The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them Reprint Edition

by Eugen Kogon (Author), Heinz Norden (Translator), Nikolaus Wachsmann (Introduction)

34 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0374529925

ISBN-10: 0374529922

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By the spring of 1945, the Second World War was drawing to a close in Europe. Allied troops were sweeping through Nazi Germany and discovering the atrocities of SS concentration camps. The first to be reached intact was Buchenwald, in central Germany. American soldiers struggled to make sense of the shocking scenes they witnessed inside. They asked a small group of former inmates to draft a report on the camp. It was led by Eugen Kogon, a German political prisoner who had been an inmate since 1939. The Theory and Practice of Hell is his classic account of life inside.

Unlike many other books by survivors who published immediately after the war, The Theory and Practice of Hell is more than a personal account. It is a horrific examination of life and death inside a Nazi concentration camp, a brutal world of a state within state, and a society without law. But Kogon maintains a dispassionate and critical perspective. He tries to understand how the camp works, to uncover its structure and social organization. He knew that the book would shock some readers and provide others with gruesome fascination. But he firmly believed that he had to show the camp in honest, unflinching detail.

The result is a unique historical document―a complete picture of the society, morality, and politics that fueled the systematic torture of six million human beings. For many years, The Theory and Practice of Hell remained the seminal work on the concentration camps, particularly in Germany. Reissued with an introduction by Nikolaus Waschmann, a leading Holocaust scholar and author of Hilter's Prisons, this important work now demands to be re-read.

The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The best of the many books on Nazi concentrations camps and the society behind them.” ―C. Wright Mills

“Kogon omits nothing and spares no one. His account, magnificently controlled and dispassionate . . . achieves a devastating impact.” ―The Nation

“A description of the closest thing to hell in human history.” ―Reinhold Niebuhr

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (September 19, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374529922
ISBN-13: 978-0374529925
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 24.3 x 211.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 34 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Books > Science & Math > Physics > System Theory
- #426 in Books > History > World > Jewish > Holocaust
- #623 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

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They created a hell

ByBEvanson May 24, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Well written and documented history of the Nazi concentration camps. Eugen Kogon, a German political prisoner in WWII, worked as a guard in the Buchenwald prison camp. As a Nazi-resister, he enabled Stéphane Hessel to escape certain death by switching his identity with that of a dead prisoner. After the concentration camps were liberated, Kogon provided the Allies with information on the organization of the camps. The detailed descriptions of how the camps were organized may shock the reader but The Theory and Practice of Hell is as relevant today as when written in 1950.

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Thorough Accounting of Camp Administration

ByE Adamson August 12, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Immediately after the end of World War II, the Americans wanted a report of how the German concentration camps worked and appointed a committee made up of inmates from Buchenwald concentration camp to document the administrative aspect of the camps. Eugen Kogon, a writer and political activist, headed the committee and within four weeks produced what became a go-to document for the Nuremberg trials and a respected explanation of camp administration.
The book expands the original report and each chapter covers a specific aspect of the camp, e.g., Daily Routine, Discipline and Scientific Experiments. Kogon is careful to stay objective in his reporting, even when he describes how the Germans beat, starved, tortured and worked inmates to death. He touches on how the prisoners reacted to the camp and how they became numb to their treatment, a by-product of the all-encompassing terror they experienced.
“The Theory and Practice of Hell” is the most thorough accounting I have found that explains how the Germans ran the concentration camps and I would urge anyone who has asked themselves “How did they do this on such a grand scale?” to read the book.

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Educational, Eye Opening and Painful

BySarah Schultzon June 15, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Book is a little disturbing but Eugen Kogon's expert testimony were used in the Nuremburg Trials so historically his recollections are invaluable.

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Very good condition. Fast delivery

ByAmazon Customeron August 12, 2017

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Very good condition.Fast delivery. More info about Conc. Camps and people than anything else I've read in one book. Should be required reading for all adults.

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Good book

Bytaya johnsonon April 24, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book was really helpful i bout because i had to do a 6 page paper on concentration camps but i found it to be interesting overall

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Five Stars

ByJohn Cranmeron June 28, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book really tells about the Nazi concentration camp system.

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horribly grotesque, but very interesting non the less

ByDarrylon March 16, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Very interesting stuff , horribly grotesque , but very interesting non the less.

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Five Stars

ByM. Bergon August 14, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Chilling information from a person who had personal knowledge rather than relying exclusively on archives.

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Most recent customer reviews

camps This book still stands in my library as the best study and description of the Nazi horror

While taking a class in modern German history in 1963, I came across this paperback book in the University of Washington bookstore. It was first published in in 1950.Read more

Published 10 months ago by KATE

Excellent content that lives up to the title

I have studied the Holocaust for over 30 years. Logon's book contains many insights that were new to me.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Dennis P. Anderson

Five Stars

Very good book. It makes you feel like you're there.

Published 1 year ago by john hershey

Five Stars

If you have any interest on how the SS made the camps work, this is the book.

Published 1 year ago by David Dellinger

Accurately Titled!

This is not a book for light reading, because Mr. Kogon goes into the depths of the horrors a prisoner in the Nazi Concentration Camps was subjected to.Read more

Published on August 11, 2015 by railfan

Five Stars

amazing it is worth to read, very touching and motivating

Published on May 28, 2015 by han hyo seop

Five Stars

Collecting a book repository for my children to remember and never forget.

Published on January 27, 2015 by Arthur Pribula

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