The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World

In this chapter, Freedland documents the “lunacy” of escape by presenting several failed escape attempts at Auschwitz and what they taught Walter. The first occurred soon after Walter’s arrival at Auschwitz in July 1942. SS officers forced the prisoners to watch the public hanging of two prisoners who attempted and failed to escape. Walter learned that failure was not an option.

SS officers also murdered a political prisoner for the crime of wearing two shirts under his tunic. They believed the man was plotting an escape attempt. Walter realized he could show no outward changes.

Fero Langer (nicknamed “Bullo” because he built a cash fortune in Birkenau), who Walter shared a prison cell with in Nováky, also tried to escape to tell the world about the horrors occurring at Auschwitz. Bullo planned to escape with other prisoners from Poland, Greece, France, and Holland so that they could spread their testimony around the world. Bullo recruited the help of an SS officer named Dobrowolný, who was previously a childhood friend in Slovakia. Bullo promised Dobrowolný food and valuables from Kanada in return for his help. In January 1944, Bullo and the other four prisoners attempted their escape.