The Teacher of Auschwitz

Wendy Holden

From the bestselling author of Born Survivors, a novel inspired by the powerful true story of a man who risked everything to protect children in Auschwitz.

Fredy built a wall against suffering in their hearts . . .

Amid the brutality of the Holocaust, one bright spot shone inside the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz. In the shadows of the smokestacks was a wooden hut where children sang, staged plays, wrote poetry, and learned about the world. Within those four walls, brightly adorned with hand-painted cartoons, the youngest prisoners were kept vermin-free, received better food, and were even taught to imagine having full stomachs and a day without fear. Their guiding light was a twenty-seven-year-old gay, Jewish Fredy Hirsch.

Being a teacher in a brutal concentration camp was no mean feat. Forced to beg senior SS officers for better provisions, Fredy risked his life every day to protect his beloved children from mortal danger.

But time was running out for Fredy and the hundreds in his care. Could this kind, compassionate, and brave man find a way to teach them the one lesson they really needed to how to survive?

The Teacher of Auschwitz shines a light on a truly remarkable individual and tells the inspiring story of how he fought to protect innocence and hope amid depravity and despair.

About the author

Wendy Holden

Wendy Holden, also known as Taylor Holden, is an experienced author and novelist with more than thirty books already published, including two novels. She has had numerous works transferred to radio and television.

A journalist for eighteen years, ten on the Daily Telegraph of London, her first novel THE SENSE OF PAPER was published by Random House, New York, in 2006 to widespread critical acclaim. Her non-fiction titles have chiefly chronicled the lives of remarkable subjects. The latest is BORN SURVIVORS, the incredible story of three mothers who defied death at the hands of the Nazis to give life. She has also written the memoir of the only woman in the French Foreign Legion in TOMORROW TO BE BRAVE, and about the mother of a woman killed after marrying a Sudanese warlord in TILL THE SUN GROWS COLD. She wrote A LOTUS GROWS IN THE MUD – the memoir of actress Goldie Hawn – and LADY BLUE EYES, the autobiography of Frank Sinatra’s widow Barbara, all of which were New York Times and Sunday Times bestsellers.

She also wrote the international bestseller TEN MINDFUL MINUTES, her second book with Goldie Hawn and the first in a series of books for parents and children. She wrote KILL SWITCH, the memoir of an honourable British soldier wrongly imprisoned in Afghanistan as well as BEHIND ENEMY LINES, about a young Jewish spy who repeatedly crossed German lines. Her book MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS, a biography of Dean Martin as seen through his daughter’s eyes has become an enduring bestseller and she worked with Billy Connolly on JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD his TV-companion travel guide to the Northwest Passage screened around the world. She co-wrote American male supermodel Bruce Hulse’s explosive memoir, SEX, LOVE AND FASHION. Other works have included CENTRAL 822, the autobiography of a pioneering policewoman at Scotland Yard which was dramatised on BBC Radio, BITING THE BULLET, charting the remarkable life of an SAS wife, and FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW, the story of a paraplegic made into a British TV drama starring Caroline Quentin. Wendy was also responsible for the bestselling novelisations of the films THE FULL MONTY and WAKING NED. Her first book, UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE the true story of the controversial Irish abortion case was banned in Ireland. SHELL SHOCK, her history of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, went with an award-winning Channel 4 television documentary series. She lives in Suffolk, England, with her husband and two dogs and divides her time between the UK and the US.

(Goodreads.com)

Google AI Overview

Fredy Hirsch, also known as Alfred Hirsch, was a German-Jewish athlete, sports teacher, and Zionist youth movement leader who became known for his work protecting Jewish children during the Holocaust, including establishing a secret school within Auschwitz concentration camp. A novel, “The Teacher of Auschwitz,” by Wendy Holden, is based on his true story. 

Here’s a more detailed look at Fredy Hirsch’s life and work:

• Early Life and Activism:Born in Germany in 1916, Hirsch was a gifted athlete and educator who became involved in Jewish youth movements. He fled Germany for Czechoslovakia due to the rise of antisemitism and the Nuremberg Laws. 
• Work in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz:In Theresienstadt, a Jewish ghetto and transit camp, Hirsch dedicated himself to the well-being of children, maintaining their hygiene, providing education and recreation, and fostering hope. When he was later sent to Auschwitz, he continued this work, establishing a special children’s block within the camp. 
• “Kinderblock” in Auschwitz:In the heart of Auschwitz, Hirsch created a space for children where they could sing, stage plays, and receive better food and care. He even secured permission to decorate the block with Disney cartoons. Despite the grim reality of the camp, this area became a haven, with SS officers occasionally visiting to offer sweets and witness performances. 
• Facing the Impossible:Hirsch’s work in Auschwitz was incredibly dangerous. He had to navigate the complex and brutal realities of the camp, begging for better provisions for the children and hiding his homosexuality from his persecutors. He risked his life daily to protect the children in his care. 
• Legacy:Fredy Hirsch died in Auschwitz in 1944, but his story has been preserved through survivor testimonies and, more recently, through Wendy Holden’s novel. His courage and dedication to the well-being of children in the face of unimaginable horror make him a remarkable figure in Holocaust history.