The bestselling author of Irena's War blends fact and fiction in a
gripping novel based on one of the most extraordinary true stories of
World War II--an uprising behind the walls of Auschwitz concentration
camp.
October 1944: In the long, narrow undressing rooms in
Auschwitz-Birkenau, prisoner Jakub Bak toils under the scrutiny of SS
guards. Like other members of the Sonderkommando, Jakub was selected
on arrival for an unthinkable job: sorting through the clothes of the
dead and moving their bodies from the gas chambers to the crematoriums.
In this hell within a hell, Jakub clings to the promise he made to his
murdered father--to live, at any cost--and to the moments he is able to
spend in the company of Anna, imprisoned in the women's camp.
Every morning, Anna marches miles to the union munitions factory where
she works alongside other prisoners. Even Jakub doesn't know that she
and a few other women have been taking the ultimate risk, smuggling
trace amounts of gunpowder back in their clothing. A bold plan is
brewing to revolt against the SS and liberate the camp. Jakub, pressured
to join the resistance, knows that any uprising faces impossible odds.
Added to this already stark choice is another desperate reality--the
risk from informers who see their only chance of survival in betraying
their fellow Jews.
Powerfully moving and unflinching in its authenticity, Beyond the Wire
tells of the women and men who, though outnumbered and outgunned, fought
to free themselves, sparking a brilliant flash of light and hope amidst
the darkest evil that humans can conceive.
Praise for Irena's War
"Shipman's humbling, spellbinding tale is a standout among recent
works of Holocaust fiction."
--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
