2022年经济学人 来自地狱的警告（1）

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Book review: The Holocaust¹

书评：大逃杀

Warning from hell

来自地狱的警告

The Escape Artist. By Jonathan Freedland.

《逃脱大师》乔纳森·弗里德兰著

One day in 1978 Rudolf Vrba was in a restaurant in New York when he spotted² a number tattooed³ on a waiter’s arm.

1978年的一天，鲁道夫·弗尔巴在纽约的一家餐馆里，发现一名服务员的胳膊上纹了一个数字。

Vrba told him that he must be a Jew from Bedzin, Poland, who had arrived in Auschwitz in the summer of 1943.

弗尔巴对他说，他一定是来自波兰贝德津的犹太人，在1943年夏天到过奥斯威辛集中营。

The waiter, amazed, confirmed this deduction⁴.

服务员大吃一惊，证实了这一推断。

Vrba’s extraordinary memory was his curse and a salvation⁵.

弗尔巴非凡的记忆力是对他的诅咒，也是他的救星。

His curse, because he could never forget the columns of terrified Jews on the ramp⁶ at Birkenau, the corpses⁷ he had to carry or the smoke spiralling out of the crematoria.

这是对他的诅咒，因为他永远不会忘记比克瑙集中营斜坡上惊恐的犹太人长列，他不得不搬运的尸体，或是从火葬场冒出的烟雾。

A salvation, because the details he memorised eventually helped stop the deportation⁸ trains.

这是他的救星，因为他记住的细节最终帮助阻止了驱逐出境的火车。

Born Walter Rosenberg in Slovakia in 1924, he arrived in Auschwitz in June 1942.

他1924年出生于斯洛伐克，原名沃尔特·罗森伯格，于1942年6月抵达奥斯威辛集中营。

Daringly and desperately⁹ he escaped with Alfred Wetzler, a compatriot, in early April 1944.

1944年4月初，他勇敢而绝望地与同胞阿尔弗雷德·韦茨勒逃脱。

They made their way back to Slovakia, finding shelter with the remnants of the Jewish community.

他们回到了斯洛伐克，与犹太社区的残余分子一起寻找避难所。

The two men’s account of the camp was typed up and edited into a 32-page forensic¹⁰ report on the inner workings of the Nazi¹¹ death machine.

两人对集中营的描述被打印出来，编辑成了一份32页的关于纳粹死亡机器内部运作的法医报告。

Jonathan Freedland is both a columnist¹² at the Guardian¹³ and a thriller¹⁴ writer, and he tells this harrowing and astonishing story with pace and verve.

乔纳森·弗里德兰既是《卫报》的专栏作家，也是一名惊险小说作家，他流畅而又富有神韵地讲述了这个令人痛心又震惊的故事。

Vrba (as he became after the escape) wound up as a clerk in Auschwitz, so was fairly free to roam the camp.

弗尔巴(他越狱后的用名)最终在奥斯威辛集中营当了一名办事员，所以可以相当自由地在集中营里漫步。

He had also been posted to the section known as Kanada, where inmates¹⁵ unpacked¹⁶ the suitcases of those recently gassed, quickly forcing down any food they might find: “The lemons, the tins of sardines¹⁷, the bars of chocolate...They had all been packed by anxious mothers and worried grandfathers.”

他还被派往到Kanada区过，在那里，囚犯们会打开那些最近被毒气毒死的人的手提箱，迅速把他们能找到的任何食物吞下去：“柠檬，沙丁鱼罐头，巧克力条……这些都是一位位焦虑的母亲和忧心的祖父打包的。”

By the spring of 1944, the SS guards were joking about the “Hungarian salami” that would arrive with the Jews of Hungary, the last surviving community in Nazi-occupied Europe.

到了1944年春天，纳粹党卫军开玩笑说，“匈牙利腊肠”会和匈牙利犹太人一起来到这里，匈牙利是欧洲在纳粹占领下最后幸存的社区。

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 tattooed   

v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• He had tattooed his wife's name on his upper arm. 他把妻子的名字刺在上臂上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sailor had a heart tattooed on his arm. 那水兵在手臂上刺上一颗心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

5 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

6 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

7 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

8 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

9 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

10 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

11 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

12 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

13 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

14 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

15 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 unpacked   

v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李，整理衣物。
• Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒，并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句

17 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。