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Hitler's First Victims: The Quest for Justice
The remarkable story of Josef Hartinger, the German prosecutor who risked everything to bring to justice the first killers of the Holocaust and whose efforts would play a key role in the Nuremberg tribunal.
Before Germany was engulfed by Nazi dictatorship, it was a constitutional republic. And just before Dachau Concentration Camp became a site of Nazi genocide, it was a state detention center for political prisoners, subject to police authority and due process. The camp began its irrevocable transformation from one to the other following the execution of four Jewish detainees in the spring of 1933. Timothy W. Ryback’s gripping and poignant historical narrative focuses on those first victims of the Holocaust and the investigation that followed, as Hartinger sought to expose these earliest cases of state-condoned atrocity.
In documenting the circumstances surrounding these first murders and Hartinger’s unrelenting pursuit of the SS perpetrators, Ryback indelibly evokes a society on the brink—one in which civil liberties are sacrificed to national security, in which citizens increasingly turn a blind eye to injustice, in which the bedrock of judicial accountability chillingly dissolves into the martial caprice of the Third Reich.
We see Hartinger, holding on to his unassailable sense of justice, doggedly resisting the rising dominance of Nazism. His efforts were only a temporary roadblock to the Nazis, but Ryback makes clear that Hartinger struck a lasting blow for justice. The forensic evidence and testimony gathered by Hartinger provided crucial evidence in the postwar trials.
Hitler’s First Victims exposes the chaos and fragility of the Nazis’ early grip on power and dramatically suggests how different history could have been had other Germans followed Hartinger’s example of personal courage in that time of collective human failure.
Before Germany was engulfed by Nazi dictatorship, it was a constitutional republic. And just before Dachau Concentration Camp became a site of Nazi genocide, it was a state detention center for political prisoners, subject to police authority and due process. The camp began its irrevocable transformation from one to the other following the execution of four Jewish detainees in the spring of 1933. Timothy W. Ryback’s gripping and poignant historical narrative focuses on those first victims of the Holocaust and the investigation that followed, as Hartinger sought to expose these earliest cases of state-condoned atrocity.
In documenting the circumstances surrounding these first murders and Hartinger’s unrelenting pursuit of the SS perpetrators, Ryback indelibly evokes a society on the brink—one in which civil liberties are sacrificed to national security, in which citizens increasingly turn a blind eye to injustice, in which the bedrock of judicial accountability chillingly dissolves into the martial caprice of the Third Reich.
We see Hartinger, holding on to his unassailable sense of justice, doggedly resisting the rising dominance of Nazism. His efforts were only a temporary roadblock to the Nazis, but Ryback makes clear that Hartinger struck a lasting blow for justice. The forensic evidence and testimony gathered by Hartinger provided crucial evidence in the postwar trials.
Hitler’s First Victims exposes the chaos and fragility of the Nazis’ early grip on power and dramatically suggests how different history could have been had other Germans followed Hartinger’s example of personal courage in that time of collective human failure.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2014
54 people are currently reading
982 people want to read
About the author
Timothy W. Ryback
11 books63 followersTimothy W. Ryback is an American historian and director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague. He previously served as the Deputy-Secretary General of the Académie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris, and Director and Vice President of the Salzburg Global Seminar. Prior to this, he was a lecturer in the Concentration of History and Literature at Harvard University.
Ryback has written on European history, politics and culture for numerous publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker and The New York Times. He is the author of The Last Survivor: Legacies of Dachau, published in 2000. He also wrote Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life, published in 2008. Ryback is also author of Rock Around the Bloc: A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, published in 1989.
Ryback has written on European history, politics and culture for numerous publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker and The New York Times. He is the author of The Last Survivor: Legacies of Dachau, published in 2000. He also wrote Hitler's Private Library: The Books That Shaped His Life, published in 2008. Ryback is also author of Rock Around the Bloc: A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, published in 1989.
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April 18, 2020
A Coragem de Hartinger
Desengane-se quem reagiu a este título deitando as mãos à cabeça exclamando:
"Oh, não! Hitler outra vez, não! Por favor, chega! Mais holocausto NÃ0"
pois não se trata de mais do mesmo!...
Alguém já ouviu falar de Josef Hartinger e da coragem com que denunciou os primeiros crimes políticos cometidos pelos oficiais SS?
Pois se ainda não conhecem esta história de luta pelo exercício da justiça, este livro é para vocês!
