Customer Reviews

Death Dealer: The Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rudolf Hoess was captured shortly after the war and wrote this amazing collection of thoughts observations and descriptions while on trial and while waiting to be executed. Hoess explains very clearly the history, structure and mission of the camps (not just Auschwitz) to include just about every aspect, from blockleader, Kapo, guard to Kommandant, even discussing the pros and cons of using dogs as guards. His descriptions of the gassing process are spellbinding and shocking all at once, you feel almost obcene while reading them as if you were the one looking through the peep-hole in the door as these poor peole die...it is that vivid. He describes the architectural concerns that were taken into account while designing and building (book contains diagrams and photos as well) the crematoriums. He does not deny his role, but he does fall back on the old "just following orders" excuse, and saying that he was betrayed by the higher up in the Nazi party. He describes some unusual things in this book, for example, he tells of how well his children got along with the inmates, asking for cigarettes to pass out to them, he speaks of the most daring and ingenious escapes that he witnessed while while in the camps, he speaks of the difficulties that could be avoided by fooling inmates into thinking up to the last moment that they were really only going the shower, not an execution/murder, he recalls some of the most haunting words and deeds of prisoners just before the doors to the gas chamber were closed. There is one recollection that really disturbed me, it concerned a young girl who somehow survives the Cyclone-B gassing under a pile of fellow prisoners, is revived, given food and clothes only to be discovered by a guard and executed. Hoess describes fellow SS personalities from Himmler down to common guards. There are lots of other things of intrest in this book, too many to list. Hoess claims that he was beaten into his confession, yet he provides astounding details when finally given the chance to speak. He tried to change his name and hide after the war, that alone should tell you he knew he had done wrong. He does admit to being the largest mass murderer in history in this book. This is disturbing book, it will stay with you a long time after you are finished reading.

There have been several reviewers asking the who and why and how questions relating to the question of those that commit Genocide. This book by no means answers all of these questions. There are strong arguments that there are no real answers to the atrocities that were committed, and by what means the thousands that were needed to implement them did bring themselves to do so. This book is interesting as it is a first person account of the man who supervised Auschwitz, a man considered the individual to have supervised well over 2,000,000 murders.

The only reason this lacks a 5th star is that there is some question as to whether or not everything Rudolpf Hoss wrote is 100% accurate. As this man was heading toward his death, it is generally felt that what is written represents his true feelings and thoughts about what he did.

This memoir/diary was written during his incarceration prior to his eventual execution, over a period of time from October of 1946 to April of 1947.

This is not a pleasant book; the pictures that are a part of it were even more horrific for me, as they accompanied the text of the man who created the situations that are depicted. This work is also difficult as you read of a life that starts in no remarkable way, yet leads to this individual becoming one of the key players in the actual implementation of The Holocaust.

The horror in the tale is the manner he carried out his tasks. He did not place any distance between himself and the day-to-day activities. He was fully immersed in them, and in many cases was there designer. He was central to the methods developed for the methodically efficient killing, the gas to be used, and disposal of victims.

When you get to the end you will understand more about one mind that participated in an unthinkable act. Your questions may not be all answered, but you will have gained a valuable insight into the mind of one of the perpetrators of this 20th century slaughter.

