Sep 03, 20 british documentary filmmaker and journalist harding traces the lives of auschwitz kommandant rudolf hoss and hanns alexander, a jewish refugee from nazism who hunted him down and brought him to justice. May 01, 2014 hanns alexander was the son of a prosperous german family who fled berlin for london in the 1930s, becoming an investigator of war crimes. Pdf hanns and rudolf download full pdf book download. The narrative takes the form of an interweaving biography of the two figures. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. Hanns and rudolf ebook by thomas harding 9781476711928. This site contains artefacts from hanns alexander and rudolf hoss life during the war. He was hanged at auschwitz, in the same spot where jews were hung. At 11am on 11 march 1946, british field police led by hanns alexander, a former germanjewish refugee, arrested rudolf hoss, the former. The extraordinary true story of the jewish investigator who pursued and captured one of nazi germanys most notorious war criminals. Hanns and rudolf the german jew and the hunt for the kommandant of auschwitz welcome to hannsandrudolf.
Hanns and rudolf is not a novel based on, or inspired by, real events, it is the raw truth itself. Jul 14, 2014 the book tells the tale of hanns alexander right and rudolf hoss left hanns and rudolf is very well researched, with great detail given about both the characters childhoods. Hanns and rudolf tells the tale of rudolf hoss, kommandent of aushwitz and hanns alexander, a german jew turned nazi hunter who eventually caught hoss. His memoir which some excerpts are quoted from in hanns and rudolf details his life, including his involvement in the ss. Hanns and rudolf is the proper title for this book, as we see beyond the familiar stamp of the last names most history books have already emblazoned with their oversimplified judgmentsinto men, into minds more familiar than is sometimes comfortable and, in the process, a little more into ourselves. Buy a cheap copy of hanns and rudolf book by thomas harding. This is really a book about the world of hanns alexander.
Hanns alexander was the son of a prosperous german family who fled berlin for london in the 1930s, becoming an investigator of war crimes. Yet hanns alexander and rudolf hoss were men with many sides to their characters. Chosen as the book of the year by the sunday times, times, telegraph, news statesman, observer and guardian. An excellent book that highlights the lives of two very different people hanns the son of a wealthy jewish doctor from berlin and rudolph, the designer and kommandant of auschwitz. Rudolf hoss was a farmer and soldier who became kommandant of auschwitz and oversaw the deaths of over a million people. The german jew and the hunt for the kommandant of auschwitz by thomas harding william heinemann. Hanns alexander was the son of a prosperous german family who fled berlin for london in the 1930s. Moving from the middleeastern campaigns of the first world war to bohemian berlin in the 1920s, to the horror of the concentration camps and the trials in belsen and nuremberg, hanns and rudolf tells the story of two german men whose lives. The author only learned about his greatuncle hanns wartime record when attending his funeral in 2006. This is done by separating each of their stories into different chapters. Hanns en rudolf ebook by thomas harding rakuten kobo. Hanns and rudolf book by thomas harding official publisher. The german jew and the hunt for the kommandant of auschwitz. First, the titular hanns didnt speak about the events within hardings book, so there is palatable.
One house, five families, and a hundred years of german history. It is also an attempt to follow the courses of the two mens lives, and to. Both men were adored by their families and respected by their colleagues. Rudolf hoss was a farmer and soldier who became the kommandant of auschwitz. The author resists the temptation to portray hanns as a faultless hero and rudolf as a monster. Hanns and rudolf is a dual biography of hanns alexander and rudolf hoss by the britishamerican journalist thomas harding in the aftermath of the second world war, the first british war crimes investigation team is assembled to hunt down the senior nazi officials responsible for the greatest atrocities the world has ever seen. The true story of the german jew who tracked down and caught the kommandant of auschwitz, by thomas harding, is a brilliantly written and wellresearched book this nonfiction account of two men whose lives converge, told through the eyes of the author, thomas harding, whose greatuncle was lieutenant hanns alexander. Hanns and rudolf by thomas harding penguin books australia. In this book thomas harding reveals for the very first time the full account of hoss capture. The german jew and the hunt for the kommandant of auschwitz 20 was a national bestseller in the uk, italy and israel and was chosen as a book of the year for 20 by the times, the sunday times, the guardian, the observer, the daily telegraph and the new statesman.
