Friedrich Hartjenstein was in charge of Auschwitz-Birkenau when Vrba escaped. Hartjenstein was tried and found guilty for murder and crimes against humanity—twice, by the British and by French – but he died of a heart attack while awaiting execution in Paris on October 20, 1954, at age 49.

Recommended: Homecoming of an Auschwitz Commandant by Jürgen Gückel (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage, 2021)