Josef Hartinger foi um homem que se opôs ao despotismo nazi, com risco da própria vida.
Embora não tenha conseguido travar a onda de crimes que alastrou pelo país como bola de neve e que culminou com o Holocausto, o seu exemplo de coragem não deixa de ser inspirador.
Ao bater-se em defesa dos direitos humanos, Hartinger demonstrou ser possível sobreviver à violência assassina de Hitler sem se deixar contaminar pela epidemia de colaboração passiva que grassou pela Alemanha de então.
E se mais alemães tivessem seguido o seu exemplo, muito provavelmente o Holocausto não teria passado do mundo dos sonhos gerados pela demência bélica de Hitler!
Se homens como Hitler nos provocam sentimentos de repulsa e vergonha, homens como Hartinger transmitem-nos orgulho por pertencermos à Humanidade!!!
"Just because one is without power does not mean one needs to be without courage and ultimately without character. Shouldn't one try to find some way to make a difference, even in such hopeless circumstances, without necessarily jeopardizing one's life?"
Desengane-se quem reagiu a este título deitando as mãos à cabeça exclamando:
"Oh, não! Hitler outra vez, não! Por favor, chega! Mais holocausto NÃ0"
pois não se trata de mais do mesmo!...
Alguém já ouviu falar de Josef Hartinger e da coragem com que denunciou os primeiros crimes políticos cometidos pelos oficiais SS?
Pois se ainda não conhecem esta história de luta pelo exercício da justiça, este livro é para vocês!
Josef Hartinger foi um homem que se opôs ao despotismo nazi, com risco da própria vida.
Embora não tenha conseguido travar a onda de crimes que alastrou pelo país como bola de neve e que culminou com o Holocausto, o seu exemplo de coragem não deixa de ser inspirador.
Ao bater-se em defesa dos direitos humanos, Hartinger demonstrou ser possível sobreviver à violência assassina de Hitler sem se deixar contaminar pela epidemia de colaboração passiva que grassou pela Alemanha de então.
E se mais alemães tivessem seguido o seu exemplo, muito provavelmente o Holocausto não teria passado do mundo dos sonhos gerados pela demência bélica de Hitler!
Se homens como Hitler nos provocam sentimentos de repulsa e vergonha, homens como Hartinger transmitem-nos orgulho por pertencermos à Humanidade!!!
"Just because one is without power does not mean one needs to be without courage and ultimately without character. Shouldn't one try to find some way to make a difference, even in such hopeless circumstances, without necessarily jeopardizing one's life?"
March 25, 2018
Brilliantly researched book in my opinion. It elaborates about a time period before the more widely popular holocaust that became widespread throughout the continent.
This centers around a German prosecutor, Hartinger, who was responsible in conducting investigations on the deaths of four Jewish men in the first ever concentration camp called the the Dachau concentration camp, in Germany.
Little did he know that these four men were to be the the first four victims of a long mass murdering campaign to eliminate the Jewish population in the world, undertaken by the nazi government.
This book goes into detail about how he and a few of his loyal comrades went to lengths to bring the the SS soldiers who were responsible for these deaths to justice. But they see their efforts crumble in the face of the ever growing strength of the new nazi government headed by Hitler and his nazi loyalists.
It begs the question what would have been the outcome if he and his friends were successful in bringing these initial crimes by the SS into court? Would it have altered the paths in history or would it have only caused a dent?
Whatever the answer may be, it is obvious that in the face of so many dangers under the then new Bavarian government, there were few men of law who were brave enough to try and thwart the ever impending doom that they saw coming from far away.
These case files that were carefully filed by them were later greatly of use during the Nuremberg trials which prosecuted countless nazi criminals, including the SS organization as a whole.
Had they been successful, the outcome could have been different. We would never know. Only four name remains in some long forgotten case files to show that it could have been different..
Rudolf Benario, age 24, d. April 12, 1933
Ernst Goldmann, age 24, d. April 12, 1933
Arthur Kahn, age 21, d. April 12, 1933
Erwin Kahn, age 32, d. April 16, 1933
As the author quotes another,
' The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.' - Edmund Burke
This centers around a German prosecutor, Hartinger, who was responsible in conducting investigations on the deaths of four Jewish men in the first ever concentration camp called the the Dachau concentration camp, in Germany.
Little did he know that these four men were to be the the first four victims of a long mass murdering campaign to eliminate the Jewish population in the world, undertaken by the nazi government.
