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Eugen Kogon

The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System Behind Them Paperback – September 19, 2006

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

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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The result is a unique historical document―a complete picture of the society, morality, and politics that fueled the systematic torture of six million human beings.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.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date

September 19, 2006
Dimensions

5.63 x 1 x 8.33 inches
ISBN-10

0374529922
ISBN-13

978-0374529925
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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

About the Author

Dr. Eugen Kogon was a political prisoner at Buchenwald from September 1939 to April 1945. After the war, he wrote "The Theory and Practice of Hell."

Nikolaus Wachsmann is a professor of Modern German History at the University of London and the author of Hitler's Prisons: Legal Terror in Nazi Germany.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (September 19, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374529922
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374529925
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.63 x 1 x 8.33 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #251,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #74 in System Theory
- #161 in Jewish Biographies
- #309 in Historical Germany Biographies

Customer Reviews:
97 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		84%
4 star		6%
3 star		5%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Dennis P. Anderson

Excellent content that lives up to the title

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2016

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I have studied the Holocaust for over 30 years. Logon's book contains many insights that were new to me. I strongly urge anyone interested in knowing what went on day-to-day in the camps in Germany, to buy this book. It is excellent and so insightful. You will not be disappointed.

However, there is one statement on page 312 that is simply not true. He comments, "When the camps were liberated there were virtually no instances in which prisoners committed excesses against captured SS men." A recent book by John McManus entitled "Hell Before Their Very Eyes" states numerous examples of inmate retribution in Dachau, Buchenwald, and Ohrdruf. It seems obvious that this would happen and in my mind, was totally justified behavior.

17 people found this helpful

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Sadie

Recommended reading for millennials.

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2019

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This book was the text for a sociology course I took back in 1959. I was delighted to see it was still in print. I especially recommend it to AOC who desperately needs a history lesson on concentration camps.

8 people found this helpful

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KLL

Accurate title

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2018

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Only giving this 3 stars, as it is not as "readable" as similar books I have just read. "NIGHT" by Elie Wiesel, "AUSCHWITZ" a doctor's eyewitness by Miklos Nyiszli, and "Doctors from Hell" by Vivian Spitz. All three were difficult to put down, and I would give them 5 stars each.

This book, which is incredibly detailed, is not an easy read. The level of detail is what makes it dry and hard to stay with. The author includes lots of names of prisoners , SS officers etc., which tends to bog things down. I have given up on it twice but am committed to finish this book!

Just a note to the publisher, a number of pages have double-print/shadow lines, which were not easy to read so I just skipped those pages all together. I will review again once I have finished the book.

5 people found this helpful

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railfan

Accurately Titled!

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2015

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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. While I readily give this book 5 stars, I also warn that it is not really for the faint of heart, because no punches are pulled and the reader learns just what a bunch of real bastards the SS were. You come away wondering just to what depths of depravity a person can sink to after reading some of Kogon's eyewitness accounts of man's inhumanity to man. Please, read this book! I hope you come away with the same feeling I did: We must NEVER let this happen again!

9 people found this helpful

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BEvans

They created a hell

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2013

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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.

6 people found this helpful

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E Adams

Thorough Accounting of Camp Administration

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2014

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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.

9 people found this helpful

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ToniTIGER

Good history

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2019

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Detailed and accurate history. Very interesting to read

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Kevin Brassaw

I am satisfied with this product.

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2019

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I am satisfied with this product.

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Top reviews from other countries

Boppinggeo

Harrowing and readable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2015

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The 5 Star Rating comes up as "I love it" which can hardly be used to describe this particular book. This is a very painful and honest account from someone who went through the Concentration Camp system. It is a very harrowing but very readable account of those horrific years and certainly does not pull its punches. Well written and if interested in these years it is a must read.

8 people found this helpful

Sally

5 out of 5

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2019

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Excellent book for facts about a dark part of modern HISTORY. A book you keep reading and asking yourself WHY . One book to remember out of so many

2 people found this helpful

Ellie87

Well written and compiled

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2018

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Really harrowing and very difficult to read but so important to work through and understand. Read this book before going to Poland to visit Auschwitz.

3 people found this helpful

Elise

Important history

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 16, 2018

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Numbingly terrible exposition of mankind's inhumanity. Important lest we forget.

2 people found this helpful

DonB

A thought provoking read, it outlines, in detail ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2017

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A thought provoking read, it outlines, in detail the horrors of the concentration camps. The evil Nazi SS, the arch coward, Himler.
Racism in the extreme, brutal punishments, shortage of food, back breaking labour for long periods followed by roll calls that lasted hours in all weathers. Death came as relief to many.

3 people found this helpful