Read this earlier harding book after his new the house by the lake. Hanns and rudolf is an incredibly compelling book, reading like a spy story of sorts. Hanns and rudolf is the proper title for this book, as we see beyond the familiar stamp of the last names most history books have already emblazoned with their oversimplified judgmentsinto men, into minds more familiar than is sometimes comfortableand, in the process, a little more into ourselves. Rudolf hoss was a farmer and soldier who became the kommandant of auschwitz concentration camp and oversaw the deaths of over a million men, women and children. Sep 10, 2014 hanns alexander was the son of a prosperous german family who fled berlin for london in the 1930s, becoming an investigator of war crimes. This book intrigued me because it addressed the tale of how the perpetrators were brought to justice in a very human and humane way. In this book thomas harding reveals for the very first time the full. Hanns and rudolf reveals for the very first time the full, exhilarating account of hosss capture, an encounter with repercussions that echo to this day. The companys cofounder simon cornwell agreed the deal with film agents nick. His uncle, a german jew and potential nazi victim, and rudolf hoss, kommandant of auschwitz.
Rudolf hoss was kommandant of the auschwitz extermination camp. Lieutenant hanns alexander is one of the lead investigators, rudolf hoess his most elusive target. Hanns alexander 1917 2006 was a german jewish migr in the service of the british army deadset on hunting down rudolf throughout the book, harding refers to them by their first names in order to humanize them and bringing him to justice. Moving from the middle eastern campaigns of the first world war to bohemian berlin in the 1920s to the horror of the concentration camps and the trials in belsen and nuremberg, it tells the. Hanns and rudolf book by thomas harding thriftbooks. This nonfiction account of two men whose lives converge, told through the eyes of the author, whose uncle was lieutenant hanns alexander. John le carre called it a gripping thriller, an unspeakable crime. Hanns and rudolf by thomas harding winner of the wingate prize the compelling, untold story of the man who brought one of nazi germanys most. His father was a wellrespected doctor and the alexander family with two older daughters and twin sons, hanns and paul lived a good life in berlin. The true story of the german jew who tracked down and caught the kommandant of auschwitz, by thomas harding, is a brilliantly written and wellresearched book. Winner of the wingate prizethe untold story of the man who. Hanns and rudolf thomas harding 9780434022366 netgalley.
Moving from the middle eastern campaigns of world war i to bohemian berlin in the 1920s to the horror of the concentration camps and the trials in belsen and nuremberg, it tells the story. Throughout his book, harding reminds us of his tales truth the prose is thick with facts, heavily illustrated with photographs, and there are many notes detailing his research at the back but he tells it with a keen eye for the tale itself. In the aftermath of the second word war, the first british war crimes investigation team is assembled to hunt down the senior nazi officials responsible for the greatest atrocities the. Thomas harding this is the true story of hanns alexander, the son of a prosperous german family who fled berlin for london in the 1930s. The hanns sections stand out because he is a new character to amateur.
This highlyreadable and interesting book by thomas harding relates the interesting parallel stories of hanns alexander and rudolf hoss. The true story of the german jew who tracked down and caught the kommandant of auschwitz. In hanns and rudolf thomas harding reveals for the very first time the full, exhilarating account of hoss capture, and of two lives that diverged, and intersected, in an astonishing way. Hanns alexander is a british soldier, a german refugee, tasked with helping track down german war criminals at the end of world war ii. Hanns and rudolf is a double biography of those two men. Lieutenant hanns alexander is one of the lead investigators, rudolf hoss his most elusive target. The ironic trajectories of lives displaced and entangled by world war ii can create what writers callnatural stories, whose plot lines arise organically from the arc of historical events. This book is therefore a reminder of a more complex world, told through the lives of two men who grew up in parallel and yet opposing german cultures.
The true story of the german jew who tracked down and caught the kommandant of auschwitz, page 1. Thomas harding has written a book of two intersecting lives. Hanns alexander, who was a great uncle of the author, left germany in 1936 as a teenager with his family to escape antisemitic persecution. Hanns and rudolf is a dual biography of hanns alexander and rudolf hoss by the. In this book thomas harding reveals for the very first time the. The german jew and the hunt for the kommandant of auschwitz welcome to hannsandrudolf. Hanns story may well have remained untold if not for this book and it is a story that is so important. Hanns and rudolf the true story of the german jew who tracked down and caught the kommandant of auschwitz book. The sheer ordinariness of a man who presided over such horrors is probably the most chilling aspect of this story. However a lot of the information about rudolfs early life seems regurgitated from other sources. Hanns alexander was the son of a wealthy german family who fled berlin for london in the 1930s. One of the lead investigators is lieutenant hanns alexander, a.
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