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The Story of 'Hernan der Norweger' Auschwitz Prisoner #79235: As told by Herman Sachnowitz to Arnold Jacoby

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When it was published in the late 1970s, Sachnowitz's book put the Holocaust into the public discourse in Norway. It lay the groundwork for several other personal accounts, including those of Julius Paltiel, Robert Savosnick, and Kai Feinberg; and secondary research on the role of Norwegian police in the persecution; and comprehensive surveys by Mendelsohn and Abrahamsen.

While the account offers important historical information about life and death in Auschwitz generally, and in the camp orchestra in particular, it also provides candid and unblinking insights into the human reactions to this existence of terror. Sachnowitz tells us of his deepening despair over the loss of one family member after another, with the loss of his brother as the bottom. He relates petty rivalries and great cruelty, both among the perpetrators and the victims in the camp; and of the final, chaotic days, with death marches and liberation.