This was well researched and interesting but I just could not read this. I had no will power to pick this up and found the writing not suited for me. I wish I loved it but it just wasn't for me at all.

This was a deeply moving story. I have read many books about the concentration camps but this one was different. Well researched, unsentimental and gut wrenching. It's a story of true survival against all odds. Although a difficult read I think everyone should read the story of Gustav and Fritz and their amazing survival. Excellent and thought provoking.

What a powerful, emotional book! Beautifully written based on the secret diary of a Viennese man tracing his 6 years in concentration camps during the second world war. His son was with him for the majority of these years. The abhorrent, despicable treatment at the hands of the Nazis beggars belief and reduces the reader to tears. The fact that both father and son survived is testament to human beliefs. Everyone in the world ought to read this moving account.

There is a recent publishing trend in regards to the topic of Auschwitz, and I think it is an important one that continues to be put out there to the public. Most people will learn something about the horrors at school but it isn't until you read stories like this that you truly get a feel for the horrendous life so many people had to face. A powerful read by Dronfield.

Wow just incredible. Well written and heart wrenching. Based on the true story of Gustav and Fritz, and how they survived various concentration camps. A must read especially for those who are still Holocaust deniers.

I read a lot of books about WWII and the Holocaust, and this was my reason for requesting it. These books are often moving and emotionally jarring and this book was no exception. Seeing the father and son battling to survive, and the community that formed out of necessity made me emotional. Definitely pick this up if you want to get a feel for what those persecuted during WWII went through or if you enjoy WWII novels.

This is a very moving account of the Viennese Kleinmann family and their fate as the Nazis invade. It is based on diaries and interviews.
The title of the novel reflects the bond between father Gustav and son Fritz. It is this bond that keeps them alive, and means that they don’t give up hope.
I found this account deeply moving and personal. It is the detail that makes it: the small everyday stories of concentration camp life. These are unflinching and often almost too painful to read.
It is also a tale of heartbreaking evil and devastating kindness from the most unlikely places including from a German who becomes a friend.
I also thought that the balance of personal narrative and historical account worked well.
I would recommend it, whether you have read widely about the Holocaust or know very little.

*** ARC provided by Netgalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ***

I’ve read several books about the Holocaust over the years and requested this book due to a general interest in reading around the subject. I have to say, I wondered whether there would be anything new to be gained from this book or whether it would just tread over old ground. However, I thought this book was amazing. The best that I’ve read of a true account of time spent in Auschwitz.

I think the reason this book stood out is not just the account of a father and son holding themselves together for each other and drawing strength from each other but also, the community they were able to find. There are many minor miracles that happen throughout this book, which ensure Fritz and Gustav’s survival and most of these are due to the community that they create for themselves. Some connections from the outside world, and amazingly, new connections made and trusts forged with strangers in the same terrible conditions as themselves. That’s what I loved about this book. The idea of strangers looking out for each other and doing things to make each other’s lives a little easier and boost each other’s chances of making it to the end.

I would absolutely recommend this book, even if you have already read The Diary of Anne Frank or Night by Elie Weisel. This is a different story from a different perspective and I felt I learned more about the day to day horrors of the concentration camp. It’s clearly not a fun or an easy read but certainly worthwhile.

This is a harrowing read of mankind's unkindness to fellow mankind. I was in tears at times. Remember it was not only the Germans who treated the Jews so inhumanely - most other nations did the same even in a small part.
This is a real life description of life in the concentration camps in WW2. It is also the story of the relationship between father and son under the most harrowing conditions and the determination to survive.
This book should be compulsive reading for GCSE's and we should never never forget their suffering and pain.

An amazing read, So many, “I didn’t know that” moments. This book should be on every schools curriculum. Insightful and compelling. If you think you know the story of this time, you don’t

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz is based on a true account. It is essentially a story of the strong bond existing between a son and his father, a bond that cannot be broken even by the horrors of a concentration camp.

The story begins in Vienna and follows Gustav and Fritz along their journey from seeing former friends and neighbours turn against them and denounce them, to being arrested and finally to Auschwitz.

This is far from the first account I have read of Auschwitz and it is somewhat drier than the others, more academic. There are a lot of facts and citations in among the text, but it does little to lessen the impact of the account.

Every time I read one of these stories it strikes me that it is literally unimaginable what they went through. Reading about the horrors and the torment they suffered doesn’t even bring us close to knowing what they went through and books like this are more important than ever before as the number of survivors who are still alive to tell their story dwindles.

A hopeful and harrowing read.

I have been putting off reading this book for some time, not because I was afraid of the content but because I was afraid that the content would not, like so many other books that I have read about the Holocaust, come close to giving a real view of life for the Jews during the 20 years starting in 1933.

I am relieved to say that this book does a much better job of reflecting the realities of those years. Whilst I do feel that the horror of those years and life in the camps has been played down more than a little, I do applaud the details that have been included, not only about the day to day starvation and torture but the names and characteristics of the sadistic guards and their "superior" officers. It was also interesting to note that the USA, land of the free, at one stage actually closed its doors to all refugees (Jew and non-Jew alike).

Overall, 5 stars for doing so much better a job of setting things down than so many other books in this genre.

Buy the book, switch on your imagination, read between the lines for the things so obviously not included - I truly believe that you will be mightily moved by what you read.

It was hard to read this, a truly heart wrenching and horrific story from the diary, and not be concern for the current state of the world.

At the same time it was a beautiful tale of love, hope, bravery, courage, kindness, and surviving.

