"1943: Polish underground fighter John Wiernicki is captured and beaten by the Gestapo, then shipped to Auschwitz. In this memoir, John Wiernicki, a Gentile, details "life" in the infamous death camp and his battle to survive, physically and morally, in the face of utter evil. He begins by remembering his aristocratic youth, an idyllic time shattered by German invasion.

The ensuing dark days of occupation would fire the adolescent Wiernicki with a burning desire to serve Poland, a cause that led him to valiant action and eventual arrest."--BOOK JACKET.