Podcasts · On Auschwitz

“Auschwitz. A Monograph of the Human”. Part 10. Hope

26 Oct 2026 · 29 min

The book ‘Auschwitz. A Monograph on the Human’ is the first of its kind in the world to try to depict human emotions within the reality of Auschwitz camp. Its author, Museum Director Dr. Piotr Cywiński, draws on fragments of memoirs and testimonies from more than 450 Survivors. It is the words of these direct witnesses that form the basis of this reflection on the human condition amid the process of dehumanization at the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. In the podcast, we present ten chapters of this unique story about humanity facing the most extreme test.

Part 10. Hope

Read by: Grey Stafford

Adaptation for the podcast: Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka

Music: JivexMusic

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Testimonies and memoirs used into the podcast:

Halina Birenbaum (48693), “Hope Is the Last to Die”, p. 114.

Victor Frankl (119104), “Man’s Search For Meaning”, p. 82.

Eugenia Kaczyńska (45887), in: „Byłem numerem”, p. 132.

Hermann Langbein (60355), “People in Auschwitz”, p. 91.

Samuel Althaus (73538), “Where is God?”, p. 74.

Raphael Esrail (173295), “L’espérance d’un baiser”, p. 146.

Dora Goland-Blaufoux (80593), “Un présent qui s’accroche a moi”, p. 94.

Andre Balbin (41796), “De Lodz a Auschwitz en passant par la Lorraine”, p. 67.

Bolesław Dziewięcki (125546), „Z dna piekła”, p. 43.

Shari Lebovitz (39439), [“Shari: A True Story”], p. 93.

Shlomo Venezia (182727), “Inside the Gas Chambers”, p. 104.

Victor Frankl (119104), “Man’s Search For Meaning”, p. 78.

Charlotte Delbo (31661), “None of Us Will Return”, p. 99.

Liliane Badour (75127), in: “Esrail, L’espérance d’un baiser”, p. 103.

Halina Birenbaum (48693), “Hope Is the Last to Die”, p. 119.

Liana Millu (A-5384), “Smoke Over Birkenau”, p. 148.

Rudolf Diem (10023), Account in: Memoirs, vol. 172, pp. 48-49.

Krystyna Żywulska (55908), “I Survived Auschwitz”, p. 90.

Natan Żelechower (127262), Account in: Memoirs, vol. 83, p. 66.

Leon Weintraub (n.n.), “The Arrival”, p. 170.

Maria Dziurdzia (7408), Account in: Testimonies, vol. 36, p. 93.

Simone Alizon (31776), “L’exercice de vivre”, p. 210.

Primo Levi (174517), “If This Is a Man”, p. 73.

Jerzy Brandhuber (87112), Account in: Testimonies, vol. 78, p. 226.

Zofia Kossak (64491), „Z otchłani”, pp. 211-212.

Jadwiga Apostoł-Staniszewska (26273), „Echa okupacyjnych lat”, p. 280.

Primo Levi (174517), “If This Is a Man”, p. 33.

Victor Frankel (161040), “I Survived Hell”, pp. 112-113.

Janina Sarnowska (29860), Account in Testimonies, vol. 35, p. 105.

Wacław Maliszewski (59195), Account in: Testimonies, vol. 16, pp. 69-70.

Krystyna Żywulska (55908), “I Survived Auschwitz”, p. 221 .

Jerzy Skotnicki (125762), Testimonies in the criminal trial of former SS staff [IPN GK 196/89], in: Chronicles of Terror, t. 5, p. 78.

Anna Kowalczykowa (27658), Account in: Testimonies, vol. 19, p. 67.

Lusia Haberfeld (48703), “Lauferin. The Runner of Birkenau” (Victoria, 2002), p. 51.

Raya Kagan (7984), “Des femmes au bureau de l’enfer”, p. 80.

Krystyna Żywulska (55908), „I Survived Auschwitz”, p. 106.

Zofia Kossak (64491), „Z otchłani”, p. 245.

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Illustration: An excerpt from a work by Marian Kołodziej from the series entitled ‘Labyrinths’.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)