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

After hearing the outline of Walter and Fred’s story, Steiner realizes that ÚŽ’s leadership needs to be present. He invited Oskar Krasňanský, one of the council’s most senior members. Over several days, Walter and Fred revealed the truth of Auschwitz to Krasňanský, Steiner, and Steiner’s wife, Ibolya. Ibolya served as the typist.

First, the Jewish officials needed to establish the veracity of Walter and Fred’s identities. They used the deportation records to do so. Walter and Fred also named other Slovak individuals who arrived at Auschwitz by transport. The escapees confirmed that all of them were dead. Krasňanský found the men credible.

Second, Krasňanský interviewed the two men separately to ensure their testimonies were unimpeachable. Neumann, a Jewish lawyer, joined Krasňanský. Walter grew frustrated with Krasňanský and Neumann’s relentless questions. However, the Jewish officials were trying to ensure there were no inconsistencies between the testimonies. They found none. Walter also drew a map of Auschwitz as part of his testimony, which included locations of the ramp, German factories, and the factory of death.

Krasňanský distilled the two men’s testimonies into a single text called the Auschwitz Report. Written in Slovak in shifting first-person plural, the report ran to 32 single-spaced pages.