Home › 20th Century - World War II & Holocaust › Vengeance is Mine
  • Vengeance is Mine by Friedrich Torberg book cover
  • Vengeance is Mine by Friedrich Torberg book cover
1 2

Vengeance is Mine

by Friedrich Torberg

A wartime story about vengeance and moral choice

$18.53 USD
$28.96 USD $18.53 USD
Save 36%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A wartime story about vengeance and moral choice

Set between a New Jersey dock in November 1940 and a recollection of imprisonment in a pre-war Nazi concentration camp, Friedrich Torberg’s novella links a refugee’s repeated vigil to testimony about systematic violence against Jewish prisoners. Its central question—whether vengeance belongs to God alone—places the impulse for retribution alongside the realities of persecution. Written in 1943, the work is presented as an early fictional response to the Nazi extermination program. The compact premise brings together exile, witness, and the moral consequences of violence without losing sight of the historical setting.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in fiction addressing the Holocaust and Nazi persecution.
  • Readers seeking a short historical work centered on exile, testimony, and vengeance.
  • Readers interested in works written during the Second World War.

Themes

Holocaust and Nazi persecutionExile and refugeVengeance and moral responsibilityWitness and testimony

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"One of the most electrifying and surprising endings in world literature." Erich Maria Remarque

 

One morning in November 1940, two men meet on New Jersey dock. One, haggard and haunted, says he's waiting for 75 refugees from Hitler's Germany. Every day he comes, and every day he leaves-alone.

 

Over a drink in a nearby bar, he relates the story of his imprisonment in a pre-war Nazi concentration camp. Of the SS commandant who separated out all the Jewish inmates and set about a deliberate program to kill them one by one, by torture, beatings, or suicide. Until the day when one inmate found himself faced with a decision: was vengeance, as it says in the Torah, a matter for God alone?

 

Written in 1943 and never before translated into English, Vengeance is Mine is the first work of fiction to predict the Nazi's final solution, their program to exterminate the Jews. Its story is short, stunning, and unforgettable: a 20th century masterpiece.

 

"When you read it, the world fades into darkness ... and that's how it should be." Max Brod

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all