This is a powerful story narrated by Jewish holocaust survivor Henry Ostler, who was imprisoned as a young teenager at various camps during the second world war.

As a child Henry grew up as the only child of relatively wealthy parents in Cologne. His world was turned upside down as the family were stripped of their possessions and careers and rehoused first of all in a repurposed ghetto, sharing a single room with multiple families before being transferred to the concentration camps.

Whilst at one of the camps Henry was sent to work in the stables because the horses were accustomed to commands in German (the majority of his fellow prisioners were from other European nations so spoke Polish, Hungarian or Russian instead).

Henry's account is accompanied by a wealth of historical detail and his journey is illustrated with poignant photographs, many of which include him as a boy. A fascinating, but heartbreaking book.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Stable Boy Of Auschwitz' by Henry Oster and Dexter Ford.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Thread Books for Henry Oster, Dexter Ford, NetGalley and Thread Books.

Publication date: 4th April 2023

This is the first book I have read by this author..


I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching unique cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Thread. I have yet to read a book published by Thread that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of an introduction, 57 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Cologne, Germany, Lodz, Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Germany, Normandy and Ecouis, France, New York and LA, USA .

This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonist is Heinz Adolf Oster/Henry Ford. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. The fact there are multiple protagonists is even better as it increases the readers knowledge of what more characters are doing and feeling.

'The Stable Boy Of Auschwitz' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Henry and Dexter discusses/includes violence, persecution of the Jews, the Holocaust, Persecution, murder and death.

Well, what can I say but wow!!! This story is definitely not going to leave my head anytime soon. Firstly I must congratulate Dexter Ford and Henry Oster for an extraordinary novel that seriously needs to be made into a movie which I assure would be best selling!!! I would also like to thank Henry for telling Dexter his life story to ensure what happened is never forgotten!

This book is very powerful and extremely well written. It is devastatingly heart-breaking and beautiful at the same time. The storyline of this book is based on a true story which is another thing that drew me to read it. It is absolutely rammed with emotions that will make you smile, cry, hate and laugh on the roller-coaster ride to hell that is World War 2 and the persecution and murder of the Jews and many others. Nothing is left out and the author has done an immense amount of research and brings Henry's story to life. Dexter Ford was Dr. Henry Oster's optometry patient and is told Henry's history after he spotted the tattoo on his arm of B7648. Dexter then writes Henry's history down and turns it into this beautiful memoir of his life. I had never heard of Henry before reading this but have read 'The Violinist Of Auschwitz', 'Celia' s Journey', 'The tattooist of Auschwitz', 'The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz,' The Girl Who Survived' and 'The librarian of Auschwitz', among many other memoir and stories about survivors and victims of the holocaust, all of which I enjoyed so when I seen this I was intrigued to discover the ongoing of the war through another person's eyes and from a different perspective.
This book did not disappoint. Some people believe that these stories should not be written but I am a strong believer that these victims and survivors earned the right for their stories to be told and to not be forgotten and this book does just that. I loved discovering not just Henry's stories but those who surrounded them also. What they went through , the suffering they went through themselves along with seeing those suffering and being murdered around them, the conditions they were forced to live in and the horrors they were forced to watch, wwords just cannot describe the anger I felt towards those who caused them this pain and suffering, loss and heartbreak and the pain and sympathy I felt for each and every person who died and lived during this hell. This book was very hard to read as a whole but there were certain parts that will stay with me for a very long time and that we're soul destroying. What the Nazi's did to these innocent people makes me absolutely sick to my soul. I enjoyed learning about the life of not only Henry but the life's of others in the camps and people he met on his journey. My heart absolutely broke for Henry who suffered from the age of just 5 years old. I have twin sons who are 5 years old and a 10 year old and I couldn't even begin to imagine them going through anything like what Henry seen and went through. It really resonated with me and when I was reading the pages I kept picturing Malaki, Hunter and Ryder's faces and had tears streaming down my eyes constantly. After being kicked (literally) down so many times and after so many losses and heartache most people would have just given up but Henry managed to keep on going and refusing to back down. I absolutely loved watching the relationships and friendships between Henry and Ivar Segalowitz grow and develop throughout this story. There were several characters, along with Henry, that will stick in my mind for a very long time after what they did or went through. Hans Isidor Oster was Henry's father and was the first one the change in laws impacted. He was no longer allowed to work and later own a home. This broke his heart as you can see that he felt that he was letting his family down and was struggling to support them and protect them. Elizabeth Haas Oster was Henry's mother and she was forced to watch her husband suffer through these changes while struggling to do anything about it herself while also seeing their child Henry suffer. Being a parent myself what happened to these poor innocent people would be my absolute worse nightmare, especially being separated from my children not knowing, or even worse actually knowing what could happen to them next. There were two Polish brothers who I will remember for their kindness to Henry. they would give him some food even though by just doing that they could get punished or even killed themselves. We later find out why they were doing it and it is heart-breaking as they are also victims being forced to do something they want no part in. The majority of Germans were either a part of what went on or turned a blind eye. However, not all of them were as bad as others and several characters stood out in this book for me by showing kindess when they didn't have to and when it could have let to more problems and even death themselves. There was an SS soldier at the beginning of the book who stormed into Henry's family home to force his father to leave. However, when the SS man recognised Hans Isidor Oster and remembered the way that he had treated him in the past he told the other soldiers there was a mistake, giving the family some respite for a time. There was an SS soldier who ran the bakery who caught Henry stealing some bread. This soldier did shout and beat henry but later showed some kindness after speaking to him and gave him bread and a tomato. Another one of the SS officers who worked in the Admin building walked with Henry during one of the transport collections to ensure that he got back to his building "safely", well as safe as you can be in a camp!! Along with the many characters that I will remember for a long time there was also so much I learned that I never heard of before and many of which I will be doing more research into myself. Some of these events include Kristallnacht, what happened on the train to Ecouis, Henry's residence with the Rothschild and what the Germans called their Saturday night theatre. I wont go into more details about them as I don't want to give too much away about the book. I was absolutely disgusted by how Henry was treated when he finally got out of the camps and went on to try to get an education at the USC School of dentistry where the disgraceful Dr Rutherford would not even give him a chance!! One of the other things that I liked about this fantastic books and that I wanted to mention is that each chapter is named in a way that it summarises what that chapter is about. I always prefer chapters being titled rather than just numbered as it gives more characterisation tio the book. I can't say more than that though as I don't want to give anything away so you will just have to pick up a copy and see what I mean. This is just one of those books that should be read by absolutely everybody and there should be a copy in every school and educational building as Henry along with so many others should never be forgotten!!!


