The extraordinary story of Olympian who was imprisoned in Auschwitz and survived to tell his
story. "Sports writer Leblond revisits in his propulsive English-language debut the life of
Alfred Nakache an Olympic athlete who was forced to swim for his guards’ entertainment at
Auschwitz… Readers will be hooked.” – Publishers Weekly Alfred Nakache a Jewish child from
Constantine never imagined that he would one day swim for France at the Olympic Games in
Berlin in 1936 nor than he would achieve a world record as he did in 1941. As a child he was
petrified of the water and yet somehow through sheer willpower and determination he rose to
become one of the very best swimmers in the world. That was until 1943 when he was banned from
the pool - and in the same year deported and sent to Auschwitz. Not knowing if he would ever
see his wife and daughter again Alfred battled on through the humiliation and the pain even
defying the guards by swimming in the water reserves of Auschwitz. Somehow - miraculously - he
survived swimming every day until the end of his life. The Swimmer of Auschwitz is the
unique true story of a forgotten hero told with remarkable power and simplicity.
