‘One hot, humid day in July 1944, the Gestapo abducted fifteen-year-old Henry and his mother, forcing them onto cramped cattle cars in the Lodz Polish Ghetto. Like so many Jews before them, they had been selected to disappear – they were being sent to Auschwitz.
Exhausted after hours of traveling, they finally emerged from the stifling, filth-ridden cattle car. Already devastated at having lost his father to starvation, Henry clutched his mother’s frail hand, knowing she was all he had left in the world, and that he was the only one left to protect her. In a flash, he felt them being brutally torn apart.
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.
Starving, and close to giving up all hope, Henry volunteered to work in the stables, responsible for breeding horses for the war effort. As he watched other prisoners leave and never return, Henry quickly realized these horses were his only lifeline – because every morning he was sent to the stables, was one more morning he escaped the gas chambers.
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…
This book was breathtaking.
I have spent many years reading about WWII and the Holocaust and I always find myself learning something new with each book I read. With so many stories that never got told, I always feel honoured to read a memoir about something so personal and impactful. So I knew as soon as I saw this book that it was going to be an emotional book but one that I absolutely had to read.
I can say now that was right about this book being an emotional read; I honestly can’t think of another book I have read in recent times that touched my heart as much as this one did. Reading about the horrific situations Henry Oster had to live through as well as the life he went on to live was both heartbreaking and heartwarming and after I finished it I had a nice long cry.
Henry Oster’s story is truly moving and at times utterly unbelievable. The amount of strength it would have taken not only to survive the brutality that he experienced but also to relive it in writing this book is astonishing. It was also amazing to think of all the ways that luck; both good and bad, altered and affected his life before during, and after WWII.
One of the things I hadn’t expected going into this book was the amount of detail that he shared about his life. I really enjoyed the fact that he talked about his experiences after being liberated at Buchenwald. I have found many Holocaust survivours stories tend to end after liberation and then jump forward to when they wrote the book. So being about to see the struggles and just the normal everyday moments that Henry experienced after the war was surprising and really beautiful.
Henry Oster and Dexter Ford did a truly beautiful job with this book. The story of Henry and Dexter is beautiful to start with and then to read this breathtaking book that was full of heart even when the experiences Henry was living through were heartbreaking is something that will always stay with me. The life and love that this book radiates is a gift from Henry Oster and Dexter Ford to everyone who decides to read this book.
The Stable Boy of Auschwitz by Henry Oster and Dexter Ford is an absolute must-read for everyone.
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