It is set over/includes multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture. I loved the modern day chapters as well as the historical ones and felt like I was being told the story over a cup of tea.

I read approximately half of this book on kindle and listened to approximately half on audio book. I must also give a huge congratulations to the narrators William Hope, Susan Oster, Dexter Ford and Henry Oster who not only brought the storyline to life by really portraying the emotions through their voices so a HUGE congratulations all!! I cannot imagine that this was anywhere near an easy feat!!! I am looking forward to discovering more books read by William Hope (main narrator) as you definitely have a perfect "book" voice!! I sometimes struggle to absorb the storyline through an audio book but if you are the same as me I can promise you will not have that problem with this amazing narrator!!

Clear your schedules and grab your tissues as you will not be able to put this book down or stop the tears from streaming!!!

Congratulations Henry and Dexter on an absolutely stunning emotional rollercoaster ride of a book!! I would say this book is is even more emotional and memorable than the likes of 'The' diary of Anne Frank'. I would like to welcome you to my favourite 3 historical author list!!!

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the letter from Dexter Ford and Susan Oster

Overall a heart wrenching, devastating must read memoir filled with courage, survival, love, friendship, loss, hope and so, so much more!!!


Genres covered in this novel include History, World History, Historical Fiction, Historical European Fiction, History Of The Holocaust, History Of Central Europe, History Of Poland, History Of Eastern Europe, Holocaust Biographies, Holocaust History For Young Adults, Holocaust, Biographies, Jewish Studies, Jewish Biographies & Memories, Jewish Holocaust History, Jewish History, German History, World War ll History, Historical Germany Biographies Jewish Biographies and Memoirs amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz', 'The Lucky Ones', 'The Midwife Of Auschwitz', 'Orphan Train', Shari Ryan, Ellie Midwood, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Librarian of Auschwitz and anyone interested in the Holocaust and its history.