This book provides a first hand account about the youth, carrier and the personal participation in the Holocaust, extermination of gypsies, russian prisoners and other human beings, of a man that was Kommandant at Auschwitz, from 1940 until 1943 and then Chief of the Department of Inspectors of the Concentration Camps.
Rudolph H?ss, a man with a psychopathic personality, tells a gruesome, personal and detailed tale about the inception of Auschwitz, the logistical problems of its expansion, the gassings, his quarreling with other camp commanders due to their unproficiency, with the detachment and the normalcy of a bureaucrat, all of which not only makes a case study in the psychiatry of mass murder, but also recalls the concept of the banality of evil, elaborated by Hanna Arendt in her book about Adolph Eichmann's trial ( no surprise here, since these two fellows used to cooperate in their endeavour).
The reasons given for their participation in the crimes committed, reveal the danger of a totalitarian or fanatical education, not only for the feeble minded, but also for "normal people" without a clear perception of the distinction between evil and good, from an ethical standpoint. Reading this book we confirm the distinction made by the scholars between the psyche of a serial killer (an intimate act) and that of the mass murderer (ideologically driven detachment).
H?ss tells us about an infancy without real love, and how he couldn't relate with affection to his parents, sister, and then his wife. After he marries, his real dream is to have a farm, but the opportunity is given to him to enter in the S.S. by Himmler himself. In Auschwitz, he claims never to have mistreated personally any prisoner and that he always behaved in a professional manner. However, his detached or impersonal fight against what the S.S. taught him to be the COMMON ENEMY, involved a participation in the first experimentation of Cyclon B in order to find a more expedient and humane manner to kill hundreds of thousand faceless human beings. And we must believe H?ss when he tells us that the methods of shooting all the poor devils or gassing them with carbon monoxide, were in fact burdensome, logistically complicated and not that "human".
Regarding his personal attitude towards the gassings, we get a perverse but fascinating explanation of how difficult it was for H?ss to bury all his human inhibitions, so as not to give a bad example to the other "employees" of Auschwitz. In order to better understand, I have selected this paragraph:
"On one occasion two little children were involved in
a game they were playing and their mother just
couldn't tear them away from it. Even the jews from the Sonderkommando didn't want to pick up the children. I
will never forget the pleading look in the face of the
mother, who certainly knew what was happening. The
people in the gas chamber were becoming restless.
Everyone was looking at me. I had to act. I gave the
sergeant in charge a wave, and he picked up the screaming, kicking children in his arms and brought them in the
gas chamber along with the mother, who was weeping in
the most heart-braking fashion. Believe me, I felt like shrinking into the ground out of pity, but I was not
allowed to show the slightest emotion. Hour upon hour
I had to witness all that happened. I had to watch
day and night, whether it was the dragging and burning
of the bodies, the teeth being ripped out, the cutting
of the hair; I had to watch all this horror..... I also
had to watch the process of death itself though the
peephole of the gas chamber because the doctors called
my attention to it. I had to do all of this because I
was the one to whom everyone looked, and because I had
to show everybody that I was not only the one who gave
the orders and issued the directives, but that I was
willing to be present at whatever task I ordered the men
to perform."
The fine foreword by the italian writer Primo Levi, himself a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, refers to the two main reasons to bring out and divulge this book after so long. The first, to neutralize the efforts of the revisionists. The accurate description and details given by H?ss, confirmed by his testimony at Nuremberg, by the survivors and material evidence, prevent the possibility of denying or downscaling the gassings at Auschwitz. The second reason is to present, in graphic manner, the ultimate consequences of accepting blindly a totalitarian ideology.

On April 16, 1947, Rudolph Hoess, the infamous Kommandant of Auschwitz was hanged in his former concentration camp for, "crimes against the Polish people." While awaiting trial, Hoess, who knew he would pay for his crimes with his life, sought to renew the spiritual connection he had eschewed as a youth. Accordingly, he recounted his time in the SS for his captors. His story is also that of the darkest side of the Third Reich.

The book begins with a discussion of the, "final solution," of the Jewish Question. He tells how he was ordered to establish a camp at Auschwitz for the purpose of eliminating, "enemies of the state." Details of camp construction and experiments to find the appropriate gas he describes without emotion. Yet he relates questions asked by young SS soldiers and inmates as to how small children could be an "enemy." His "party line" response fooled some, but never himself.

Hoess also describes the victims he tried to destroy. Jews had "strong family ties;" gypsies were, "childlike;" the Jehovah's Witnesses were worthy of emulation. The SS was challenged to have the same devotion to the Fuhrer as they had to Jehovah. In chapter 22 he describes the gassing process as only he could do. His primary concern was to dispatch his victims quickly and efficiently without displaying emotion that would affect young guards. Here, he admits, he hid behind an iron mask. Particularly interesting is the story of a young, extremely attractive, Jewish girl who fought back even as she was undressing for the gas chamber. Resistance was rare but in this case, effective, very effective!