This book goes into detail about how he and a few of his loyal comrades went to lengths to bring the the SS soldiers who were responsible for these deaths to justice. But they see their efforts crumble in the face of the ever growing strength of the new nazi government headed by Hitler and his nazi loyalists.
It begs the question what would have been the outcome if he and his friends were successful in bringing these initial crimes by the SS into court? Would it have altered the paths in history or would it have only caused a dent?
Whatever the answer may be, it is obvious that in the face of so many dangers under the then new Bavarian government, there were few men of law who were brave enough to try and thwart the ever impending doom that they saw coming from far away.
These case files that were carefully filed by them were later greatly of use during the Nuremberg trials which prosecuted countless nazi criminals, including the SS organization as a whole.
Had they been successful, the outcome could have been different. We would never know. Only four name remains in some long forgotten case files to show that it could have been different..
Rudolf Benario, age 24, d. April 12, 1933
Ernst Goldmann, age 24, d. April 12, 1933
Arthur Kahn, age 21, d. April 12, 1933
Erwin Kahn, age 32, d. April 16, 1933
As the author quotes another,
' The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.' - Edmund Burke
February 4, 2015
Hitler’s First Victims: And One Man’s Race For Justice is an excellent account of one man’s attempt to find justice for the victims of unseeingly unconnected crimes other than the victims were Jews. This is an account of how a Bavarian prosecutor was able to stop the Nazis killing for a short time. Timothy Ryback has collected together many new details in this book in an engaging way that not just historians will enjoy the book but also the general reader.
This book covers such a short time scale of 1933 and 1934 as Josef Hartinger attempts to investigate the ever increasing deaths at a new government controlled camp at Dachau, at the hands of the camp guards. Nevertheless Hartinger had categorised the deaths as murders and set about the investigation as he wanted to bring the perpetrators to trial, no guard was ever indicted.
When the deaths first came to light in April 1933 Hitler had been Chancellor for ten weeks as the head of a coalition government. Hitler at this time was also consolidating his position and that of the Nazi Party in power. This book reminds us that within weeks of Hitler starting to consolidate his power rumours started to circulate around Germany of Nazis killing Jews.
Hartinger was a social conservative that had served Germany with distinction in World War 1, who was married with a young daughter. We may look back now and think that Hartinger was rather naive along with Dr Flamm who carried out the autopsies. What is clear from this book is that Hartinger recognised the growing power of the state and the evil that Dachau could easily become.
Commandant Wäckerle categorises each of the deaths as an escape attempt and that they were shot from long range but the autopsies show they were executed up close. Both Hartinger and Flamm carefully documented what they discovered what was the beginning of the genocide of what is now called the Holocaust. The documents were kept but used at the Nuremberg trials as evidence of the systematic destruction and murder of Jews and their Jewish communities.
I like the way that Ryback has written the book and set out the facts as a duel between Hartinger on the side of good and Wäckerle on evil. It also shows the pace and pressure that Hartinger was under before the camps came under the SS and Himmler’s complete control.
Ryback through his research and writing brings to life the book by investigating the history and personality of not only Hartinger but of the Nazi guards as well as the administration and the victims are not forgotten either. Burke wrote "All that it takes for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." Hartinger is one of the good men and it is about time we honoured this man a German that tried to warn the world of the coming genocide.
This is one of the best history books that I have read in a long time in what is an extraordinary story told well, gripping and amazing this story has never been told before. Hartinger’s decency and honour may have been forgotten over the years now is the time to recognise not everyone closed their eyes.
This book covers such a short time scale of 1933 and 1934 as Josef Hartinger attempts to investigate the ever increasing deaths at a new government controlled camp at Dachau, at the hands of the camp guards. Nevertheless Hartinger had categorised the deaths as murders and set about the investigation as he wanted to bring the perpetrators to trial, no guard was ever indicted.
When the deaths first came to light in April 1933 Hitler had been Chancellor for ten weeks as the head of a coalition government. Hitler at this time was also consolidating his position and that of the Nazi Party in power. This book reminds us that within weeks of Hitler starting to consolidate his power rumours started to circulate around Germany of Nazis killing Jews.
Hartinger was a social conservative that had served Germany with distinction in World War 1, who was married with a young daughter. We may look back now and think that Hartinger was rather naive along with Dr Flamm who carried out the autopsies. What is clear from this book is that Hartinger recognised the growing power of the state and the evil that Dachau could easily become.