285 pages/ 6 hours and 59 minutes

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with Kindle Unlimited, £8.27 in paperback and £16 on Audiobook via Amazon, at time of review, which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Henry Oster was 5 years old when Hitler took power in 1933. Born in Cologne, Germany therefore a German citizen but, Henry and his family were also Jewish. Even a German born child wasn't safe from Hitler's wrath and what happens over the next 10 years is a story of resistance, strength and the sheer will to survive with Henry taking the reader from his family home in Cologne to the Lódz Ghetto in Poland before being sent to Auschwitz and then moved in the final months/weeks of the war to Buchenwald before finally being liberated in 1945 and his story after the war and how he overcame the horrendous crimes he witnessed and was subjected too.

This book was extremely well written, very descriptive, informative and heartbreaking honest. Henry is one of those people that I know from reading this book if I were to meet him I would be instantly drawn to him, his story is remarkable and how he survived is incredible.

I will never tire of reading true stories like these, brave, honest and raw and even after all these years have passed holocaust books like these fill me with so many emotions but, I love them and I need to know these stories.

This is the story of Henry Oster, and how he survived despite all odds against him. Henry arrives in Auschwitz and has to find a way to survive all the unspeakable horrors he witnesses all around him. Henry is lucky to be assigned to the stables where the horses give him comfort and a kind of salvation.
This story covers Henry's life from the time Hitler came into power when he was only 5 or 6 years old, on thru being deported to Cologne, and then to Auschwitz along with his family. Henry survives the war and the story continues after with Henry sent to France along with other orphans of war, here he is sent to school, and eventually Henry makes his way to America and a new life. It tells about the chaos after the war with the massive influx of displaced persons the allies had to contend with when the war ended and the camps were liberated. It is Henry's journey, ending in America with a hardwon new lease on life.
Ultimately this is a story of survival, of resiliency in the face of adversity, and about the strength of the human spirit. Both heart- breaking and uplifting, the reader cannot help but feel the emotions behind the words.
I recommend and give 5 stars. Thank you to Thread Books and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

I have just closed this book, and a shiver went right through me, as it did throughout the time I was reading it. We all know about Auschwitz and many of you will have read fiction books based on actual events throughout this time, indeed one of my favourite genres is historical fiction. However, I have never been as moved and affected as when reading The Stable Boy of Auschwitz. ‘A heartbreaking true story of courage and survival’, as stated on the cover; honestly, this is an understatement. Henry (Heinz) Oster was just eleven years old when the Second World War began and this book is his memoir as he revisits those heart-wrenching and traumatic years of his childhood.

The first three chapters are primarily about the history of the Jewish people and how Adolf Hitler came to be in power. The next fifty-four are an account of Henry’s horrific story, how he coped and how he endured and survived the Holocaust. Told from a very personal viewpoint, The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is just one man’s account. Never forget that, sadly, there were hundreds of thousands more like Henry.

The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is a must-read for anyone who has any interest in the horrors of the concentration camps during WWII and is an educational read for anyone who needs to know more. In my opinion, this is something every person should be aware of, and something that must never, ever be forgotten.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thread Books for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The Stable Boy of Auschwitz by Henry Oster and Dexter Ford.

The brutality of Auschwitz was not enough to break Henry Oster, sent to the camp as a young boy. Caring for the horses was hard work, but provided him with a reason to survive. His struggle after his release is poignant and ultimately uplifting, giving a very good picture of post-war Europe and the reasons that Hitler came into power. Well written and recommended.

This is a beautiful historical fiction, based on the true story of Henry Oster, a German Jew who witnessed horrors of Holocaust and how he survived Holocaust and his life after the Holocaust.

The story starts with Henry Oster a young boy living in Cologne, Germany--the time when Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. From that point onwards, we learn about the life of Jewish people living in Germany, during the Hitler's rule in Germany, the horrors many of them experienced, the way they were eventually thrown out of their own houses and forced to live in ghettos. This was a sensitive read as it describes the loss of parents. It also tells about how when Henry reached to Auschwitz, he worked in the stables before being transported to Buchenwald concentration camp, just before the war ended. He also befriended another fellow Jewish boy. What makes this story more unique is that it also describes the life of Henry Oster after the war--after the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration camp. As Henry was an orphan, he and the other Jewish orphans were sent to France, where they did go to school, and soon enough, Henry had relatives in California where he was reunited with them. The story briefly outlines the struggles Henry faced after the war as well.

