Rudolf Hoss        
        Rudolf Hoss was born in the town Baden-Baden in 1900 and was raised in a very Catholic family. When he reached fifteen years of age he signed up for the army during World War I. He was accordingly sent to the Turkish fronts to fight. He later became an "Unterofizer" {an uncommitioned officer}. He also received special distinctions. After the war he fought with the Frekorps or volunteer corps.
        In 1923 he participated in the Parehimer Vehme Murder. For participating in such a heinous act as the Parehimer Vehme Murder he was sentenced to ten years in prison. But, unfortunately he was released in an amnesty in the year 1928. Earlier in life at age 22 he had joined the Nazi Party. he then used his mind to help him advance in rank. At age thirty-three he He joined the SS {Schutzstaffel} as an aspirant. One year later he became a full member of the Schutzstaffel.   
          When he was 34 Hoss was sent to Dachau {which was one of the concentration camps at the time}. And was promoted almost with no end, that is until he was transferred to Sachsenhausen. In that particular camp he took care of the commandants office. Then, at age 40 in the year 1940 he was promoted to commandant. he then was given control of Auschwitz. 

 

                                     His plans for Auschwitz
         In the summer of 1941 Hoss was quite suddenly summoned to Himmler office. There was no attendant witch he usually had present. This was of course unusual an to Hoss's surprise. Hoss then received instructions to the mission he was given. The following is a summery of the start of Auschwitz.
             After Himmlers meeting with Hoss, Adolf Eichmann came to the site of Aushwitz,The Death Camp, and gave Hoss the basic plans for The role of Aushwitz in the final solution. They first discussed The various ways within there abilities to kill the Jews. They finally settled on gassing. The location picked was a medium sized farmstead, with tall ,thick hedges. They estimated the execution of 800 Jews for every gassing. That was proven later in actual gassings.
               The bodies of the Jews were buried in pits before burning was thought of. This was how it fit together. So it was time to start the preliminary testing. Hoss later received secret orders as to the mass extermination of Jews. Eichmann later told Hoss that Reichsfurer SS liked his "proposals".
                 At age 43 he was promoted to Chief of section D1 of the Wirtschaftsverwaltungshauptamit {Economic Administrated Main Office]. But, in 1944 he returned to Aushwitz [he had earlier left at Himmlers whim] to supervise the mass murder of Hungarian Jews. The operation was called Operation Hoss. Over 430,000 Jews were taken to Aushwitz on 56 days and Hoss received medals for his butchery. When Reich fell, Hoss took the name Franz Lang. He was released from a POW camp and worked in agriculture.           
               In 1946 Hoss was found and taken by polish authorities. he was taken to Warsaw and then to Krawkaw. In jail Hoss wrote notes about the SS and his autobiography. It included a profile of Eichmann. Hoss was sentenced to death and was hanged on April 16, 1947.    
                            miscellaneous info
              Hoss's father was in the German colonial army. Hoss was born in Baden-Baden. When he returned he joined the Rosslcach Freicorps and participated in many terrorist activities against French forces and Polish forces in Silsia. Rudolf Hoss himself believed the phrase ARBEIT MACHT FREI {Work Brings Freedom} as, not a promise or to mock, but a spiritual freedom. Hoss supposedly had a bathtub by the crematory to keep the water warm. 
                              The low point
                        In weeks of receving the orders to work on Aushwitz , Hoss had experimented on Russian P.O.W.'s. He used Zyclon B to carry out the tests. He was then commanded to keep this system of execution. the following is a quote," He said later: I must admit that the gassing process has had a calming effect on me. I always have had a horror of the [earlier] shootings, thinking of the number of people, the women and children. I was relieved that we were spared these blood baths." Here is another {shortened} quote From Hoss in the Nurmburg Trials," We tried to fool the victims into beleving they were going through a delousing process."  

Jonathan Pierce

7th Social Studies

Spring 2001

Bibliography