Rudolf Hoss: The Commandant of Auschwitz
The history of the man who pioneered Zyklon B and the industrialisation of the Holocaust
Every day Rudolf H枚ss oversaw the killing of thousands of people at the death camp and then went home and acted like a doting father to his family. H枚ss was brought in by top Nazis to pioneer the industrialisation of the mass murder of Europe's Jews and others. He lived in a house that shared a wall with Auschwitz, metres from the crematorium, where he and his family enjoyed a happy domestic life - his wife once described their life at the house as 'paradise'.
The house was home to a Polish family until last year when it was taken over by the Counter Extremism Project who invited History Hit to explore the house, which is largely as it was when the Hoss family lived there. Dan travels to Poland with historian and best-selling author Thomas Harding to discover more about H枚ss' role in the Holocaust and what the house teaches us about 'the banality of evil'. They learn about what went on there, what Holocaust artefacts were recently found in the attic and the future of the house as a centre to combat hate.
Warning: this episode contains descriptions of human suffering and genocide which some listeners may find upsetting.
With special thanks to the Counter Extremism Project, Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, Keith Burnet and Thomas Harding.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Max Carrey and Dougal Patmore