Commandant Wäckerle categorises each of the deaths as an escape attempt and that they were shot from long range but the autopsies show they were executed up close. Both Hartinger and Flamm carefully documented what they discovered what was the beginning of the genocide of what is now called the Holocaust. The documents were kept but used at the Nuremberg trials as evidence of the systematic destruction and murder of Jews and their Jewish communities.
I like the way that Ryback has written the book and set out the facts as a duel between Hartinger on the side of good and Wäckerle on evil. It also shows the pace and pressure that Hartinger was under before the camps came under the SS and Himmler’s complete control.
Ryback through his research and writing brings to life the book by investigating the history and personality of not only Hartinger but of the Nazi guards as well as the administration and the victims are not forgotten either. Burke wrote "All that it takes for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." Hartinger is one of the good men and it is about time we honoured this man a German that tried to warn the world of the coming genocide.
This is one of the best history books that I have read in a long time in what is an extraordinary story told well, gripping and amazing this story has never been told before. Hartinger’s decency and honour may have been forgotten over the years now is the time to recognise not everyone closed their eyes.
January 24, 2019
Sobre o holocausto ja muito se escreveu existindo bastante livros com diferentes abordagens sobre os acontecimentos.
Este livro nao deixa de ser diferente mas tem a particulidade de relatar acontecimentos antes da segunda guerra eclodir, nomeadamente as mortes que vinham a ocorrer no campo de concentracao em Dachau.
Confesso que sou apreciador deste tema e tem-se uma ideia clara de todo o plano que vem sendo preparado pelos nacional-socialistas e toda a cegueira que os vem acompanhando e ja se sabendo de antemao o desfecho tragico.
Os relatos dos acontecimentos provêm de Josef Hartinger,procurador-adjunto que vai relatando as mortes ocorridas e uma luta desigual entre o que é de lei e justiça e todo o poder instalado.
Para quem como eu gosta deste tema é um livro a ter conta.
Este livro nao deixa de ser diferente mas tem a particulidade de relatar acontecimentos antes da segunda guerra eclodir, nomeadamente as mortes que vinham a ocorrer no campo de concentracao em Dachau.
Confesso que sou apreciador deste tema e tem-se uma ideia clara de todo o plano que vem sendo preparado pelos nacional-socialistas e toda a cegueira que os vem acompanhando e ja se sabendo de antemao o desfecho tragico.
Os relatos dos acontecimentos provêm de Josef Hartinger,procurador-adjunto que vai relatando as mortes ocorridas e uma luta desigual entre o que é de lei e justiça e todo o poder instalado.
Para quem como eu gosta deste tema é um livro a ter conta.
October 23, 2014
There are many what-ifs in history, but few are quite so compelling as those that surround Hitler’s rise to power and slow strangulation of democracy in Germany in the 1930s. There were indeed several opportunities to have stopped Hitler or at least thwarted his plans more thoroughly than occurred. Timothy Ryback looks to shine the spotlight on one of the heroes who did stand up to fight against the increasing stranglehold the Nazis held on German political and police systems. Hitler’s First Victims shows that while he may not have been successful in 1933, his efforts had a profound effect on the post-war trials.
However, this is not a Holocaust story; the 1930s were only the beginnings of the Nazi regime, and what would be known as the Holocaust was still only Hitler’s dream. At that point in time, there were still states’ rights, state police systems, local judicial systems, and a president who had greater authority than Hitler. The Communist party was a major threat to Germany’s fledgling democracy, and political upheaval abounded. Hitler’s First Victims shows how Germany dealt with such upheaval, invoking the idea of protective custody to incarcerate hundreds of political detainees without due process or even any formal charges.
Hitler’s First Victims is as much the evolution of Dachau from an abandoned manufacturing site to the concentration camp it became during the war as it is about the lone prosecutor who tried to stymie the Nazi rule. Named after the nearest train station, Dachau started out its life under the rule of the state police. However, there was a constant push by the Nazis to control all police proceedings, including detention and punishment. As the first of its kind, Dachau and its inhabitants became the victims of a much greater power struggle and one that would have horrendous consequences for millions.
The story Mr. Ryback has to tell in Hitler’s First Victims is fascinating and horrifying. He withholds nothing, and the Nazi atrocities he details are as repulsive and barbaric as one would imagine. What occurred in Dachau six years before the beginning of the war and eight years before the Final Solution went into operation will boggle a reader’s mind and cause one to question the general goodness of humans. That there were people who were willing to risk everything to right the wrongs they saw provides a much-needed sense of relief that all humanity was not lost.
