Denis Avey (1919–2015)
Author of The man who broke into Auschwitz
About the Author
Image credit: http://carolynyeager.net
Works by Denis Avey
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1919-01-11
- Date of death
- 2015-07-16
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Essex, UK
- Place of death
- Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK
- Education
- Leyton technical college
- Occupations
- soldier
autobiographer - Organizations
- British Army
- Awards and honors
- British Hero of the Holocaust
- Short biography
- Denis Avey was born in Essex, England. He studied at Leyton Technical College and joined the British army in 1939 at the age of 20. He fought in the desert campaigns of North Africa in the 7th Armoured Division, (the "Desert Rats") in World War II, and was taken prisoner by the Germans near Tobruk, Libya. After his prisoner transport ship was torpedoed, he claimed to have escaped to Greece by floating ashore on top of a packing crate, but was recaptured after landing. He was held as a prisoner of war at E715, a subcamp of the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz. While there, he saved the life of a Jewish prisoner, Ernst Lobethal, by smuggling cigarettes to him. For that he was made a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British government in 2010. Avey also has said that he swapped uniforms with a Dutch Jewish prisoner and smuggled himself into Auschwitz III, which was separate from but adjoining the British POW camp, in order to witness the treatment of Jews, but this claim has been challenged. Avey escaped the Nazis during the death marches out of Auschwitz in April 1945, near the end of the war. Although suffering from tuberculosis, he made his way through Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany, eventually running into American troops. They helped get him back to England, where he spent the next 18 months in hospital. Later, when he tried to report what he had seen in Auschwitz, he said, he encountered resistance and indifference. He said that after that, he kept his story bottled up. Avey suffered for years from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). From a beating he had received in the POW camp, he had lost vision in one eye, which later became cancerous and had to be removed. Avey pursued a career in engineering, after which he retired to Derbyshire.
He became active among ex-POWs seeking compensation for wartime imprisonment and began to talk about his experiences at that time. In 2001, he described them in an interview with the Imperial War Museum, London. He was subsequently interviewed on BBC Radio Derby and included in a documentary. He wrote a memoir, The Man who Broke into Auschwitz, with journalist Rob Broomby, published in 2011, which became a bestseller.
Members
Reviews
This book was very interesting. Highly recommend it.
Denis Avey is a smart, young and curious Englishman who learns and understands things quickly. In 1939, he enlists in the army and becomes part of the Rifle Brigade. Many of his skills are useful fighting Italians and Germans in battle and living in appalling conditions.
Unfortunately, he is captured and becomes a POW. But having been stationed, and having fought in the desert he learned how to do without, make do with little, and optimize his environment. Comes in useful now in a camp neighboring the Auschwitz death camps. He and fellow POW's are forced to work at IG Farben factory making items for German war effort. They come up with ways to sabotage and slow down production of equipment parts.
Working with Jewish prisoners he sees the deplorable conditions the Jews are in, realizes the Nazis' plan is to kill Jews with overwork, beatings, and starvation. Denis attempts to communicate with a few Jewish prisoners, specifically young Ernst and Hans, and when he can helps them with cigarettes and a bit of food.
Amazingly, Denis is curious enough wants to see the Jewish camp for himself as a witness. He takes time to consider and plan a swap with Hans which they implement at least twice. What he witnesses is beyond evil, heinous, and virtually impossible to fathom.
He sees a nazi punch a crying infant, and another beat a boy’s head until blood is pouring out, others shoot prisoners who are moving too slowly and those who have fallen out of weakness. He sees men who have become walking shadows. He smells death, sees piles of dead to be taken to crematory. He manages to get a letter to Ernst’s sister to get cigarettes to him. Those cigarettes are a desired commodity in the camps, and prove to be life-changing.
As Allies approach, he is one of many forced on death march in winter. He sees bodies of Jewish prisoners on the roads and in the fields, frozen where they fell. Eventually he escapes and heads home believing Hans and Ernst could not possibly live through death march.
He is happy to reach home but cannot believe how old his mother looks. She has been sick with worry about him and his father who unnecessarily volunteered to fight as well.
Shockingly, soldiers and POW’s are advised not to speak of their experiences; supposedly they need to move forward not remain stuck in past. Denis tried telling some people what happened at Auschwitz and he was met with glazed eyes! People were not ready to understand the shocking truth. Denis stops talking about it and although he has been a strong positive, resourceful man keeping himself and others alive, he and thousands of other soldiers, and concentration camp survivors were not given an opportunity to get it off their chests and minds. No psychological treatment offered because it wasn’t even thought necessary.
Many moved on with their lives but nightmares, fear, negative reactions toud sounds, etc. followed them, causing so much angst. Denis suffered for years not so much from his battles as a soldier but because of the horrors he’d witnessed at Auschwitz! He divorces his first wife who can not deal with it, and meets Audrey who becomes his 2nd wife and life partner.
