Moving story of Auschwitz prisoner made into book

An author and historian has turned the "astonishing" real life story of a man who cared for children in Auschwitz into a new book.

When writing about the Holocaust in 2017, Wendy Holden, who lives in Halesworth, Suffolk, came across the story of Fredy Hirsch.

In World War Two, Mr Hirsch became a beacon of hope for hundreds of children facing the horrors of the Nazi concentration camp in Poland.

Ms Holden immediately knew she had to tell the story and has based her new novel, The Teacher of Auschwitz, on his life.

Ms Holden came across the story of Hirsch when working with a Holocaust survivor named Zuzana Ruzickova.

She had survived the camp as a teenager, along with her mother, and told Ms Holden about the love she had for Mr Hirsch.

Mr Hirsch was a gay Jewish man born in Germany in 1916 and when the Nazis came to power, he fled to Czechoslovakia. But it was not far enough.

Following the Nazi conquest of Czechoslovakia, Mr Hirsch was sent to Theresienstadt, a Jewish labour camp.

Having previously worked with children during his late teens, Mr Hirsch took over the control and charge of thousands of youngsters in the camp.

He ensured they maintained their hygiene, were able to play, and continued studying.

Mr Hirsch was later sent to Auschwitz and continued to defy the Nazis there by setting up a special children's block in the heart of the camp.

"He spoke high German and in a strange sort of way the Nazis respected him," Ms Holden continued.

"They respected him for standing up to them, they respected him for demanding care for the children.

"The crazy thing is that when he set up this children's block with Disney cartoons on the walls and he put on little musical items, these SSS officers - who were daily murdering thousands and thousands of people - would seek refuge there and come in to give sweets to the children and watch the musical performances.

"It was a little reminder of their own homes prior to them becoming these unspeakable people."

What happened to Mr Hirsch is a mystery, but it is believed he died after taking a fatal dose of medicine.

When speaking with the BBC, Ms Holden avoided giving away any spoilers on her book's ending.

Ms Holden explained she normally wrote non-fiction and had initially planned to write Mr Hirsch's story in that format.

However as time went on, she said she could not "quite complete the picture" and decided to make it into a novel.

She said Mr Hirsch was the "epitome of courage, defiance and positivity".

"He was the most remarkable man to have done all this and to be partially in denial about his own sexuality, putting his own needs and desires to one side just for the children in his care," she added.

She hoped her book would eventually get picked up by a film studio.

"It was a mammoth task, but one I'm very proud of and I genuinely think this is one of the most important books I will ever write," she said.

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