Operation Hoss - The Deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, May–July 1944

Operation Hoss - The Deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz,

May–July 1944 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen & Sword

Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 144

Operation Höss or Aktion Höss was the codename for the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews and their murder in the gas chambers of Birkenau extermination camp. Between 14 May and 9 July 1944, 420,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz from Hungary, or about 12,000 per day. On arrival some twenty-five percent were selected for forced labour while the remainder were immediately gassed. The name of this atrocity came from Rudolf Höss, who returned as the commandant of Auschwitz to increase the killing capacity and ensure the smooth running of the operation. The specially built railway line into Birkenau from Auschwitz made transports to the camp more efficient enabling the SS to increase the daily killing capacity. After the war, SS Adolf Eichmann, who had organised the deportations from Hungary, boasted that Operation Höss was an achievement never matched before or since.

This shocking book tells the story of this inhuman venture from its conception and planning, and though to the bitter, tragic end.

This book is insane as it shows the utter depravity of Nazi Germany attempting to destroy a huge number of Hungarian Jews at the german concentration camps of Auschwitz & Birkenau in a two-month period (420.000). What makes it even worse is the Germans wanted to concentrate on how to make the whole process quicker and more efficient. The pictures throughout the book not only show the people being lined up to be gassed but being separated into groups where those ‘lucky’ enough could be sectioned off to perform slave labour whilst the rest were killed. Whilst the book is well written, in quite a few cases there is no need for words, a picture tells the story, which I guess is the point of the book. Another great book for the series.

A Tailor in Auschwitz

A Tailor in Auschwitz written by David van Turnhout & Dirk Verhofstadt and

published by Pen & Sword - £22 - Hardback - Pages 240

David Van Turnhout and Dirk Verhofstadt traced the story of David's Jewish grandfather,

Ide Leib Kartuz. Fleeing from antisemitism and violence, he came to Antwerp in 1929

and set up business as a tailor. The family he left behind ended up in the ghetto of

Radomsko. Each and every member of the family was gassed at Treblinka. In Belgium,

Kartuz joined the resistance movement, but was arrested by the Nazis in 1942 and

deported to Auschwitz. On arrival there, his wife and two children immediately died a

horrible death.

He survived in a unit of tailors where he repaired camp clothing and SS guards' uniforms, sometimes receiving special orders from SS officers. Kartuz endured an inhuman death march to Mauthausen. After the war, back in Antwerp, he made tailored suits for bankers and other business people. His final battle was against the Belgian state, for recognition as a Belgian citizen, member of the resistance and war victim. Very few people realise how difficult it was for Jewish people to survive after liberation.

The authors dig deep into the core of the Holocaust and investigate every trail from Radomsko to Miami. In the Auschwitz archives, they discover unpublished witness statements by tailors in Block 1. And completely unexpectedly, they also discover a cousin of Ide's, living in Florida. She had survived as a child by hiding in an attic in Brussels and speaks for the first time about those dark days. It took the authors a year to wind their questing way through important discoveries and setbacks but in this tribute, an unknown piece of history has finally been given a face.

This book is the story and struggle of Jewish tailor Ide Leib Kartuz who had been sent along with millions of other Jews to concentration camps in Europe during WW2 at the hands of Hitlers Nazi’s. The one reason that kept Kartuz from being killed in the concentration was his expertise and skills as a tailor, German guards and staff would appreciate the work and skill he could do in making clothing for the guard's wives and families. Kartuz would be picked up pre-war as a successful tailor but would make his way back there after the war to carry on his profession, but we find out about all the suffering and hell that went on. While the book is never going to be an easy read, this book is written well and an emotional story has now been written, sharing the levels of depravity that man can stoop to. Along with many other books like this, this book can tell a story that should never be forgotten. It is though heartwarming to know that Ide Leib Kartuz would go on to live to a good age.

Himmler - Hitler's Henchman

Himmler - Hitler’s Henchman written by Ian Baxter and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 119

Heinrich Himmler has a strong claim to be Adolf Hitler’s most powerful subordinate.

He was certainly the main architect of the Holocaust. Appointed Reichsfuhrer-SS in

1929 he built the SS into a million strong paramilitary force and took control of the

Nazi concentration camps system. From 1943 he became Chief of German Police

and Minister of the Interior with command of the Gestapo as well as the

Einsatzgruppen, who committed appalling atrocities and murder in occupied Eastern

Europe and Russia.

Despite his lack of military experience in the closing stages of the War he was appointed by Hitler as Commander of Army Group Vistula. Realising the war was lost, Himmler attempted to open peace talks with the Allies. Learning of this, Hitler dismissed him of all his posts in April 1945. Detained and arrested by British forces, he committed suicide on 22 May 1945.

The wartime career of this cruel and capable man is captured brilliantly with contemporary fully captioned images in this Images of War series work.

