Alexander Altmann A10567 by Suzy Zail
Black Dog Books, 2014. ISBN 9781922179999.
In order to survive the barbaric cruelty and suffering of the
Auschwitz - Birkenau combined labour and extermination camp, 14 year
old Alexander deliberately avoids friendship and tries to suppress
his emotional responses to the horrors surrounding him. Known only
by his number, personal identity is erased and humanity almost
destroyed in the unspeakable conditions which have seen his family
torn apart and his sister executed.
When slave labourers are selected for specialised tasks, the odds of
survival increase slightly yet Alex has no trade skills to offer
until the call is made for stable hands to care for horses kept for
the amusement of SS officers. Having grown up on a farm, Alex is
familiar with equestrian care and training and counts himself lucky
to be selected until he is ordered to tame a wild stallion newly
acquired by the brutal camp commandant Rudolf Hoss. With prisoners
being viciously beaten and murdered for trifling mistakes and
misfortunes beyond their control, Alex is fully aware that his life
hangs in the balance every second of the day and to fail in his task
means certain death.
The unbearable suffering, fear and tension felt by the prisoners is
narrated without restraint but is also cleverly presented
symbolically in the behaviour of the terrified horse which has been
torn away from familiar surrounds and hurled into a cruel and
unfeeling environment. In a world of misery and pain, Alex refuses
to contribute to suffering by 'breaking' the horse using domination
and control. Instead he builds a gentle, protective relationship
with the animal and comes to accept the kindness offered by fellow
inmate Isidor whilst allowing mutual trust to develop. Simple acts
of humanity performed at great risk by prisoners and from unexpected
quarters are important features of this tale.
Suzy Zail's own father survived the camps but this book is based
upon the personal experiences of Fred Steiner, a Holocaust museum
guide who told her of his years caring for horses at Auschwitz.
Readers will of course be confronted and moved by this novel which
is largely faithful to history in its depiction of Commander Hoss
and the terrible atrocities which occurred within the concentration
camps.
Rob Welsh