Holocaust Hero: The Life and Times of Rudolf Vrba

Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg identified only two notable heroes of the Holocaust: the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Mordechai Anielewicz, and Rudolf Vrba. Vrba made a daring escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau in April 1944, along with Alfréd Wetzler. Together, they co-authored the Vrba-Wetzler Report, a document credited with saving 200,000 Hungarian Jews. According to World War II historian Sir Martin Gilbert, no other individual action during the war saved as many Jews from the atrocities planned by Hitler and the SS.Rudolf Vrba is recognized as one of the 20th century's key whistleblowers and is noted for his charismatic and cheerful demeanor in Claude Lanzmann's documentary "Shoah." This introductory volume sets the stage for a biography exploring Vrba's extraordinary life, touching on his decorated role with the partisans, his personal relationships, his achievements as a Nazi hunter, and his relentless determination to speak the truth about the Holocaust. The book, titled "Holocaust Hero," has been compiled over five years by a journalist familiar with Vrba. It includes new insights sourced from research at the FDR Presidential Library in New York and interviews with those who knew him intimately. Among these is Robin Vrba, his wife of 31 years, who shares candid memories of her husband, revealing his handsome and charismatic personality, and recounting an anecdote of his wit during a documentary shoot at Auschwitz. When faced with a locked gate, preventing their exit from the camp, Rudi humorously announced, "Never mind. I know another way out!"