The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz

I recently read The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey. As soon as I heard about the book months ago I really wanted to read the story. And I finally got the chance. The book was about Avey’s experience during World War II including the point where he broke into the notorious death camp. The Holocaust destroyed not only lives; but souls, and thus I felt that it is vital to understand what happened if I am determined to not have a comparable experience during my lifetime.

It was clear in the book how truly trapped individuals were in Auschwitz and the neighboring POW camp where Avey was. Certainly the prisoners and the POW’s were trapped as they were prisoners to the camp. But the guards were also trapped in the inhumanity as well. The hierarchy reigned with a fear that anyone acted in opposition to the Fuhrer’s dictates regarding the camp were killed by a fellow SS officer. Thus if an officer had thoughts to place a road block to the atrocities he would have no allies; not in fellow officers, and not with the prisoners.

No one in the camp was able to take a transitional stance and change what was happening. For this reason those who survived in the camp could not help themselves out of the camp. They needed help from someone outside.

How often do we choose to suffer on our own and not ask for help from someone else? We are not in our mortal experience to suffer by ourselves; but to lift each other into the promise of eternal life. If we allow others to help with the difficult circumstances that we presently struggle with; then we can walk away with the experience to help someone else later. There are so many people who love and are able to help lift us; and we need to let them help lift us out of the spiritual death camp we are in.