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Spectator in Hell
In 1942 the young soldier Arthur Dodd was taken prisoner by the German Army and transported to Oswiecim in Polish Upper Silesia. The Germans gave it another name, now synonymous with mankind’s darkest hours. They called it Auschwitz. Forced to do hard labour, starved and savagely beaten, Arthur thought his life would end in Auschwitz. Determined to go down fighting, he sabotaged Nazi industrial work, risked his life to alleviate the suffering of the Jewish prisoners, and aided a partisan group planning a mass breakout. This shocking story sheds new light on the operations at the camp, exposes a hierarchy of prisoner treatment by the SS and presents the largely unknown story of military POWs held there.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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December 28, 2012
Born on the 7th December 1919, Arthur Dodd was recruited by the British army shortly before his 21st birthday as a driver and mechanic. Three weeks after the infamous sinking of British battleship HMS Hood by the German Bismarck in 1941, Arthur was sent to North Africa to help with the war effort. After losing a gun battle against the German Panzers in the Egyptian desert, the men scrambled as they were ordered to retreat. Arthur made it to Tobruk Libya near the Egyptian border before being captured along with some thirty thousand allied soldiers. After a gruelling three hundred mile march to Benghazi, the men were packed like sardines on boats to Italy.
After six months of imprisonment, the POWs were ordered on an official form to state their working skills, in which Arthur had written "cat-burglar." Consequentially, Arthur was classed as a 'rebel' along with some two dozen other men and sent to the coal mines of Poznań Poland for some hard labour. Shortly after arriving, the 'rebellious' twenty-five stood their ground stating the Geneva Convention forbids POWs from helping enemies with the war effort. This resulted in a beating and the men being transferred to Auschwitz, their final stop, which would have meant nothing to them at the time.
At its peak, Auschwitz held about 1400 British POWs most of whom were made to work for the infamous IG Farben; the chemical plant responsible for producing the cyanide-based pesticide Zyklon B used in the gas chambers. Many of the Jewish arrivals had no idea of their fate, and were ushered like cattle onto trains, often told they were being exchanged for German POWs and relocated. Once inside, many were instructed they were going for showers only to find out once it was too late they were inside a gas chamber. The old method of executing the prisoners with rifles took a psychological toll on the Germans; this method ensured the mass murders were done in a calm, orderly, and efficient manner while reducing the emotional impact on the guards.
A typical day would involve being woken up at 5 a.m. by the arrival of Jewish prisoners. Work would begin at 6.30 a.m. without any breakfast. At noon, Arthur and the men were fed what he described as "dishwater soup" with a piece of black bread. The working day ended at 5 p.m and the men would wait until 6.30 for any remaining soup. If it wasn't for the Red Cross parcels, it is likely many more would have succumbed to malnutrition. Many of the POWs were qualified engineers and mechanics, and would spend much of their time figuring out ways to sabotage operations within the IG Farben plant. Often they would fill pipes with stones; loosen bolts on structures; create bad mixes of cement; swap destination plates on outgoing cargo; anything which would hinder and disrupt operations for the German war effort.
Of course, Arthur and his fellow inmates witnessed and experienced appalling acts of brutality which left physical and psychological scars. The Jewish prisoners were frequently clubbed and whipped within an inch of their life. In the case of misbehaviour, Jewish prisoners were often sent to a standing cell just three feet by the three feet wide and seven feet tall. Four skeletal prisoners were forced to remain in the cell between three to seven days. In one disturbing incident, Arthur witnessed guards whipping Jews to throw bodies into a fire, followed by them kicking children into the flames. The levels of despicable cruelty knew no boundaries: Jewish men, women, and children were all subject equally to the horrors of Nazi brutality.
Despite the extremely callous environment, tensions were alleviated with much cherished and rare moments of laughter and amusement between Arthur and his fellow inmates. Many of the prisoners received copies of Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf in an attempt to educate the British on Nazi philosophy. One particularly cold morning, prisoner John Green decided to bunk off duties that day, convincing guards he was studying the Nazi bestseller and was granted the day off. The next day, many others followed suit, all claiming they were reading Mein Kampf.
Another incident involved POW Denis Avey. During a random patdown of the prisoners, the Germans were angered to find a deceased scrawny chicken inside the trousers of Denis stuffed between his legs. This caused great commotion among the guards and guns were raised. After a beating and a night in the hole, Denis and three friends were questioned about the incident by a senior SS officer. When asked where he got the chicken from, Denis replied, 'I was working very hard when this chicken attacked me and I had no option but to kill it in self-defence!' After a brief silence, Avey's friends fell over with laughter followed shortly by the guards.
