Nikos Karagiannis, Beyond Mauthausen
The 15th volume in the series Testimonials series περιλαμβάνει τις αναμνήσεις του Νίκου Καραγιάννη από την αντιστασιακή του δράση στο Ηράκλειο εναντίον των δυνάμεων της Κατοχής στα χρόνια 1942-44 και την εμπειρία του από τα ναζιστικά στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης Μαουτχάουζεν, Μελκ και Εμπενζέε.
Excerpt from the book:
[…] We walked panting because the distance was not small. Without respite, with hearts empty of emotions, in awe of that unknown and terrible monster that awaited us, whose name alone would make us disintegrate mentally and spiritually. It was for us that horrible hell, where you entered hell without hope of exit and survival. And indeed, the image we saw from a certain distance was terrible, when we first saw that mythical, monstrous castle with its high walls and the occasional watchtowers with the guards, armed with their machine guns. It was a monster that awaited us, distant like the Leviathan of mythology. The closer we got, the more our hearts raced and our knees buckled. What would we see inside? The great gate opened and the camp began to suck in the long worm of the damned. […]
