Book
Cold crematorium : reporting from the land of Auschwitz / József Debreczeni ; translated from the Hungarian by Paul Olchváry ; foreword by Jonathan Freedland.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781250290533 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 244 pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm
- Edition: First U.S. edition.
- Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, 2023.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | Originally published in 1950 by Testvériség-Egység Könyvk, Novi Sad, Serbia, as "Hideg krematórium"; republished in 1975 and 2015 by Forum Könyvkiadó, Novi Sad, Serbia. |
| Language Note: | English translation from the Hungarian. |
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Biographies. Autobiographies. Personal narratives. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | 940.5318092 Debre | 31681010357333 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
This lost memoir from a Holocaust survivor, translated into English for the first time, provides an eyewitness account of his twelve horrifying months of incarceration and slave labor in World War II Nazi concentration camps. 60,000 first printing. Illustrations. - Baker & Taylor
"The first English language edition of a lost memoir by an Auschwitz survivor, offering a shocking and deeply moving perspective on life within the camps. When Jâozsef Debreczeni, a prolific Hungarian-language journalist and poet, arrived in Auschwitz in1944, his life expectancy was forty-five minutes. This was how long it took for the half-dead prisoners to be sorted into groups, stripped, and sent to the gas chambers. He beat the odds and survived the "selection," which led to twelve horrifying monthsof incarceration and slave labor in a series of camps, ending in the "Cold Crematorium"-the so-called hospital of the forced labor camp Dèornhau, where prisoners too weak to work awaited execution. But as Soviet and Allied troops closed in on the camps, local Nazi commanders--anxious about the possible consequences of outright murder--decided to leave the remaining prisoners to die. Debreczeni survived the liberation of Auschwitz and immediately recorded his experiences in Cold Crematorium, one of the harshest, most merciless indictments of Nazism ever written. This haunting memoir, rendered in the precise and unsentimental prose of an accomplished journalist, is an eyewitness account of incomparable literary quality. It was published in the Hungarian language in 1950, but it was never translated, due to Cold War hostilities and rising antisemitism. More than 70 years later, this masterpiece that was nearly lost to time is now being published in more than 15 different languages for the first time, and will finally take its rightful place among the greatest works of Holocaust literature"-- - McMillan Palgrave
National Jewish Book Award finalist and one of the New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2024
A lost classic of Holocaust literature translated for the first timeâfrom journalist, poet and survivor József Debreczeni
"As immediate a confrontation of the horrors of the camps as Iâve ever encountered. Itâs also a subtle if startling meditation on what it is to attempt to confront those horrors with wordsâ¦Debreczeni has preserved a panoptic depiction of hell, at once personal, communal and atmospheric." âNew York Times
"A treasure...Debreczeniâs memoir is a crucial contribution to Holocaust literature, a book that enlarges our understanding of 'life' in Auschwitz." âWall Street Journal
"A literary diamond...A holocaust memoir worthy of Primo Levi." âThe Times of London
József Debreczeni, a prolific Hungarian-language journalist and poet, arrived in Auschwitz in 1944; had he been selected to go left, his life expectancy would have been approximately forty-five minutes. One of the âluckyâ ones, he was sent to the right, which led to twelve horrifying months of incarceration and slave labor in a series of camps, ending in the âCold Crematoriumââthe so-called hospital of the forced labor camp Dörnhau, where prisoners too weak to work awaited execution. But as Soviet and Allied troops closed in on the camps, local Nazi commandersâanxious about the possible consequences of outright murderâdecided to leave the remaining prisoners to die in droves rather than sending them directly to the gas chambers.
Debreczeni recorded his experiences in Cold Crematorium, one of the harshest, most merciless indictments of Nazism ever written. This haunting memoir, rendered in the precise and unsentimental style of an accomplished journalist, is an eyewitness account of incomparable literary quality. The subject matter is intrinsically tragic, yet the authorâs evocative prose, sometimes using irony, sarcasm, and even acerbic humor, compels the reader to imagine human beings in circumstances impossible to comprehend intellectually.
First published in Hungarian in 1950, it was never translated into a world language due to McCarthyism, Cold War hostilities and antisemitism. More than 70 years later, this masterpiece that was nearly lost to time will be available in 15 languages, finally taking its rightful place among the greatest works of Holocaust literature.