Hitler’s First Victims is meticulously researched and highly respectful of the victims described and the man behind the argument of collective guilt. Each person mentioned gets equal treatment in the form of a detailed background and the path that led him to Dachau. It is at times an intense read, as there is an abundance of information crammed into a fairly short narrative. Mr. Ryback not only details each of the men, he explains the political structure in Germany, the legal system, and history as it pertained to and influenced German citizens before, during, and after 1933. With detailed notes and appendices, one can easily verify Mr. Ryback’s research and use his sources for his or her own research. Herr Hartinger’s story is an important one to tell, and his diligent quest for the truth is a vital reminder to all that while it takes courage to do the right thing, we as humans have a duty to do so. If more people had done so in 1933, the world would be a very different place indeed.
However, this is not a Holocaust story; the 1930s were only the beginnings of the Nazi regime, and what would be known as the Holocaust was still only Hitler’s dream. At that point in time, there were still states’ rights, state police systems, local judicial systems, and a president who had greater authority than Hitler. The Communist party was a major threat to Germany’s fledgling democracy, and political upheaval abounded. Hitler’s First Victims shows how Germany dealt with such upheaval, invoking the idea of protective custody to incarcerate hundreds of political detainees without due process or even any formal charges.
Hitler’s First Victims is as much the evolution of Dachau from an abandoned manufacturing site to the concentration camp it became during the war as it is about the lone prosecutor who tried to stymie the Nazi rule. Named after the nearest train station, Dachau started out its life under the rule of the state police. However, there was a constant push by the Nazis to control all police proceedings, including detention and punishment. As the first of its kind, Dachau and its inhabitants became the victims of a much greater power struggle and one that would have horrendous consequences for millions.
The story Mr. Ryback has to tell in Hitler’s First Victims is fascinating and horrifying. He withholds nothing, and the Nazi atrocities he details are as repulsive and barbaric as one would imagine. What occurred in Dachau six years before the beginning of the war and eight years before the Final Solution went into operation will boggle a reader’s mind and cause one to question the general goodness of humans. That there were people who were willing to risk everything to right the wrongs they saw provides a much-needed sense of relief that all humanity was not lost.
Hitler’s First Victims is meticulously researched and highly respectful of the victims described and the man behind the argument of collective guilt. Each person mentioned gets equal treatment in the form of a detailed background and the path that led him to Dachau. It is at times an intense read, as there is an abundance of information crammed into a fairly short narrative. Mr. Ryback not only details each of the men, he explains the political structure in Germany, the legal system, and history as it pertained to and influenced German citizens before, during, and after 1933. With detailed notes and appendices, one can easily verify Mr. Ryback’s research and use his sources for his or her own research. Herr Hartinger’s story is an important one to tell, and his diligent quest for the truth is a vital reminder to all that while it takes courage to do the right thing, we as humans have a duty to do so. If more people had done so in 1933, the world would be a very different place indeed.
June 6, 2016
It's sometimes hard to believe that there could be room for any more books on Hitler and the Nazi era. Is there anything new left to say or research? In this book, Timothy Ryback manages to explore a less known period in the immediate aftermath of Hitler becoming Chancellor in 1933. His starting point is the quote "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
One of the National Socialist government's first acts is to open the Dachau concentration camp and begin to fill it with communists, Jews and outspoken opponents of the new government.
Then the detainees start to die - the first four allegedly shot while trying to escape. Subsequent victims are shot 'attacking guards' or 'commit suicide'. Two men are the unsung heroes of this story - the Munich prosecutor, Josef Hartinger, and the state forensic medical examiner, Dr. Flamm. Despite the numerous obstacles they faced, not least the threat to their own lives, they gathered evidence to prove the men had been murdered and tried to expose the horrendous nature of the new regime. Sadly, too many other 'good' men backed off from supporting them and, therefore, aided and abetted the cover up.
The lessons are there to be learned. When evil regimes take power, there is usually an initial period where, if enough people are willing, like Hartinger and Flamm, to stand up for justice, then the evil can be averted. It's as relevant now as it was back then.
One of the National Socialist government's first acts is to open the Dachau concentration camp and begin to fill it with communists, Jews and outspoken opponents of the new government.
Then the detainees start to die - the first four allegedly shot while trying to escape. Subsequent victims are shot 'attacking guards' or 'commit suicide'. Two men are the unsung heroes of this story - the Munich prosecutor, Josef Hartinger, and the state forensic medical examiner, Dr. Flamm. Despite the numerous obstacles they faced, not least the threat to their own lives, they gathered evidence to prove the men had been murdered and tried to expose the horrendous nature of the new regime. Sadly, too many other 'good' men backed off from supporting them and, therefore, aided and abetted the cover up.