Many years later he is contacted and asked questions about his war-time experiences. Finally he is able to describe what he witnessed, speak out, get interviewed, honored, and learn what happened to Ernst!
Beautiful story of an exceptionally, commendable man!… (more)
Unfortunately, he is captured and becomes a POW. But having been stationed, and having fought in the desert he learned how to do without, make do with little, and optimize his environment. Comes in useful now in a camp neighboring the Auschwitz death camps. He and fellow POW's are forced to work at IG Farben factory making items for German war effort. They come up with ways to sabotage and slow down production of equipment parts.
Working with Jewish prisoners he sees the deplorable conditions the Jews are in, realizes the Nazis' plan is to kill Jews with overwork, beatings, and starvation. Denis attempts to communicate with a few Jewish prisoners, specifically young Ernst and Hans, and when he can helps them with cigarettes and a bit of food.
Amazingly, Denis is curious enough wants to see the Jewish camp for himself as a witness. He takes time to consider and plan a swap with Hans which they implement at least twice. What he witnesses is beyond evil, heinous, and virtually impossible to fathom.
He sees a nazi punch a crying infant, and another beat a boy’s head until blood is pouring out, others shoot prisoners who are moving too slowly and those who have fallen out of weakness. He sees men who have become walking shadows. He smells death, sees piles of dead to be taken to crematory. He manages to get a letter to Ernst’s sister to get cigarettes to him. Those cigarettes are a desired commodity in the camps, and prove to be life-changing.
As Allies approach, he is one of many forced on death march in winter. He sees bodies of Jewish prisoners on the roads and in the fields, frozen where they fell. Eventually he escapes and heads home believing Hans and Ernst could not possibly live through death march.
He is happy to reach home but cannot believe how old his mother looks. She has been sick with worry about him and his father who unnecessarily volunteered to fight as well.
Shockingly, soldiers and POW’s are advised not to speak of their experiences; supposedly they need to move forward not remain stuck in past. Denis tried telling some people what happened at Auschwitz and he was met with glazed eyes! People were not ready to understand the shocking truth. Denis stops talking about it and although he has been a strong positive, resourceful man keeping himself and others alive, he and thousands of other soldiers, and concentration camp survivors were not given an opportunity to get it off their chests and minds. No psychological treatment offered because it wasn’t even thought necessary.
Many moved on with their lives but nightmares, fear, negative reactions toud sounds, etc. followed them, causing so much angst. Denis suffered for years not so much from his battles as a soldier but because of the horrors he’d witnessed at Auschwitz! He divorces his first wife who can not deal with it, and meets Audrey who becomes his 2nd wife and life partner.
Many years later he is contacted and asked questions about his war-time experiences. Finally he is able to describe what he witnessed, speak out, get interviewed, honored, and learn what happened to Ernst!
Beautiful story of an exceptionally, commendable man!… (more)
Now, I didn't get to finish this book. I was staying at the strangest youth hostel in rural Guatemala that could only be reminiscent of a low budget B-horror flick in a very isolated part of a notorious swamp with rustic decor and the oddest staff. I have yet to go to another lodging that was quite like it.
Making my brief stay even more memorable, someone left this book in the reading section and I simply devoured it until I dropped on my bed exhausted late at night. Not even the dengue transmitting mosquitos could avert my attention from this fascinating book about a US vet that traded places on two occasions with an Auschwitz inmate that physically looked a lot like him and while he didn't do anything particularly extraordinary because he only spent two nights trying to sleep in their uncomfortable bunker hoping he wouldn't get caught and two, he'd locate his doppleganger the following morning (he did BTW albeit he mentions he never knew what happened to the man), the book was still a nonstop thrill to read.
I'd really love to find a way to finish reading this book because it was so good.… (more)
Making my brief stay even more memorable, someone left this book in the reading section and I simply devoured it until I dropped on my bed exhausted late at night. Not even the dengue transmitting mosquitos could avert my attention from this fascinating book about a US vet that traded places on two occasions with an Auschwitz inmate that physically looked a lot like him and while he didn't do anything particularly extraordinary because he only spent two nights trying to sleep in their uncomfortable bunker hoping he wouldn't get caught and two, he'd locate his doppleganger the following morning (he did BTW albeit he mentions he never knew what happened to the man), the book was still a nonstop thrill to read.
I'd really love to find a way to finish reading this book because it was so good.… (more)
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Members
- 828
- Popularity
- #30,825
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 22
- ISBNs
- 47
- Languages
- 9
Much of the book is outside of Auschwitz, dealing with his early war career in Africa (he actually had a free pass to get home early in the war due to saving an Officers life but wanted to return to the front line), his life as a POW and finally his PTSD when he returned to England post-war - I can't imagine what must have been going through his head, especially with no form of councilling or support network to help.
Much of this book is deeply harrowing, almost everyday in Auschwitz seems to reveal new horrors but Avery's will to survive and amazingly generous spirit makes this an ultimately uplifting read. A great man, I'm glad he got the chance to tell his story.… (more)