Crying out for her, his heart shuddered as he watched her disappear into a sea of other women. Henry knew that was the last time he would ever see her, and he felt like he had failed her. He was now completely alone in the world. This is the heart-wrenching and inspirational true account of a courageous little German boy who, against all odds, after losing almost everything a human being can lose, survived to tell his story. This memoir was extremely difficult to listen to with heartbreaking and emotional themes. It was devastating but inspiring hearing Henry’s story of survival, suffering and friendship. Henry was 5 years old when Hitler took power and this memoir follows years of his life through those horrific times and how, against all odds, he survived. The Liberation portion of this book really connected with me talking about the Jewish American soldiers calling out in Yiddish. My husband's grandfather verbally told his story at schools and events as a Dachau Liberator for several years up until his death. Like Henry, he thought it was important to tell what he experienced as a Jewish American soldier. in Poland. Then, one terrifying night, Henry found himself herded onto a stifling, filth-ridden cattle car, on a ride to a place whose name has come to symbolize the worst of humanity: Auschwitz.

Within a month of his taking power in 1933, Hitler had already established Dachau, the first concentration camp, on the outskirts of Munich, the home of the Nazi revolution, to imprison anybody who had the courage to oppose him.”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 found myself in the Auschwitz stables, and I felt an ember of hope. If I could make myself useful, helping these horses, maybe I could stay alive.” Ripped apart from his mother in the shuffling river of children, women, and men stepping off the train, for the first time in his life, Henry was completely alone.

Before long, caring for the horses became a passion, and their comfort and strength gave Henry a glimmer of life and hope in an ocean of death. Although with every second that passed, Henry knew if he became too weak or made one mistake, he would be mercilessly replaced... It’s hard to frighten a boy after he’s faced starvation, disease, brutality and, in my case, a machine-gun firing squad. We were the strong ones, the ones who had survived.” I felt like I was in Henry’s optometrist’s office listening to his traumatic ordeal. He captured my attention and held it until the last sentence. I’ve read many, many Holocaust fiction books, but THIS ONE felt like someone who was actually there was sharing WITH me. It was as if I was witnessing Kristallnacht through my own eyes. It was so much more powerful. The photos added to my emotional response; many I’d seen before, but I’d never seen a SS file card or a medical identity card before. This heart-wrenching memoir from a Holocaust survivor reveals the terrible realities of life in Auschwitz—and how a courageous young stable boy survived against all odds to tell his story.​ I listened to this audiobook ARC and thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.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've ready many books about the holocaust, most tell the story of a person who survived one or more concentration camps. Henri Oster did the same and tells this tory in this book. but unlike so many other books, Henry lets us see his life before he is sent to the camps. We get to know his mother and his father, and what life was like in Cologne, Germany.