Loved this book. Lots of interesting information to digest. This is a great read for anyone who loves to read about history. Very well written. So many books about Auschwitz and those who ran it or were in it. This one’s really good

I originally requested a copy of this book because I was intrigued to learn more about Rudolph Hoss.

While this book does somewhat cover his early life and career as a Nazi a large proportion of this book covers the other people around Hoss and his opinions of them. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it isn’t what I expected from the book.

This book also presupposes a level of knowledge so if this is your first book on the subject I would maybe start with something else.

What I found most disconcerting about the book was the writer himself. While I understand that Hoss was a terrible person who did terrible things, writing about history means you have to be objective rather than letting your opinion come across.

This was a very interesting novel on a historical figure that I had not known much about prior. It is a heartbreaking story. I liked how much of this book included Hoss" own memoirs.

These types of books are so hard to read. And not because of this author or writing, which was really really good! But because you know the subject of this book was one of the most evil men of the Holocaust and war. Congrats to the author for tackling such a difficult subject.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I was always curious about the man who was in charge of Auschwitz. This book was well done, giving the reader the full story of Rudolph Hoss, and the role that he played within the Reich.
It was heartbreaking in areas, but overall, a very good comprehensive view.

For those interested in WWII history, and the Holocaust, this is a really good read.

The author performed a great deal of research before writing this book. He not only included facts from several archives and resources, he also used Hoss's writings, which enhanced the readability of the narrative because we watch and learn about the inner workings and mindset of a horribly evil person who, to the last minute, swore he was not guilty because he was simply following orders. This is a solid contribution to the historical records about WWII.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own honest opinions written voluntarily.

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

At some point this year, assuming Covid doesn’t keep ravaging the country, Kansas City will be hosting an exhibit that will showcase artifacts from Poland’s Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Having visited Dachau some twenty years ago in person, this might be the closest I could get to seeing these items for a long time, if ever. And if its anything like Dachau, I’m sure just seeing the artifacts will be a rough, if not VERY sobering experience. I mention this, because today’s topic is the man that made Auschwitz Concentration Camp so notorious, Rudolf Höss, and this new book about him The Commandant of Auschwitz, by Volker Koop and published by Pen and Sword Books. I basically wanted to educate myself more than what I was on the topic, and figured this book would be a solid look at the man responsible for one of the worst episodes in world history.

Koop does a solid job of not just regurgitating things from the memoirs of Rudolf Höss, and quickly points out that Höss appears to be a habitual liar in pretty much everything he does. Much of the information comes from things such as this material, but using historical records, and conflicting accounts by contemporaries, the portrait of a truly terrible man is painted. Even when everything was lost, and the man faced trial, he claimed to be a normal guy that just did his job and had no idea bad things were happening under his command. Reading some of the atrocities he signed off on, such as throwing children directly into a fire pit while still alive, was infuriating to say the least.

This was a tough read, for obvious reasons, but I enjoyed it and learned a lot about, perhaps, one of the biggest monsters in modern history. One would have hoped that he would have stayed in prison much longer than he did when he literally committed a political murder, but alas Hitler needed the most despicable to do his evil deeds. Very good book, if you are curious, or a WWII history buff, I’d check it out.

What an evil creature Höss was. He really has no limits. Koop revealed his entire persona in this novel, and if you were familiar with Rudolf Höss and his propensity for evil before hand, you will be in absolutely no doubt after reading this. He was a despicable, deplorable human being. Hell exists for people exactly like him.

Whilst saying that you enjoyed a book with this kind of subject matter might sound odd, I actually did. I thought the author did a good job of highlighting the important points about Höss and not getting too carried away with unimportant factoids.

Much of this book is based on the memoirs of Höss himself, and yet it does not read as just a mother boring example of an author rewriting the words of someone else. Actually, reading this book is far more pleasant (due to the organisation) than reading the original memoirs. The Insight of the author after much time spent researching helps to clarify things for the reader.

I thought this was a fascinating, well-written work with a lot to offer anyone interested in the history of the Nazi movement and the KL System. Recommended to anyone who wants to know more about this subject and to all who are interested in the history of the Twentieth Century's major events and personalities.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rudolf Hoess, one of the central figures of the Nazi mass murder of Jews, Poles, Russians, Catholics, and other enemies of the Third Reich, wrote his memoirs shortly before he was hanged by the Nuremberg Trials. This book has at no point been sold as a light read, it is heavy, stays in your mind, and discusses an important part of history.

I visited Auschwitz a couple of years ago. I read this in an attempt to get some sought insight into Nazi psychology. The book is fascinating but harrowing and it is easy to pretend or not acknowledge the part in history it plays and the fact this is very real. The book contains a lot of detail and it is clear that a lot of research has been done. The book explains how Hoess attempted to downplay his involvement in what happened as well as the power struggles between some of the other SS members. The book discusses poignant parts of Auschwitz such as the deaths, building of the gas chambers, orders carried out, etc. Difficult to read but interesting at the same time.

Rudolf Hoss joined the German Army, became a member of the Nazis after WWI and later went on to be imprisoned for a murder. After being released he joins the SS, rises through the ranks until becoming Commandant of Auschwitz where he organises the massacre of Jews and any other political opponents. In 1941 the order was given to kill the Jews - referred to as the 'Jewish Question'.

There is an incredible amount of detail here and a good job is done of showing how someone could become one of the most reviled people in history. The book has documents from Hoss where he tries to downplay his involvement in what happened at the same time as admitting that some atrocities happened describing power struggles between him and fellow SS members. It is chilling that he mentions the building of the gas chambers matter of factly and seems to view what he has done as just following orders. This is fascinating and harrowing.