With help from her German resistance contact and love interest, Franz, Irena spends months learning how to be the kind of young woman the Third Reich would have formed and responds to a recruitment advertisement. Then, with additional help from the bribes that made up a huge part of camp and resistance life, she ensures she’s sent to Auschwitz so she can help Maria escape. However, given how much mystery surrounded the camps and how the SS was deliberately vague when training these brainwashed men and women volunteering for camp service, she doesn’t entirely realize what lies in store for her. While a historical stretch on my part, this was how I theorized such an infiltration might have been possible, and, if anyone were going to attempt it, I had no doubt that Irena would.

Another significant point to address is the fate of Karl Fritzsch. Although many guards defied rules while working in the camps, the SS did conduct an investigation into internal corruption, so Fritzsch was arrested, convicted, and sent to the front lines as punishment. It is believed that he fell during the Battle of Berlin (April 16–May 2, 1945), but his remains were never recovered, so his actual fate is unknown. By having Fritzsch return to Auschwitz to face Maria and commit suicide to rob her of the justice she seeks, I wanted to illustrate that the vast majority of camp perpetrators were never caught or convicted. Not holding these men and women accountable denied their victims the justice they deserved.

I attempted to stay true to actual dates, and many of the historical events included in the story did happen, including the Sonderkommando Uprising. I learned so much about this prisoner rebellion through Eyewitness Auschwitz by Sonderkommando survivor Filip Müller. Although I could have spent pages and pages describing every historical detail, I hope I’ve clarified some of the liberties I took and have encouraged you to uncover more of this fascinating, important history for yourself. Finally, I cannot recommend Night by Elie Wiesel or Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl enough, because both survivor accounts provide invaluable insight into the camp experience and its impacts on mental health. Any errors in history or setting are entirely my own.

Acknowledgments