The Perpetrators of Auschwitz (Hardback)

Perpetrators of Auschwitz is a chilling and comprehensive study of the men and women of the SS who operated the largest and most infamous Nazi concentration camp. Moving beyond the barbed wire and gas chambers, this book uncovers the full structure of the SS community that orchestrated and facilitated mass murder, detailing their roles, routines and disturbing attempts at normalcy.

Through archival material, personal diaries and eyewitness accounts, the book explores the lives of over 7,000 SS personnel stationed at Auschwitz between its conception in 1940 to its liberation by the Red Army in 1945. It examines their organizational hierarchy, the medical staff, photographers, female guards and the seemingly mundane domestic arrangements that supported an industrialized killing machine.

At the heart of the narrative is Commandant Rudolf Höss and his family, who lived in a remodelled villa just outside the camp. Their ‘normal’ domestic life, complete with servants, gardens and children, unfolded mere steps from unimaginable horror. The noises, smells and even stolen camp belongings did not seem to interrupt their focus on creating what they considered a serene home life. Drawing from testimonies of housekeepers and local workers, the book reveals how the perpetrators not only administered genocide by day but also hosted social events by night; all to uphold an appearance of normality against a backdrop of pure evil.

Despite their brutality, most SS personnel had no criminal record and fewer than 800 were held accountable after the war. This book confronts the disturbing truth of how ordinary people became architects of genocide and how the Auschwitz complex evolved into a hub of systematic extermination, responsible for the deaths of over 1 million people including 200,000 children.

With harrowing detail, historical clarity and containing 390 photographs, Perpetrators of Auschwitz is an essential study of the individuals behind one of history’s greatest atrocities.