A book about one of the most evil men in history, Heinrich Himmler was one of Adolf Hitler’s henchmen, one of the chosen few for the Third Reich. Himmler was the one who became the main architect for the campaign to rid the world of the Jewish population as he took control of the Nazi concentration camp system. Along with this he was also responsible for the SS, German police system and Minister of the Interior and also headed up the detested Gestapo & Einsatzgruppen. As you can see he certainly wasn’t the nicest of men to know in life. 

The book does look at his early life for a moment but the three chapters in the book, concentrate on the early invasion of the East, being the architect of Genocide and his role as War Lord. The information in the book is very comprehensive and detailed and is supported throughout with a great number of photographs which is primarily what the aim of the book is. But my only downside of the book is many of the photographs are very similar, it reminds me of a Tory minister being shown around workplaces during an election campaign so that the workers can wonder at the visiting gentry. But to be honest, most of these photos seem to be official-type publicity photos, so one shouldn’t really be surprised. I love the Images of War Series, and even this book I should think fits nicely into the range.

How the World allowed Hitler to Proceed with the Holocaust

How the World allowed Hitler to Proceed with the Holocaust written by

Tony Matthews and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 480

In July 1938 the United States, Great Britain and thirty other countries participated in a vital conference at Évian-les-Bains, France, to discuss the persecution and possible emigration of the European Jews, specifically those caught under the anvil of Nazi atrocities. However, most of those nations rejected the pleas then being made by the Jewish communities, thus condemning them to the Holocaust.

There is no doubt that the Évian conference was a critical turning point in world history. The disastrous outcome of the conference set the stage for the murder of six million people. Today we live in a world defined by turmoil with a disturbing rise of authoritarian governments and ultra right-wing nationalism. The plight of refugees is once more powerfully affecting public attitudes towards those most in need. Now, on the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of the Second World War, it’s time to reflect on the past to ensure we never again make the same mistakes.

Tragedy at Évian also shines a spotlight on some of the astonishing and courageous stories of heroic efforts of individuals and private organisations who, despite the decisions made at Évian, worked under extremely dangerous conditions, frequently giving their own lives to assist in the rescue of the Jewish people.

This is one of those books that leaves you astounded with disbelief and bewilderment at how ineffectual people can be. The book focuses primarily on the Evian-les-Bains Conference in France and how a good number of countries knew of the impending problems and disaster for the Jews, and yet very few did anything about it. A book that seems very apt at the moment with the conflict happening in Ukraine with millions of people being displaced to neighbouring countries. In a way, it seems now more and more people are aware of the situation to migrant people, whereas back at the start of WWII it seems the world was far less aware of these situations.

I must admit that when I started reading this book I thought it might be a bit hard going or not the most lively or interesting read when the main focus is on the conference. But actually, it is a very good book, comprehensive and detailed but it runs smoothly and is very interesting, so huge credit to the author Tony Matthews for his writing. Whist the book can be hard reading at times due to the wretched subject matter, it does feel like an important book to read and learn from. Certainly a good book I would happily recommend to others and a good subject matter that needs writing about.

A Judge in Auschwitz

A Judge in Auschwitz written by Kevin Prenger and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 176

In autumn 1943, SS judge Konrad Morgen visited Auschwitz concentration camp to investigate an intercepted parcel containing gold sent from the camp. While there Morgen found the SS camp guards engaged in widespread theft and corruption.

Worse, Morgen also discovered that inmates were being killed without authority from the SS leadership. While millions of Jews were being exterminated under the Final Solution programme , Konrad Morgen set about gathering evidence of these ‘illegal murders’.

Morgen also visited other camps such as Buchenwald where he had the notorious camp commandant Karl Koch and Ilse, his sadistic spouse, arrested and charged. Found guilty by an SS court, Koch was sentenced to death.

Remarkably, the apparently fearless SS judge also tried to prosecute other Nazi criminals including Waffen-SS commanders Oskar Dirlewanger and Hermann Fegelein and Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss. He even claimed to have tried to indict Adolf Eichmann, who was responsible for organising the mass deportation of the Jews to the extermination camps.

This intriguing work reveals how the lines between justice and injustice became blurred in the Third Reich. As well as describing the actions of this often contradictory character the author questions Morgen’s motives.

I quite like reading books like this that look at leading officers in the Third Reich, while I find what they got up to horrible and abhorrent, I find it fascinating that these seemingly intelligent men can stoop to such low depravities that they just went along with instruction seemingly without a care in the world. Afterall in society today we still have to deal with serial killers, but the chances of actually meeting a serial killer is very remote, and yet so many can be found in the WW2 German military. This book was a really good read, fascinating in detail and very comprehensive, I commend the author. Although this book is a bit disturbing in some places, I still find that we should still read books like this to always learn about how the mind works.