Benjamin Fogel's novel 'Les évadés du convoi 53' honors Holocaust escapees

In his novel 'Les évadés du convoi 53' (Gallimard), Benjamin Fogel narrates the harrowing escape of 13 Jewish deportees from convoy 53, which was headed to the Sobibor extermination camp in March 1943. Although Fogel, recognized for his dystopian works, was initially reluctant to share his grandfather Paul Fogel's story, he felt a sense of urgency after the 'end of the witness era.' The book comprises 80% factual content, drawing from Paul Fogel's 2006 INA testimony, as well as records from Arolsen and the Mémorial de la Shoah, and the autobiography of Sylvain Kaufmann. Kaufmann, a former French soldier, orchestrated the escape using saw-knives to breach the wagon floor. Among the 13 escapees were Paul and Robert Fogel, Kaufmann, and others. They leaped near the German border, with most subsequently recaptured. Paul and Robert were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, eventually liberated in May 1945 at Gusen II camp, with only four of the original escapees surviving the war. Fogel collaborated with historian Tal Bruttmann and connected with the descendants of the escapees, emphasizing that the book serves as a testament to collective resistance against prejudice, highlighting how Jews 'went like lambs to the slaughter.'