The lessons are there to be learned. When evil regimes take power, there is usually an initial period where, if enough people are willing, like Hartinger and Flamm, to stand up for justice, then the evil can be averted. It's as relevant now as it was back then.
January 9, 2015
As someone who has lost family in Dachau, for me, this was a moving account of one man's attempt (and failure) to bring a legal halt to what would become the atrocities of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Very well documented, and checked and cross checked, this book shows how easily it can be for governments to cross the line and erode the very foundation of civilization. This is a book that has relevance for today's society as well.
January 11, 2016
This book was difficult to read because it shows the brutal beginnings of the Holocaust, and it is horrifying to think that most of those who could have stopped it did nothing. The book focuses on the first prisoners at Dachau to be tortured and killed. At the time, any unnatural deaths in prisons were investigated, so prosecutor Josef Hartinger is called upon to look into the murders. While most people simply take the guards at their word and label the murders either "suicides" or say the prisoners were trying to escape, Hartinger makes sure autopsies are performed on the bodies and meticulously notes any discrepancies between statements. He tries to bring the murderers to justice, and succeeds in producing some change in Dachau so that the commandant is replaced and for a few months the murders stop. Unfortunately they begin again and he is unable to stop them a second time.
This book also mentions another book, "Four Years of Political Murder," written by Gumbel and published in 1922. He details many unlawful murders which were ignored and even condoned by the German government, and warns that by ignoring individual murders, the German government is condoning mass murder.
Reading this book was more difficult than reading other Holocaust books because it shows how the Nazis were bullies using the system to their advantage and changing whatever laws they disagreed with, and few people even tried to stand up to them, even before they had the upper hand. The events of this book largely took place before the SS was even armed, yet already everyone was afraid of them and gave in to their demands. Hitler is like a spoiled child, who is scolded but never really punished, and as a result merely tries to be sneakier in the future.
The murders in this book are also more visceral and harder to stomach because they are so personal. These are not just Nazis killing Jews, which is horrible enough; these are named persons singling out other named persons, torturing them, and then killing them. It is difficult to believe that people could be so cruel as the murderers in this book, who know their victims' names, interact with them, torture them, and kill them, seemingly without remorse.
Hartinger was brave but he also did what one would hope most human beings would do, which is point out when murder is being carried out right in front of him, and try to use the established system to bring justice. At the time, Hitler wasn't in complete control, and many people could have done something to halt the atrocities, but they didn't. Hartinger and Dr. Flamm, who performs the autopsies, seem to be the only humans in the system. Hartinger was risking his life, but he also didn't seem to get into much trouble; the Nazis were afraid of him, probably because he stuck to his convictions and this was not something they had experienced often. His actions serve as a strong example that you should do all you can to uphold your morality especially in times of immorality, because just by showing that your moral fiber is strong, you can create change. If only a few other people involved were as strong as he was, perhaps things would not have turned out the way they did.
I am glad that I read this book because I am inspired not to give in when fighting for what is right. At the same time, this book is highly disturbing and I would not recommend it unless you have a strong interest in German history or the Holocaust. Instead I would recommend reading "The Hiding Place."
This book also mentions another book, "Four Years of Political Murder," written by Gumbel and published in 1922. He details many unlawful murders which were ignored and even condoned by the German government, and warns that by ignoring individual murders, the German government is condoning mass murder.
Reading this book was more difficult than reading other Holocaust books because it shows how the Nazis were bullies using the system to their advantage and changing whatever laws they disagreed with, and few people even tried to stand up to them, even before they had the upper hand. The events of this book largely took place before the SS was even armed, yet already everyone was afraid of them and gave in to their demands. Hitler is like a spoiled child, who is scolded but never really punished, and as a result merely tries to be sneakier in the future.
The murders in this book are also more visceral and harder to stomach because they are so personal. These are not just Nazis killing Jews, which is horrible enough; these are named persons singling out other named persons, torturing them, and then killing them. It is difficult to believe that people could be so cruel as the murderers in this book, who know their victims' names, interact with them, torture them, and kill them, seemingly without remorse.
