The Stone Crusher

The True Story of a Father and Son's Fight for Survival in Auschwitz

De: Jeremy Dronfield

Narrado por: Christopher Lane

In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was arrested by the Nazis. Along with his 16-year old son Fritz, he was sent to Buchenwald in Germany, where a new concentration camp was being built. It was the beginning of a five-year odyssey almost without parallel. They helped build Buchenwald, young Fritz learning construction skills which would help preserve him from extermination in the coming years. But it was his bond with his father that would ultimately keep them both alive. When the 50-year old Gustav was transferred to Auschwitz - a certain death sentence - Fritz was determined to go with him. His wiser friends tried to dissuade him - “If you want to keep living, you have to forget your father,” they said. But that was impossible, and Fritz pleaded for a place on the Auschwitz transport. “He is a true comrade,” Gustav wrote in his secret diary, “always at my side. The boy is my greatest joy. We are inseparable.” Gustav kept his diary hidden throughout his six years in the death camps - even Fritz knew nothing of it. In it he recorded his story, a tale of survival and a father-son bond which proved stronger than the machine that sought to break them both.

©2018 Jeremy Dronfield (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. This audiobook is published in arrangement with Chicago Review Press c/o Susan Schulman Literary Agency.

the stone crusher

well read, how can some one beat true life, in order for tomorrow to understand and learn they have to learn from the past . the brave to tell of it.

Truth, well told.

Should be read by many; staggering detail and beautiful story of a father and son.

Hauntingly beautiful

This is probably one of the best holocaust stories I've heard to date! I'm ready to listen to it again

sooooo good! so sad and inspired!

heart-wrenching Tale of Father and Son making it through a Nazi hell. what strength, courage!

A story of perseverance through unimaginable trial

Very touching, hard to imagine the hell they went through, how they were treated as subhuman. This can never happen again

This story touched my soul. Deeply moving.

This true story was so sad, grity, disturbing, and heart warming. I really enjoyed it and plan to re-listen in the future.

Never forget.

This is a vivid and true recollection of the plight of the European Jew in World War Two. It is very well written and describes a father and son as they travelled through the entire war as concentration camp inmates. We must recall this story, which scripture reveals will only be repeated one more time.

Truth verified by witnesses

There are many in 2021 that deny the contents of this book. Antisemitism is alive and thriving not only in Europe but in the United States as well. Unfortunately many Jews want to ‘move on’ and do not consider remembering the Shoa as a priority; to them, this book should serve as a refresher course.

Everyone should read this book.

This is a riveting true story of a son and his father going through 6 years of concentration camps. It is amazing, horrible and full of courage and hope. This book should be required reading in high school and college so we never forget the holocaust and how it could happen again if we are not diligent. It’s a book I will recommend and read again.

Every Living Person Should Listen

No cancel culture here. This is the sheer historical life events of amazing human beings told from the diary of a Jewish father about his time in a WWII concentration camp along with his sons. It is a story of love, resilience, the will to live and creating a life worth living in the aftermath. It is a life changing story and I am a better woman for learning more about those that suffered in a horrible time of war.