This book was emotional to read and the fact that it was based on the true story makes it more compelling to read. Holocaust stories are full of emotions and sadness and Henry Oster's life was no exception during the Holocaust. The author wrote this memoir in a beautiful and compelling way, drawing the reader into the story with pictures to depict the life during Holocaust, Henry Oster's childhood photos, before and after the war. Overall, this was a heartbreaking and emotional read which is worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

📍 Thank you to the author, publisher + NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Review also posted to @redheadbookgirl (IG), Goodreads and Storygraph.

[Non fiction // no rating]

This was a heartbreaking, informative, poignant story of Henry’s remarkable, moving and unimaginable experience of the Second World War. I enjoy reading historical fiction, and I’ve been around horses my entire life, so this book seemed like a great pick for me.

I’m going to get this out the way first: I do feel the title is pretty misleading. This does not mean the book was not incredibly well-written and devastating, but that I would have been less likely to read this, had I known that only a tiny percentage of the book was actually about Henry’s role as a stableboy. I had imagined a story akin to WAR HORSE, albeit non fiction, and would have liked more details about his life with the horses, as I was led to believe this was the main focus of the book.

Having said that, I never tire of reading such incredible stories of hope and resilience, and I listened to this in just over one sitting. It doesn’t matter how many books I read on the topic, it’s still impossible to come to terms with the fact Auschwitz was a real piece of history, that occurred on the planet we live on. The note at the end read by Henry’s wife Susan was also especially moving.

𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @ 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍
✨🍂

With the aid of Dexter Ford, Henry Oster has told his painful memories of growing up a happy little German child, sheltered by his middle-class parents from the growing tide of resentment. By the age of six, he and his family were among the 2,011 Jewish people to be arrested for no crime and deported from Cologne. Photos are provided.

THE STABLE BOY OF AUSCHWITZ was previously released under a different title in 2014; I found that the horses were a good focal point. Horses were kept by the Nazis for the war effort in Eastern Europe, and Auschwitz in Poland held a convenient breeding stable. Because Henry, then called Heinz, spoke German, the guards could give him orders, so he was selected as one of the stable boys. Henry had already been separated from his mother and knew she had met a tragic fate. His father had died previously while forced to work and live in a ghetto until the camps were constructed. The horses, warm, kind, and energetic, became his substitute for a family. He was able to sneak tiny morsels of their food, though he risked death with every grain. The horses kept him alive.

The facts of the Holocaust are widely known, and nobody enjoys reading them, but passing on this learned wisdom is important. Henry was one of a tiny number who survived ten years of cruel, inhuman captivity, and can tell the whole story. From the theft of his fine city home to sharing a number of prison camps and ending up in one with Russian prisoners of war, then the glorious, unbelievable spectacle of a green tank rolling into the camp decorated with a Star of David chalked on its side.

The flood of Displaced Persons after the war’s end included a chance for a lanky teenager to find a better life. Henry Oster describes his efforts and the good person he became. Perhaps, he says, survivor’s guilt kept him working and helping others. He used to tell his story monthly since 1977 at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and in schools and community centres. Even so, THE STABLE BOY OF AUSCHWITZ contains a portion of his memories that he had previously never told because keeping quiet had saved his life on that occasion.

This account includes explanations of how a nation’s people could be manipulated, lied to, and turned to evil. The lessons learned are as necessary now as they have ever been. I found the tale chilling, and compulsive reading at times, but the splendid liberation scenes restore faith in human goodness.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this emotional book

we should never forget

this is a harrowing story about a young boys survival during the the second world war... a young german jew who was sent to Auschwitz and what he had to do to survive

its harrowing in the telling and harrowing in the reading and at times i had tears running down my face, we should never forget what happened or what was done or else we have learnt nothing

Such a gripping, well written, gut wrenching, powerful and moving memoir.

The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is the true story of Henry Oster's young life. He was five years old in 1933 when Adolf Hitler took power. In Auschwitz he worked in the horse breeding stables. He believed if he worked hard and made himself hard to replace, he may stay alive. Stay alive he did, in 1945 while imprisoned at Buchenwald camp he was liberated.

This book begins by telling the history of events leading up to the Holocaust. Readers may learn more about Hitler's rise to power and why some chose to stay.

