Book Review: The Tale of One January by Albert Maltz

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set in 1945 Poland and inspired by true events, The Tale of One January by Albert Maltz tells the story of six prisoners of Auschwitz who manage to escape the Death March and take shelter in an abandoned factory in a neighboring town.

In January 1945, Claire, a Frenchwoman and Lini, a Dutch Jew manage to escape during the Death March from Auschwitz by hiding in a haystack during a halt in their journey. Four men from another death march also have the same idea and the six of them decide to stay together until the advancing Russian Army arrives. (They can hear the distant sounds of the Russian rocket guns slowly getting closer). The men were non –Jewish political prisoners -two of the men, Otto and Norbert were German; Jurek was Polish and Andrey was Russian. Claire, multilingual and having worked as a translator with the SS, helps them communicate with one another. The group of six manages to find shelter in an abandoned factory in a nearby village where they believe they would be safe from the eyes of the retreating German Army. As the narrative progresses we follow this group as they spend the next few days as they each share stories of their lives from before the war, the events that led to their arrest and what they envision for their future. A local farmer helps them with food and water and after years spent in the horrific concentration camps, their new circumstances are cause of both elation and reflection. The clean water, the freedom to bathe, sleep and eat on their own time, and simple meals of potatoes and cabbage while making them happy also trigger traumatic memories.

“We’ve moved from Auschwitz to paradise.”

This is a character-driven story and the author delves into the psyche of these six people who spent years in captivity, fighting for survival. We witness moments of fear, hope, sorrow, grief, anger, empathy, resentment, kindness, trust, friendship and attraction and desperation – a spectrum of reactions and emotions that rise to the surface – proof that after everything they have endured, they have not lost themselves completely.

Originally published only in England in 1967 this is the first time the novel is being published in the USA. The author, one of the Hollywood Ten, had been blacklisted on account of which his book was not published in the United States. Do read the Introduction by Patrick Chura, where he discusses the historical context and the people and events that inspired this novel. I would suggest, however, that you read the Introduction after reading the novel.

Heartbreaking, brutal yet incredibly moving, this is a short novel but not an easy read. A must-read for those who enjoy WWII fiction inspired by true events and people.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Please note that certain terminology might offend some if viewed from a contemporary lens but were contextually relevant in the era in which this story is based.

“For the rest of my life I’ll talk about Auschwitz and Fascism. I’ll talk on street corners if I’m able. I’ll write articles and send them to newspapers. What did we suffer for to let people forget it?”