The Boy Who Followed His Father To Auschwitz is a very difficult but inspiring and must read if The Tattooist Of Anschwitz left a mark with you this will leave an even bigger mark. This book is a true record, about a Jewish family of 6, and their lives before and through WWII and beyond including the true atrocities that happened to those who spent time in the concentration camps. Also those who managed to escape Austria and started a new life in other countries. Gustav and Fritz are father and son who firstly get sent to Buchenwald concentration camp where Gustav starts a diary and miraculously manages to keep writing throughout the years he spends in many camps through unimaginable experiences. It shows the lengths that a son will do anything to stay with his father and how much it meant to each other to stay together.

I have to say from the beginning of my review that this story felt more like a factual account told by the author as an outsider rather than sort of a feeling of being there through the characters. The research is truly amazing and this terrible account of father and son horrendous but it lacks the core of them somehow. More like a documentary of facts. That being said the events were still vivid and the lengths that father and son took to stay together truly remarkable.
The journey follows Gustav Kleinmann and his son Fritz in 1939 from the day that they were both arrested and taken to the first of many camps during the second world war and the aftermath that followed. The descriptions of the camps and how the prisoners were abused and kept very graphic. Fritz was a young man that intended for him and his father to survive the conditions, quickly working out what would make them valuable as people to the camp.
The account of the two men follows them throughout the war and the lengths that they go to to stay together. An astonishing feat to do on your own but for Fritz to sacrifice himself to the hell of Auschwitz to be with his father is so very honourable.
This is an amazing journey of survival and love between father and son.
I wish to thank NetGalley for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

An amazing book told through the hidden diary of Gustav Kleinmann. It is a story of courage and follows the Kleinmann Jewish family from Vienna through the horrific war that was raged by the Nazi's. This is a book that you want to just keep reading but your heart cannot always take in the harrowing horrific scenes that are so well described, so breaks are needed to understand the full reality. Gustav and Fritz show remarkable will power and strength of character to survive. It was sad to see the issues that the world had with understanding what was going on, the evil of the Nazi's and then not being prepared to take on so many refugees.
This true story leads the reader through the abysmal horrors of concentration camps, the many degradation's that the prisoners had to suffer and the putrescent corpses that were abounding when the allies discovered the camps. The horror of the prisoners who were not allowed to just leave but for a while just saw the allies as yet another nasty regime. It is inconceivable that with typhus and other disease being rife and food being so scarce before that the allies had to contain the prisoners and gradually introduce them to food and get them the medicine that they needed if they were to have any hope of surviving.
The ending and the research details bring this to a sad but hopeful ending.
With anti semitism rife currently this should be compulsory reading for all school children to hopefully understand what extreme racism causes.

How could anyone not be profoundly moved by the love and courage shown by this father and son? Their resilience throughout the horrors of their captivity was humbling, with ingenutiy and sheer unadulterated courage they helped each other to survivie. All testament to their indomitable spirit.
In this 75 anniversary year of D Day the world needs reminding of all those who fought Nazism and their sacrifice.

Wow, wow, wow what a book!

I started reading this totally unaware that it was a true story. Conversations are recounted as they were remembered by the people involved and events depicted are as they happened. This is the heartbreaking tale of one family during World War 2.

Gustav and Tini are husband and wife, Fritz, Kurt, Herta and Edith are their children. Living in Austria at the outbreak of the war they believe themselves to be safe. Well liked and trusted by their neighbours they cannot imagine what the years ahead hold for them and how they will survive when many of those same neighbours turn on them.

While the story predominately focuses on Gustav and Fritz (the father and son of the title) we do have some idea of what happened to the rest of the family, with Edith being sent to England and Kurt to America, it is Tini and Herta's fate that we are left to guess at but then Fritz and Gustav don't know what happened to them either.

This story is pieced together using the secret diary that Gustav kept throughout his years in the various concentration camps that they were sent to. It is delivered somewhat coldly but then Gustav didn't have the time or freedom to keep a very detailed diary so some things are lacking in emotional detail. Some of the events describe made me feel sick with horror at what these poor human beings had been put through. To spend year after year with no end in sight, being mistreated, half starved and worked almost to the point of death and then to watch with fear as your friends are selected to be gassed or shot or beaten must have been beyond awful.

Gustav and Fritz spent many years together in many different death camps but it is perhaps most distressing when they do eventually get separated through Fritz's escape attempt during transportation to another camp. For the first time in years they are not together and can only worry about how the other is doing and pray that they are somehow surviving. For both of them, it is a miracle that they made it out alive when you consider what they experienced and how close they both came on numerous occasions to being murdered.

If you enjoyed Anne Franks Diary then you will love this too. Be warned though, it is a hard read, with tales of torture, unimaginable punishments and the lingering threat of death at every turn.

With many many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A book full of contradictions.
A story of hope in the midst of despair, the love of a family surrounded by hate. Powerfully moving and beautifully written, this book portrays the futility of the Nazi regime like no other. The vivid descriptions of life within the concentration camps makes an uncomfortable read, yet the overall impression is one of enduring strength and hope. Great sadness and great joy are both to be found within these pages, along with horror and acts of great courage and kindness. Shows both the best and the worst of human nature.
Definitely one to read!

As with any book that deals with the horrors of the Holocaust it’s heartbreaking to read and this is no exception. It tugs on the heartstrings and even though it’s beautifully written and described we as readers have no idea what it must have been like. I’d recommend everyone read this.