So much hate, so much brutality, so much heartache, so much killing, but there was also hope, courage, and strength beyond comprehension.

One can't help but feel many emotions while reading this book. I am in complete awe of those who survived and have been able to tell their stories. They are important and should never be forgotten. There are not many survivors left in the world. I went with Ma (grandmother) to the German Consulate in Los Angeles once a year and then every few months at the end of her life, so she could continue receiving her reparations checks. The last time we went, we were the only ones there.

Remembering is what we must do. Henry Oster was young when he and his family were transported to the Łódź Ghetto in Poland. Imagine having a happy life and having someone take it from you. Take your belongings, take the lives of your loved ones, and take away your freedom. Henry's story is both a heart wrenching story of loss and devastation and a story of courage and hope.

I appreciated how the book showed his life before the Holocaust, during, and after. So many people have heard stories about happened during the Holocaust, but not about what happened to survivors after they were liberated. How they were helped and eventually made their ways into the world. I am so happy that this part of the book was also detailed.

While reading books such as this and thinking about my own family member who was in Auschwitz, I can't help but wonder if I would have had the strength. How do those who have lost all that there is to lose, have everything taken from them that can ever be taken, keep moving forward. Hope, will, strength and courage.

Again, this was a well written, gripping, educational, moving memoir that is a testament to the inner strength and resiliency that we as humans possess.

This is not a BIG book in terms of length, but it is big on feeling and history.


#TheStableBoyofAuschwitz #NetGalley #Memoir

Thank you to Thread Books, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an excellent book! It is so heartbreaking to hear the story of this man and the unbelievable and horrific things that he has had to endure. The thing that set this book apart from others on the subject is that it goes into more detail of the events before his life in Auschwitz and his life after being liberated. His story didn't just end after liberation, he had to endure so much more for years trying to find his place and assimilate back into a world where he had no family, no home and struggled from post traumatic stress.

There is a lot of information covered in this book and the author has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are sitting in a room with a friend having a conversation.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you are interested in books surrounding World War II.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this biography, Henry Oster recounts his life from the beginning of World War II through his adult life. The main focus of the book is on his time spent in concentration camps, including Auschwitz.
Opinion
This book is scary, both for the life that Henry, and others, were forced to live as well as some connections I made with today's politics. The way people were forced to live their lives in these camps will make you weep. This is not a book to read for a good time but I believe it is an important book to read and for people to know what was experienced.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Thread Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Henry Oster was born a German Jew. As a boy he was shuffled from the Łódź Ghetto to Birkenau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He was persecuted, starved and suffered tremendous loss, but through it all he persevered and went on to lead a remarkable life. This book is an extremely well written, powerful and moving story of survival. A book filled with so many horrific and insightful details that must never be forgotten. This is a story that should be required reading in every high school History class.

“The sins of the fathers, though unforgivable and incomprehensible to us today, should not be visited on their sons and daughters. Hate only begets hate.”

Thank you to Thread and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Heartbreaking, honest, and horrific. Stories such as these deserve to be told, honoured and learnt from. Not a huge amount about his time in the stables but it was an interesting section that I’d never heard about before. It makes you question again and again how humans did these things to each other.

The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is a harrowing, powerful, haunting and devastating memoir about a courageous young concentration camp survivor. Henry Oster was one of the very few survivors of the 2,011 Jews rounded up from Cologne who spent his boyhood years barely existing under constant unspeakable horrors daily meted out by vicious Nazis. He miraculously survived pure evil. Photographs are poignant, heartbreaking and a few even victorious after liberation and treatment by the American Red Cross.

Henry's childhood as well as the political scene of the time are described. When Hitler starts his murder rampage on Jews, Henry's father is killed and Henry and his mother are packed into a cattle train which took them to Auschwitz, His mother died leaving Henry completely on his own. Monsters roamed in his midst and calculatingly tortured, starved, humiliated and ruthlessly killed for absolutely no reason, sometimes for sport such as the "Saturday Night Theatre". Scraps of food were worth more than gold and prisoners were desperate. What they endured is incomprehensible. Cruel death marches showed the desperation of the Nazis. After liberation prisoners had fear of freedom. They now had no homes, belongings or money and few had family. Prisoners who gorged on food died terribly. Most survivors were gravely ill and died. Henry lived with other orphan teens until a distant American relative happily took him in. Henry became Dr. Oster as an optometrist. The story about his first occupation choice is an interesting one.