With Germany losing the war, and the imminent arrival of Russian, British, and American soldiers, the British POWs were released on the 23rd January 1945. Arthur, weighing ten stone when he entered the camp left weighing a meager five stone. After a punishing 700 mile walk to the west with little to no food, Arthur and the surviving inmates were in the safe hands of British and American forces. Back home in Cheshire, Arthur tells of how his distant and cold father had remarried, and was refused entry to his home by his new mother-in-law. This upset Arthur greatly, and he had never forgiven his father for submitting to her that day. He eventually made it to a relatives home close by, and was given the welcome and care that he deserved.
The government's treatment of the POWs is particularly poor, with many returning compensation fees feeling they were an insult. Arthur was even deducted money from his compensation fee for not returning his rifle and webbing supplied by the military. To add salt to the wound, the British government received 1 million pounds in compensation from the German government, of which not one penny reached any of the British POWs. No counselling was offered either to help the men recuperate psychologically.
Surprisingly, few people know of the British inmates who suffered at the hands of the Germans in Auschwitz. This book would be a good complementary piece of work to Laurence Ree's Auschwitz: The Nazis & The Final Solution which inspired the BBC documentary with the same name. Arthur's story also picked up interest by the BBC, and was made into a documentary Auschwitz - The Forgotten Witness aired in September 2000, which required Arthur to revisit the camp after five decades. Arthur was also awarded the Tree Certificate by the Holy Land Foundation for attempting to help Jewish prisoners escape.
After six months of imprisonment, the POWs were ordered on an official form to state their working skills, in which Arthur had written "cat-burglar." Consequentially, Arthur was classed as a 'rebel' along with some two dozen other men and sent to the coal mines of Poznań Poland for some hard labour. Shortly after arriving, the 'rebellious' twenty-five stood their ground stating the Geneva Convention forbids POWs from helping enemies with the war effort. This resulted in a beating and the men being transferred to Auschwitz, their final stop, which would have meant nothing to them at the time.
At its peak, Auschwitz held about 1400 British POWs most of whom were made to work for the infamous IG Farben; the chemical plant responsible for producing the cyanide-based pesticide Zyklon B used in the gas chambers. Many of the Jewish arrivals had no idea of their fate, and were ushered like cattle onto trains, often told they were being exchanged for German POWs and relocated. Once inside, many were instructed they were going for showers only to find out once it was too late they were inside a gas chamber. The old method of executing the prisoners with rifles took a psychological toll on the Germans; this method ensured the mass murders were done in a calm, orderly, and efficient manner while reducing the emotional impact on the guards.
A typical day would involve being woken up at 5 a.m. by the arrival of Jewish prisoners. Work would begin at 6.30 a.m. without any breakfast. At noon, Arthur and the men were fed what he described as "dishwater soup" with a piece of black bread. The working day ended at 5 p.m and the men would wait until 6.30 for any remaining soup. If it wasn't for the Red Cross parcels, it is likely many more would have succumbed to malnutrition. Many of the POWs were qualified engineers and mechanics, and would spend much of their time figuring out ways to sabotage operations within the IG Farben plant. Often they would fill pipes with stones; loosen bolts on structures; create bad mixes of cement; swap destination plates on outgoing cargo; anything which would hinder and disrupt operations for the German war effort.
Of course, Arthur and his fellow inmates witnessed and experienced appalling acts of brutality which left physical and psychological scars. The Jewish prisoners were frequently clubbed and whipped within an inch of their life. In the case of misbehaviour, Jewish prisoners were often sent to a standing cell just three feet by the three feet wide and seven feet tall. Four skeletal prisoners were forced to remain in the cell between three to seven days. In one disturbing incident, Arthur witnessed guards whipping Jews to throw bodies into a fire, followed by them kicking children into the flames. The levels of despicable cruelty knew no boundaries: Jewish men, women, and children were all subject equally to the horrors of Nazi brutality.
Despite the extremely callous environment, tensions were alleviated with much cherished and rare moments of laughter and amusement between Arthur and his fellow inmates. Many of the prisoners received copies of Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf in an attempt to educate the British on Nazi philosophy. One particularly cold morning, prisoner John Green decided to bunk off duties that day, convincing guards he was studying the Nazi bestseller and was granted the day off. The next day, many others followed suit, all claiming they were reading Mein Kampf.
