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Auschwitz

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Auschwitz

By: Laurence Rees
Narrated by: John Sackville
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In this compelling book, highly acclaimed author and broadcaster Laurence Rees tells the definitive history of the most notorious Nazi institution of them all. We discover how Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners into the site of the largest mass murder in history - part death camp, part concentration camp, where around a million Jews were killed.

Auschwitz examines the mentality and motivations of the key Nazi decision makers, and perpetrators of appalling crimes speak here for the first time about their actions. Fascinating and disturbing facts have been uncovered - from the operation of a brothel to the corruption that was rife throughout the camp. The book draws on intriguing new documentary material from recently opened Russian archives, which will challenge many previously accepted arguments.

This is the story of murder, brutality, courage, escape and survival, and a powerful account of how human tragedy of such immense scale could have happened.

©2005 Laurence Rees (P)2020 Penguin Audio 20th Century Freedom & Security Military Modern Politics & Government War Prisoners of War Holocaust

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Critic reviews

Thank God that occasionally books of the stature of Laurence Rees's superb Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution are published... Fascinating. (Andrew Roberts)
Excellent (Boyd Tonkin)
A key to understanding man's inhumanity to man (Ian Thomson)
Well-written with striking testimonies from bystanders, perpetrators and victims. The interviews with SS men, and sundry European Fascists, are genuinely revealing, and must have been exceptionally difficult to negotiate (Michael Burleigh)
Devastating. Rees's research is impeccable and intrepid. Ultimately he does at the gut level what Hannah Arendt achieved some 40 years ago at the level of philosophy: he forces the reader to shift the Holocaust out of the realm of nightmare or Gothic horror and acknowledge it as something all too human. Scrupulous and honest, this book is utterly without illusions (David Von Drehle)
All stars
Most relevant  
Linear, clear and impactful. This is a very important document and should be read by all. Thank you

Excellent

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brilliant and a definite book to listen to from start to finish. The narrator was very good.

An absolutely....

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It is the tale of the worst war crime ever, how humankind can be so vile to each other is terrible.

Well delivered horror

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Well documented history . But very well told with deeply personal accounts . An important book . Should be on the curriculum

Narration excellent . Very engaging

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must listen could listen to again and again.
and and and again and again great

brilliant

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This was a bit of an odd one. This was kind of reading a literary version of BBC’s 6 episode “Auschwitz : The Nazi’s And The Final Solution” from 2005.

Obviously it does contain a bit more, but overall it is the same story with most of the conversations and interviews quoted word for word. For this reason, I can’t help but feeling a bit cheated. There were a few small add-on’s, but nothing major. A bit like watching the series in a 15 minute extended director’s cut version.

If you have not read much about Auschwitz, Operation Reinhard, the final solution, Hoess or the KZ camps in general, this is a fine place to start. But if you are already knowledgeable about these things or remember that television series, skip this.

It is well written but basic. It gives a very superficial idea about life in the camp, but it lacks the details and depth of other books.

So, for an Auschwitz newbie, sure. As long as you keep in mind that it is your starting point. Don’t use this to go into deep discussions and tales of the camp and it’s horrors - it will not make you an instant expert. It will put you on the path and start you off well, but it is a starting point only. It does not deal with any proper data points which for example gives a proper and good definition of sizes, locations or routines of the camp etc. it also does not talk about any of the many sub camps, nor does it talk about Monowitz. It also fails to talk in-depth about things like the medical experiments or the work of the zonderkomando in greater detail. Some might find this kind of detailed, but once you study things a bit more, you realise how much is still there after reading this.

A word of caution. If you are new to this subject and feel like taking on some of the holocaust deniers in a debate, don’t do it with this as your only knowledge base. This will not prepare you for the weird and twisted pseudoscience these guys use to skew things to fit their narrative. It has a few factual errors that can catch you off guard, and things simply lack the details to go against someone who has spent a lot of time trying to find “scientific” proof that the holocaust was a hoax. This book will put you on the path and make you more knowledgeable, but it will not make you an instant expert. Just something to be aware of.

If you like me have visited the camps, done more in-depth studies, read many of the more detailed book and scientific articles and publications made, just skip this one unless you just want to rack it up as yet another one for the huge collection of holocaust and KZ oriented books read.

The narration is okay, not brilliant but good. A few names etc. could be better, but overall good.

Good but, not “new”.

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An incredibly detailed account which encompasses far more than the camp at Auschwitz. In spite of the harrowing nature of the subject matter, the book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the era as it shows how and why so many ordinary people were willing to collaborate in so vile a crime. Wonderfully written and narrated.

Excellent

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This book concentrates mostly on Auschwitz but also takes time to explain a bit more general information on the Holocaust. Very interesting and goes in to a lot of detail that is not often discussed.

A thorough account of the complexity of Auschwitz

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this author blows me away with his meticulous research and absorbing telling of history

masterpiece

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A good overall telling of the history behind the final solution coving not just the obvoius but a bigger picture that you don't always get.

I though after watching and reading much on this there was no more to tell but this book certainly puts things in a wider perspective.

I was bought the hard copy but never got round to it. Audible is great as it makes it possible to cover books like these.

Certainly reccomended and worth a credit.

Very Good

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