Nazis invaded Austria, and the country was left to the dogs. The European powers objected to Germany’s invasion of sovereign territory, but Mussolini, supposedly Austria’s ally, refused to consider any military action.

#8

The German army was approaching Vienna, and the city’s Nazis were excited and triumphant. The majority of the population began to sway with the times and hate and envy against the Jews built to a head.

#9

The Nazis ruled Austria, and Gustav Kleinmann, a hopeful man by nature, believed that his family might be safe. The Nazis would surely only persecute the devout, the openly Hebraic, and the Orthodox, wouldn’t they.

#10

Edith Kleinmann was a young woman who kept her head high as she walked. She was 18 years old and wanted to be a hat designer. She had a good time and went out with boys, but she was also Jewish, which made her father uncomfortable.

#11

In the coming weeks, the scrubbing games became a daily part of life in Jewish neighborhoods. The patriotic slogans on the buildings could not be removed, and the SA added acid to the water so that it burned and blistered the victims’ hands.

#12

The family left their apartment and went to the photography studio of Hans Gemperle. They all smiled uncomfortably, as if they were looking to their own futures. They were stripped of their Austrian citizenship four weeks after the Anschluss.

#13

In the summer of 1938, the anti-Semitic violence subsided, but official sanctions continued. People began to disappear: prominent figures first, then able-bodied Jewish men.

#14

The Nazis began to push the limits of anti-Semitism in 1938. In October, two German journalists came ashore from a passenger steamer and began taking photographs of the Jewish diamond exchange in Antwerp, Belgium. The Jews reacted angrily, and a scuffle ensued. The German press blew up the incident into an assault on innocent and helpless German citizens.

#15

The night of the November Pogrom, the Nazis came out in force on the streets of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and every other town and city. The targets were Jewish homes and businesses, and Jews were beaten and murdered out of hand if they got in the way.

#16

The Kleinmanns were taken to the district police headquarters, and after being unloaded from the lorry, were herded into a disused stable building. Hundreds of other men and women were in there already. The prisoners were questioned about their money, their sexuality, and their relationships with Aryans.

#17

The men were put in a mezzanine room overlooking the yard, where they could see the source of the noises they had heard. The men outside had been forced into packed ranks with their hands raised, and were made to lie down, stand up, and roll around.

#18

Around the world, news of the pogrom was met with revulsion. The United States recalled its ambassador from Berlin in protest, and the President declared that the news had profoundly affected the American people. But the Nazis dismissed the condemnations as false reporting.

#19

After the Anschluss, Austrian Jews were trying to emigrate, and their numbers and desperation increased. Hundreds took their own lives, while many more decided to leave and find a life elsewhere.

#20

The Kleinmann family wanted to emigrate, but it was extremely difficult. The Nazis had stripped them of their wealth as they passed through the system, and they imposed a variety of extortionate taxes and fines.

#21

The final word on whether or not to allow more Jewish children into Britain rested with Tini. She was worried about leaving her children behind, but she was also determined to leave.

#22

Edith had her eyes on America, and in late 1938 she began the application process to get a visa. She was accepted, and in early 1939 she was granted her visa.

#23

In Vienna, the Jewish community was a ghost of its former self. The Zionist Youth Aliyah did heroic work among the children, providing teaching, training in crafts, and medicine. Over two-thirds of Vienna’s remaining Jews now depended on charity, mostly within their own communities.

#24

The hammer blow fell on a Sunday, when Tini was in the apartment with her son, Fritz, and Kurt. She opened the door warily to four men who were neighbors of hers. They took hold of her boy and marched him out of the apartment.

#25

Tini and the children were eventually saved, but not before Gustav was taken away by the Nazis. He was allowed to pack a small bundle of clothes, and then it was all over.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

Gustav kept a diary while he was in Buchenwald. He wrote down everything that happened, from the arrest to the camp, and even the weather.