Holocaust readers, do not miss this one. Though I have read countless books on the topic this is one of the most gut wrenching and heart crushing there is. Reading the graphic details is nauseating but incredibly important, lest we forget. My emotions were a kaleidoscope of shock, horror, sadness and disgust. People such as Henry Oster are true heroes. It is fortunate he recorded his experiences in a memoir before his death. He also traveled back to face horrors and find out what happened to family members I had not heard of stumbling blocks in that context before.

My sincere thank you to Thread Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this tremendous, tremendous book which should be required reading for everyone.

I have always had an interest in reading about the Holocaust since I was young and we started learning about it in elementary school. The Stable Boy of Auschwitz by Henry Oster and Dexter Ford was yet another informative and eye-opening novel about the awful tragedies Jewish people had to endure for many years. This story stood out to me because it shows the side of a German Jew and also his life after being liberated which was something I haven't read a lot about. Going from finally being liberated to navigating life with no family and the struggles that came with that. This novel shows the before, during, and after and all the emotions during these stages. I will be recommending this book to everyone.

Thank you to Thread Books, NetGalley and the author for ensuring that this book, and Henry's story lives on. I will admit that I knew Henry personally as a dear family friend. To see him, as an elderly man who was funny, positive and affected so many lives, and then to read this book, I was in awe of the human spirit. I was drawn in just as he started school and a fun tradition for kindergarten is ruined by what is the beginning of the persecution. I asked why his book, in a previous printing, wasn't more highly received, and his answer was, "people are getting tired of hearing about the Holocaust." Please let this book be the start of a change. When he was alive Henry committed to speaking about his experience many times, to ensure people knew what had happened to so many. He is gone now, and I hope this book, or the audio version keeps Henry's story of resilience, the human spirit and the will to survive alive. I can't speak more highly about this book. I received an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheStableBoyofAuschwitz #Holocaust #HenryOster #NetGalley

Humble And Honoured To Read This Book By Henry Oster
The Stable Boy of Auschwitz would be one of the most heart rendering and powerful books that I have read in a long while. The book as the title states is about Henry Oster was just five years old when Adolf Hitler took power in 1933. It is the story about Henry and his family as war breaks out and Henry tells A heart-wrenching and inspirational true account of his life as the son of a Jewish family and how his life as he knew it would never be the same again.
Henry is a very courageous little boy and somehow against all odds, survives, and shares some of his most private and horrible moments of his early life as jews start to be rounded up by the German SS. Henry Oster after losing almost everything a human being can, is subjected to being starved, beaten, put into a line, and shot at as part of a group to be annihilated and somehow survives this ordeal.
This book is an amazing read, and you will find when reading it that you can feel Henry’s fear, anxiety, heartbreak, and frustration, throughout the book as Henry retells his story of life as a holocaust survivor. Somehow Henry is able to overcome the atrocities committed during the war and shares these accounts which are Sobering, and tragic.
After the war when it would be so easy to hate Henry with humility rebuilds a life for himself in a new country and I feel humble and honoured to have been able to have Henry share his story with us. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Genre: Memoir

Among these 57 chapters, it follows along Heinz Adolf Oster (aka Henry)‘s story from being an ordinary German boy to a worthless Jewish prisoner. The period of tough and inhumanity time in the concentration camp, how he found his way to survive as a young teenager there.

Heinz came from a well off family in Cologne, Germany. He lived with his respectable father and loving mother.

Followed by the rise of Nazis, things changed enormously. The Oster family was being transferred to the camp, separated, desperate to survive….while food was still the major problem.

Heinz understood to survive there, he had to be useful and irreplaceable. As Heinz could speak German, he was able to work in the stable. Taking care of horses were one of the most important jobs back then. Meanwhile it also gave him a chance to spare food at the stable for himself.

His story then moved along to the liberation day, being able to meet his distant relative, leaving Germany to France and to USA, a new life in LA…he was grateful because he finally could see his future while this was a ridiculous thought during the war time.

If you would like to know more about the Auschwitz life during WW2, please read this memoir. I highly recommend everyone should read this. It’s always harder to say keep your faith and hope than do it, but Heinz did it!