Hartinger was brave but he also did what one would hope most human beings would do, which is point out when murder is being carried out right in front of him, and try to use the established system to bring justice. At the time, Hitler wasn't in complete control, and many people could have done something to halt the atrocities, but they didn't. Hartinger and Dr. Flamm, who performs the autopsies, seem to be the only humans in the system. Hartinger was risking his life, but he also didn't seem to get into much trouble; the Nazis were afraid of him, probably because he stuck to his convictions and this was not something they had experienced often. His actions serve as a strong example that you should do all you can to uphold your morality especially in times of immorality, because just by showing that your moral fiber is strong, you can create change. If only a few other people involved were as strong as he was, perhaps things would not have turned out the way they did.
I am glad that I read this book because I am inspired not to give in when fighting for what is right. At the same time, this book is highly disturbing and I would not recommend it unless you have a strong interest in German history or the Holocaust. Instead I would recommend reading "The Hiding Place."
April 24, 2015
Josef Hartinger was an amazingly courageous man. He put his life on the line documenting and attempting to prosecute the earliest murders by the SS. Integrity was more important than his own safety. What a man.
I was also impressed by the credit and gratitude he shared for the forensic medical examiner, Dr. Flam (sp?), who courageously conducted thorough autopsies on the reported suicide victims and those purported as having been kill while trying to escape, earning the hatred of the SS because his examinations proved these men had actually been murdered. Two attempts were made on his life, a third being successful.
I was also impressed by the credit and gratitude he shared for the forensic medical examiner, Dr. Flam (sp?), who courageously conducted thorough autopsies on the reported suicide victims and those purported as having been kill while trying to escape, earning the hatred of the SS because his examinations proved these men had actually been murdered. Two attempts were made on his life, a third being successful.
February 9, 2025
Um livro sobre o campo de concentração de Dachau e as primeiras vítimas desse campo e de todos os campos de concentração existentes.
Um livro sobre um advogado e o trabalho incrível que fez porque queria que não houvesse impunidade perante os acontecimentos em Dachau. Um homem que não tinha medo de lutar pela justiça mas que não conseguiu atingir o seu fim. Naquela época havia sempre alguém que desaparecia com provas, com documentos.
Um livro sobre o início do terror vivido durante a II Guerra Mundial, sobre as causas e as consequências, sobre lealdade e valores. Este livro traz também testemunhos do julgamento de Nuremberga.
Este livro de não ficção traz uma imagem diferente da II Guerra Mundial, descreve como alguns homens chegaram ao poder , como o usaram e o que daí resultou.
Gostei muito de ler este livro pela informação nova sobre este assunto, pelas novas perspetivas e por me levar ao início e os motivos que levaram ao triste desfecho que conhecemos.
Ler sobre este assunto nunca é demais, principalmente quando os factos reais são apresentados tal qual aconteceram.
Um livro sobre um advogado e o trabalho incrível que fez porque queria que não houvesse impunidade perante os acontecimentos em Dachau. Um homem que não tinha medo de lutar pela justiça mas que não conseguiu atingir o seu fim. Naquela época havia sempre alguém que desaparecia com provas, com documentos.
Um livro sobre o início do terror vivido durante a II Guerra Mundial, sobre as causas e as consequências, sobre lealdade e valores. Este livro traz também testemunhos do julgamento de Nuremberga.
Este livro de não ficção traz uma imagem diferente da II Guerra Mundial, descreve como alguns homens chegaram ao poder , como o usaram e o que daí resultou.
Gostei muito de ler este livro pela informação nova sobre este assunto, pelas novas perspetivas e por me levar ao início e os motivos que levaram ao triste desfecho que conhecemos.
Ler sobre este assunto nunca é demais, principalmente quando os factos reais são apresentados tal qual aconteceram.
January 16, 2015
"Just because one is without power does not mean one needs to be without courage and ultimately without character. Shouldn't one try to find some way to make a difference, even in such hopeless circumstances, without necessarily jeopardizing one's life?" -- Josef Hartinger
Josef Hartinger was a German prosecutor whose jurisdiction included the Dachau concentration camp in the years that the National Socialists (Nazis) came to power. When he received notice that four inmates had been shot while trying to escape, it was his responsibility to investigate. While most simply accepted the flimsy stories from the guards about prisoners killed while attacking or trying to escape, he insisted on autopsies and investigations. And when he had enough evidence of wrong-doing, he attempted to prosecute.
