Each Holo­caust mem­oir is a vital doc­u­ment. First per­son sur­vivor nar­ra­tives both pre­serve the mem­o­ries of those lost as well as pro­vide human­iz­ing details for an over­whelm­ing set of facts and emo­tions. What is unusu­al about Mietek Pemper’s mem­oir of his expe­ri­ences in Krakow and Plas­zow from before the war through its after­math is the author’s remark­ably detailed mem­o­ry and abil­i­ty to recall what occurred, with lit­tle appar­ent emo­tion­al col­or­ing. With his knowl­edge of sev­er­al lan­guages and sharp intel­lect, it is easy to under­stand why Pem­per was a key wit­ness in the tri­als of for­mer Plas­zow com­man­dant Amon Goth and oth­er Nazi war crim­i­nals— and why he was able to sur­vive in his role as Goth’s sec­re­tary for near­ly two years.