The book describes his early life and the events that caused him and many others to blindly follow the SS motto: "Fuhrer, you order. We obey!" Hoess gives a detailed description of the hierarchy of the SS. Men, who had been portrayed as super-human, are shown to have been far short of that ideal. Alcoholism and suicide rates were high; competence was low! Still, operations continued despite all difficulties because, "Orders were orders!"

Death Dealer is a first person account of the operations of the most infamous death camp in history. After sending an estimated 2.5 million people to their deaths, the Kommandant, ended his life by doing one decent thing: he left his memoirs so no one could deny this ever happened. For that, the world owes Rudoph Hoess, the Kommandant of Auschwitz, a debt of gratitude.

This book shows how a blind adherance to 'doing one's duty' can lead to horrifying results. The calmness in which Hoess relates his story is disturbing. Regardless of whatever was in this man's background that led to his beliefs and actions does not lessen the lack of morals and ethics exhibited by him, unless a person's actions can be merely attributed to his upbringing.

Unfortunately, the real value of this book is not recognized by recent events in Bosnia, Palestine, Israel, and other parts of the world. 'Ethnic cleansing' is a term I detest. Why not call it what it is, mass murder with a capital 'M'. There is no room for euphemisms when it comes to millions of people being slaughtered.

A disturbing book indeed, but one that should be more widely read and understood. None of us should ever forget what happened at the hands of the criminals that ruled Germany at that point in history. I only wish the lessons that we could have learned from it all would have been better learned.

Recommended!

This book is by far the single most important book about the Holocaust. Rudolf Hoess wrote these memoirs while he was drying off in prison after his capture by the British. Voluntarily, he wrote in detail about his life, as well as some pretty nasty occurances which occured in Auschwitz. Hoess was the type who denied personal responsibility with all the atrocities which occured in Auschwitz. He himself said that he never personally had anything against the Jews and he never killed one--let alone tourtured one--yet he authorised the murder of some four million inmates. His memoirs, aside from the odd bout of denial of responsibility, are a rare piece of information into both the nature and workings of the Holocaust and they serve as a terrific example of how one stupid man let his family-oriented sense of obeying orders and duty get the best of him. Everybody should read this book, for inside it are the writings of the first Kommandant of Auschwitz: one who watched millions of innocent human beings dissolve in the gas chambers, burn in the crematoriums, and their teeth melted into gold bars. His greatest crime of all was the submission into the workings of this terrifying regime, while forgetting all human nature and feelings, and acting only on behalf of orders and a sense of duty. I repeat, this is a must read for everybody, whether or not they are interested in the Holocaust, for it also serves as a very big lessson to never, ever, no matter what, let a senseless killing of people take place again. If we do not learn from this, and such a thing happens again, then there may be not a single survivor to live and tell the tale.

Enter the mind of a mad man. LTC Rudolph Hoess, while in prison awaiting trail for his role in the systematic extermination of 2 million jews while kommandant of KL Auschwitz, spills his thoughts on to paper for the whole world to read. Although Hoess does makes numerous "I was only following orders" to excuse his wicked actions through out the book,it is his cold unblinking honesty about how a child destinded to become a priest instead became the self admitted "the greastest killer of all time" is what really grabbed me. He also provides glimes into his childhood, his experiences in WW1, joining the Nazi party and his years in prison- plenty of imformation for pyschologist today to peek into the mind of a mad man. In short Hoess writes with the manial coolness of a real life Hannibal Lecter.

Torture, death, & the atrocities of war are not easily swallowed or digested by those who were neither there nor on the receiving end of the realities, but one has to read the words of Rudolf Hoess and belieive them to be what they are -HIS BELIEFS. Too many historical biographies of the SS leave one with the taste of the writers interpretation of the person, and we are all left to wonder about truths, half-truths, desires & perceptions. Some even take their word as gospel. History becomes anything the writer wants it to become for whatever reason he feels he needs to express the information. This book gives one the reality of Hoess according to Hoess - and a foundation for our own interpretations of his psychological make-up. I am an American of Polish descent, having many friends & family (both Polish Roman Catholic & Polish Jew) personally affected by this man during WWll - and it was like a breath of fresh air to hear his side so that I may put the pieces of the puzzle together to get a more complete picture of what was really going on. I try and live my life as non-judgementally as I can, believing understanding is far better than blame - and understanding how this man was raised gives me greater insight into what he had become. Like many who found this book hard to read, I found it easy - for it was his perception of the truth. I may not like his "truth" and I may not agree with his "truth" - but I am not in a position to deny it. If you are really seeking the truth behind the man and his actions, this is a remarkable book

My opinion is based on the comparison with the orginal publication in German, which I purchased in 1960 to provide essential information for the subsequent psychiatric evaluations of several thousand Holocaust survivors.