Another incident involved POW Denis Avey. During a random patdown of the prisoners, the Germans were angered to find a deceased scrawny chicken inside the trousers of Denis stuffed between his legs. This caused great commotion among the guards and guns were raised. After a beating and a night in the hole, Denis and three friends were questioned about the incident by a senior SS officer. When asked where he got the chicken from, Denis replied, 'I was working very hard when this chicken attacked me and I had no option but to kill it in self-defence!' After a brief silence, Avey's friends fell over with laughter followed shortly by the guards.
With Germany losing the war, and the imminent arrival of Russian, British, and American soldiers, the British POWs were released on the 23rd January 1945. Arthur, weighing ten stone when he entered the camp left weighing a meager five stone. After a punishing 700 mile walk to the west with little to no food, Arthur and the surviving inmates were in the safe hands of British and American forces. Back home in Cheshire, Arthur tells of how his distant and cold father had remarried, and was refused entry to his home by his new mother-in-law. This upset Arthur greatly, and he had never forgiven his father for submitting to her that day. He eventually made it to a relatives home close by, and was given the welcome and care that he deserved.
The government's treatment of the POWs is particularly poor, with many returning compensation fees feeling they were an insult. Arthur was even deducted money from his compensation fee for not returning his rifle and webbing supplied by the military. To add salt to the wound, the British government received 1 million pounds in compensation from the German government, of which not one penny reached any of the British POWs. No counselling was offered either to help the men recuperate psychologically.
Surprisingly, few people know of the British inmates who suffered at the hands of the Germans in Auschwitz. This book would be a good complementary piece of work to Laurence Ree's Auschwitz: The Nazis & The Final Solution which inspired the BBC documentary with the same name. Arthur's story also picked up interest by the BBC, and was made into a documentary Auschwitz - The Forgotten Witness aired in September 2000, which required Arthur to revisit the camp after five decades. Arthur was also awarded the Tree Certificate by the Holy Land Foundation for attempting to help Jewish prisoners escape.
September 3, 2020
I have read plenty of books on the Second World War and also the Holocaust, however I was unaware that there were British POW’s imprisoned in Auschwitz, and so it appears so did the British government, this book concerns Arthur Dodd who was taken prisoner by the Germans and transported to Auschwitz where he stayed for two years where he witnessed the SS commit terrible atrocities on the Jews, as well as Arthur being beaten himself by the SS what he saw haunted not only Arthur but other POW’s for the rest of their lives they were never the same again Arthur promised to tell the world what occurred in Auschwitz this he does in this book in great detail. I thoroughly recommend this book for all to read, lest we forget.
July 7, 2019
Very interesting book although upsetting to read about mans inhumanity to man, also hadn’t realised British PO Ws were interned at Auchwitz.
February 25, 2014
My Grandfather was in prisoner with several of the gentlemen interviewed for this book. Unfortunately he passed away before this book was written but through a twist of fate my family came across an article about the book and we're put in touch with Colin. A traumatic read but put a lot of pieces in our puzzle.
February 19, 2014
This is the story of Arthur Dodd, a British POW who was sent to Auschwitz. It is almost certain that his POW status and nationality saved his life. There are also accounts at the end of the book of other POW's who had similar experiences. An absorbing, interesting book.
January 28, 2019
For as small of a book as it was; it kept me interested. It was very nicely written to create the horrific images, but all in all... I wish it was longer.
January 29, 2019
This book describes a British POW's life in Auschwitz. It is written in a matter of fact style and does not use hyperbole or exaggeration. I think this makes it all the more striking. I have read many books on the holocaust but none about the British POWs that were slaves in Monowitz. Their treatment was terrible but, by contrast with the Jews, was almost benign. I remain astounded at how a human can treat a fellow human so appallingly. A late chapter describes the treatment the British Government meted out to ex-POWs. This was new to me and I am horrified.
May 14, 2021
I didn't realize that pows were put in concentration camps. The saw the jewish prisoners i beaten and sometimes killed. They knew about the gas and cremations. There was nothing they can to stop it. Auther is in the worst. The others the no food. It was a true story of survival and sadness for what is seen.
March 12, 2023
What a book I could not put it down it brought tear,s to my eye,s we are lucky that it was written God bless them all
All the young people of today just to show them that they are so lucky to be around and have there health thing,s could have been different how lucky we all are
All the young people of today just to show them that they are so lucky to be around and have there health thing,s could have been different how lucky we all are
April 27, 2015
Good book but really live the characters
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews