The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of genocide; starvation; systematic, state-sponsored violence and persecution; and antisemitism perpetrated by Germany and its collaborators during the Holocaust. This section also mentions suicide.

The Nazis used misinformation and deception to hide their genocide plans. Freedland discusses these practices to elucidate how misinformation and deception can become extremely powerful when used in a coordinated manner for the sake of a set of strategic goals; indeed, they can become so powerful as to even make the facts futile to disrupting a false narrative. At every step of the way, the Nazis lied to their victims. When they first started deporting Jewish people, they called it “resettlement.” This word has a much softer connotation compared to “deportation.” They also forced deportees to write letters, which they then sent to family members and friends (the Nazis murdered the letter writers). These letters all had a positive tone. Thus, when families got their deportation letter, they calmly boarded the train, thinking they would be reunited. By highlighting these examples, Freedland shows the power of re-packaging grave truths and how this can go far in advancing a goal by giving people just enough reason to ignore the reality of the situation.