I give this book five stars because of its historical value. This work not only gives insight into the mind of the leader of perhaps the greatest death factory ever built, but also allows a clearing-up of some errors that have accreted in the decades since that horrible time.

Hoess rejected God and the Church (p. 52-53, 57, 59, 72, 192), having rebelled against his father's wish that he become a priest. Like Himmler, he became an Artaman (pp. 202-203; a communal movement resembling the 1960's US communes, albeit Teutonic-centered) before switching to Nazism for his substitute religion.

Hoess wrote: "Until the beginning of 1942 the main body of prisoners was Polish." (p. 128). Many Poles were murdered secretly (the cause of death listed as natural), "...because of political and security reasons..." (p. 224).

During the Auschwitz Carmelite convent controversy, attempts were made to belittle the victimhood of Auschwitz Poles through the premise that they, unlike most Jews, were not generally killed upon arrival at Auschwitz. Hoess, in contrast, rejected any such dichotomy (if anything, praising the slow-death genocidal methods--as perfected by the Communists): "The Gestapo delivered the prisoners to the camps to be exterminated. It made no difference to them whether it happened by firing squad, gas, or by the horrible conditions in the camps. It was part of their plan not to improve conditions in the camps...Thus, the concentration camps were changed deliberately, and sometimes unintentionally, into large-scale extermination centers. The Kommandants received extensive composite reports from the Gestapo about the Soviet concentration camps. Escaped prisoners had made reports about the conditions and organization of these camps down to the smallest detail. They emphasized that by using forced labor methods the Soviets were annihilating entire nationalities." (pp. 168-169).

Holocaust-uniqueness advocates sometimes claim that the genocide of the Polish intelligentsia, unlike that of Jews, served a rational purpose--the elimination of resistance. Actually, the latter was, at most, a hoped-for byproduct of this nation-destroying act: "I want to add this, that the general opinion at SS headquarters was that the total annihilation of the Polish intelligentsia would also destroy the resistance movement. [SS Major] Thomsen was an ardent defender of this theory." (p. 322).

Initial plans to kill all Jews gave way to the sparing of some of them for forced labor (p. 34).

Hoess discussed the Jewish Sonderkommando in considerable detail. Those Jews temporarily got to save their lives by dutifully assisting in the deception, gassing, despoiling, and cremation of their fellow Jews. He also observed Jew-against-Jew behavior by some Jews who had no hope of postponing their own deaths. As they entered the gas chambers, they told Germans the addresses of fugitive Jews back home. Hoess commented: "I cannot explain what motivated them to reveal this information. Was it personal revenge, or were they jealous because they did not want the others to live on?" (p. 160).

In common with many Germans, Hoess attempts to rationalize his exterminatory conduct by equating it with the Allied bombings of German women and children. He estimates German civilian casualties in the several millions (p. 171), which is at least a 20-fold exaggeration.

As for lebensraum, Hoess belatedly concluded that Germany could have achieved it peacefully (p. 182).

Hoess suggested that crude propaganda such as Der Sturmer had hindered the development of scientific anti-Semitism (p. 140). He also came to believe that the extermination of Jews only brought hatred against Germany and increased Jewish power by discrediting anti-Semitism (p. 183).

This volume isn't limited to Hoess' memoirs. The entire Wannsee Protocol is printed in translation. It is obvious that the choice of Poland as the site of the German death camps was based solely on practical considerations (minimalized transportation) and had nothing to do with real or stereotyped Polish attitudes towards Jews: "State Secretary Dr. Buehler declared that the government of Occupied Poland would welcome it if the final solution to this question would be started in Occupied Poland. His reason: transport plays no important role here and the deployment of workers during the operation would not cause any problems." (p. 380).