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Auschwitz

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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 Crime Freedom & Security Military Modern Politics & Government Murder War Thought-Provoking Holocaust Human Rights Survival Russia

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
Hard to hear in places but a vital part of history that must never be forgotten.

Harrowing

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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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Devastatingly honest, with interviews conducted with perpetrators & survivors, this book serves as a reminder that monsters exist in the world, but they live next door.

Required listening

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Rees tells it as it was...no punches held.. I cried at many points.
Beautifully and powerfully narrated.

Remarkable

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I think that having visited Auschwitz prior to listening to this book gave me an adavatage when it came to picturing the parts of the camp the author describes. It is a faultless mix of history, drama and facts. Be prepared to be educated, be prepared to be shocked, be prepared to be inspired - The narrator is a perfect choice - excellent.

Simply a must listen....

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