On May 5th, just before noon, a towering American tank, smoked and scarred by war, smashed through the gate of Mauthausen and entered the enclosure. And this God-sent vehicle of freedom was said to be one of the countless and unstoppable tanks of the eleventh armored brigade of the third American army, led by some great general named George Patton!...

What beautiful words, what heavenly news... Our warriors looked on, bewildered, proud, sorrowful... It's a good thing they stayed up there, on the back of the tank. They had escaped so many battles. They wouldn’t escape this joy. We screamed, ripped our clothes, shook like the possessed. We squeezed in, trampled one another, to get close to the tank. Many fell against it and kissed the smoking metal, while others struck their heads and cried.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]