THE SWIMMER of AUSCHWITZ - Spotlight

 

THE SWIMMER of AUSCHWITZ (Monoray) is the extraordinary story of an Olympian who was imprisoned in Auschwitz and survived to tell his story.

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 that 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, written by Renaud Leblond is the unique, true story of a forgotten hero, told with remarkable power and simplicity.                                                                                 

Alfred Nakache (1915-1983) was a Jewish French swimmer and water polo player. A member of the French team for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games, he also swam in the first post-war Summer Olympics in London in 1948. He is one of only two Jewish athletes to have competed in the Olympics after surviving the Holocaust.

Editor and writer, Renaud Leblond is the author of several books of history and investigation, including "Main basse sur le gA nome" (Anne CarriA re, 2008), "Le Pouvoir des sectes" (Le ChA ne, 2009) and "le Journal de Jules Rimet" (First A ditions, 2014). Passionate about sports, he founded the Jules Rimet Sports Literature Prize in 2012.