The Death's Head Chess Club
By: John Donoghue
Publisher: Isis
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Oxford
Language: eng
Number of pages: 464
ISBN-13: 9781785410734
Subjects: Fiction; Nazis; Chess players; Concentration camps; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945); Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
Description: SS-Obersturmfuhrer Paul Meissner arrives at Auschwitz fresh from fighting on the Russian Front. After being badly wounded, he is fit only for administrative duty, his first and most pressing task being to improve flagging camp morale among the officers and enlisted men. So he sets up a chess club, which thrives as under-the-table bets are made on the results of the games. Meissner learns that chess is also played by the prisoners and is intrigued by the rumour of a Jewish watchmaker, Emil Clement, who is 'unbeatable'. When Meissner's superiors demand that he demonstrate German superiority by pitting this undefeated Jew against the best Nazi players, an unusual friendship is formed. And as more and more games are played, the stakes rise, and the two men find their fates deeply entwined.