Cold Crematorium Audiobook By József Debreczeni, Paul Olchváry - translator, Jonathan Freedland cover art

Cold Crematorium

Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz

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Cold Crematorium

By: József Debreczeni, Paul Olchváry - translator, Jonathan Freedland
Narrated by: Laurence Dobiesz
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About this listen

"Cold Crematorium is an indispensable work of literature, and a historical document of unsurpassed importance. It should be required reading." —Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything Is Illuminated

The first English language edition of a lost memoir by a Holocaust survivor, offering a shocking and deeply moving perspective on life within the camps—with a foreword by Jonathan Freedland.

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 “lucky” 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 “Cold Crematorium”—the 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 commanders—anxious about the possible consequences of outright murder—decided 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 author’s 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2024 József Debreczeni, Paul Olchváry, Alexander Bruner (P)2024 Macmillan Audio
20th Century Biographies & Memoirs Judaism World War II War Military Scary Witty Hungary Holocaust
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Critic reviews

"Superb...an unforgettable testimonial to the terror of the Holocaust and the will to endure."Kirkus (starred)

"József Debreczeni was a journalist and a poet and he brings the skills of both to this remarkable work. Cold Crematorium will awe you with the acuity of its observations and the precision and beauty of its language. It should be read by everyone wishing to understand the cruelty and barbarism of the Shoah, but also the indomitable spirit of its survivors."—Ehud Barak, Former Prime Minister of Israel

"Cold Crematorium is an indispensable work of literature, and a historical document of unsurpassed importance. It should be required reading."—Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated

What listeners say about Cold Crematorium

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Agonizing detail

Painful to hear such detail - but a critical account of a horrific act - that we need to never forget.

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Stunning

This book tells the story of what life was really like within the Nazi concentration camps. A good friend once told me, in the development of life on earth, at one point there were a number of human wannabes running around but homo sapiens were the lone survivor. And homo sapiens were the successful, lone survivor because: We are the killers. "Cold Crematorium" is a testament to our continuing to live out that very nature. Tough to read, but necessary to read.

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Unimaginable horrors

I am struggling to find appropriate words that describe or represent the absolute horrors these victims and survivors of the holocaust endured. The holocaust in particular has always interested me because I did not understand how so many could do such terrible things to others on an industrial level. On such a cruel level.
Out of all that I've read about or watched in documentaries on the holocaust, Cold Crematorium is the only book or account to convey such apathetic cruelty and desperation of those involved on all sides of the holocaust. It didn't shy away from any subject or speak in vagaries about what was happening and I'm left heart sick and mournfully grateful that the author shared his experiences so plainly so matter of fact.
I hate to describe nazis as evil as it somehow gives them this magical villain mythos when in fact they were just the most despicable humans, unfortunately all too human.
It should be required reading in all high schools.
I will never forget the things I've learned from this book.

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The horrors endured

With so many deniers in the world today this should be required reading. The magnitude of a people’s suffering in our modern times is incomprehensible and the frightening warnings you hear over and over outside this text is to look for the signs which appear as of late in abundance. Have we learned nothing from our collective barbaric history?

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Learned so much more about the Holocaust

While I never studied the Holocaust, I thought that I knew the basics. However, I recently watched “The Zone of Interest” and “Origin” and realized that I needed to understand more, understand better. This book is an in depth description of day-to-day life in the labor camps where so many millions were imprisoned, abused, terrorized and tortured. It’s an important book, not for the faint of heart. Be brave, listen and learn.

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Grave authentic description of a Nazi camp

I've studied the Holocaust. I'm born in Germany and now live in the USA for 40 years. My parents went through the war and met each other when all was lost on the retreat to the West. I'm born way after the war and still try to come terms how this happened. Be aware, this could happen again ☹️

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Fantastic recollection of the holocaust

Definitely a must read. NEVER FORGET WE MUST NEVEE FORGET! We need more accounts like this available for everyone to read.

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The horror

It’s difficult to like the horror but we must never forget! It’s happening right now in the USA. Impossible to imagine but just watch the news. The human condition is on full display. Tragic appalling and shameful.

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Shocking

I've read about a dozen books on the Holocaust and this one is the most shocking and disturbing — and important. Take a deep breath, and dive in.

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Never Again

Still the most horrifying events to hear about. This telling is brutal but matter of fact in the author’s words.

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