Those sent to the camp were mostly political prisoners. They had been involved in communist activities or had connections to opposition groups. Many, however, were only suspected of complaining about the government, and in a few cases personal grudges were being settled (and more than a few were Jews). They were told they were merely being "detained" while their case was investigated, and that they were being held in "protective custody." But from the beginning, some prisoners were singled out for regular, brutal, and systematic abuse, and those prisoners invariably ended up dead rather quickly. And although Hartinger tried to prosecute a few crimes he found strong proof for, the cases were dropped or derailed by others.
It's hard to understand how something like the Holocaust could happen, and yet it did. How did people *not* know what was going on, and why did they not stop it? This is not a heroic story. Hartinger's contribution was that some of the evidence he prepared was found after the war and became instrumental in the Nuremberg trials. Nonetheless, he was one of the few to stand up and voice his objections to the injustices - and he was one of the even fewer to survive putting his life on the line. This book is a detailing of the early deaths at Dachau - not just the original four mentioned above - and describes (repeatedly) the beatings and torture several of the detainees endured. It explains how many of them were killed, and includes explanations later obtained by the perpetrators themselves. It's not for the faint of heart, and yet it is a small insight into the way the mass murder that later became systemized began, and how it was allowed to continue by those who could have spoken out.
Josef Hartinger was a German prosecutor whose jurisdiction included the Dachau concentration camp in the years that the National Socialists (Nazis) came to power. When he received notice that four inmates had been shot while trying to escape, it was his responsibility to investigate. While most simply accepted the flimsy stories from the guards about prisoners killed while attacking or trying to escape, he insisted on autopsies and investigations. And when he had enough evidence of wrong-doing, he attempted to prosecute.
Those sent to the camp were mostly political prisoners. They had been involved in communist activities or had connections to opposition groups. Many, however, were only suspected of complaining about the government, and in a few cases personal grudges were being settled (and more than a few were Jews). They were told they were merely being "detained" while their case was investigated, and that they were being held in "protective custody." But from the beginning, some prisoners were singled out for regular, brutal, and systematic abuse, and those prisoners invariably ended up dead rather quickly. And although Hartinger tried to prosecute a few crimes he found strong proof for, the cases were dropped or derailed by others.
It's hard to understand how something like the Holocaust could happen, and yet it did. How did people *not* know what was going on, and why did they not stop it? This is not a heroic story. Hartinger's contribution was that some of the evidence he prepared was found after the war and became instrumental in the Nuremberg trials. Nonetheless, he was one of the few to stand up and voice his objections to the injustices - and he was one of the even fewer to survive putting his life on the line. This book is a detailing of the early deaths at Dachau - not just the original four mentioned above - and describes (repeatedly) the beatings and torture several of the detainees endured. It explains how many of them were killed, and includes explanations later obtained by the perpetrators themselves. It's not for the faint of heart, and yet it is a small insight into the way the mass murder that later became systemized began, and how it was allowed to continue by those who could have spoken out.
April 8, 2020
Interessante kleine geschiedenis van de eerste doden in concentratiekamp Dachau, en vooral hoe het Duitse rechtssysteem daarmee omging. Of hoe in 1933 al duidelijk was wat er te gebeuren stond...
January 24, 2019
In Hitler's First Victims: The Quest for Justice, Timothy Ryback recounts the background and events of one of the many "What If" situations leading up to World War II. At its most basic, the book argues that there may have been a great difference made in history if the rule of law and Germany's judicial system had worked as well as it had previously been capable of in the years leading up to the war. In the first instance, if Hitler and his, then, smaller band of followers had received a stiffer penalty for their actions in what became known as the "Beer Hall Putsch," much might have been avoided. At the most extreme, it was possible "since Hitler's stated goal was to topple the Weimer Republic, he could have been dispatched to the Reich Court in Leipzig, where a conviction for treason could have resulted in a death sentence." As it was, the procedures were botched and the group faced a sympathetic local judge and received a ridiculously light sentence. Hitler and company were unrepentant and left the court (albeit to short prison sentences) in a celebratory mood more fitting to the victors of a conquest.
Once Hitler rose to the Chancellorship and the Nazi forces began to take over, there was still the remnants of judicial power left to those who wished to see the country returned to a free republic. As the first concentration camp (then called a detention camp and work camp for political prisoners) was formed at Dachau, it still fell under the jurisdiction of state police authority and due process. When political prisoners--nearly all Jews--began to die in suspicious circumstances, Josef Hartinger, a German prosecutor, began collecting evidence and meticulously examined every coroner's report looking to build a case that would bring justice to the camp and seriously hamper the power of the SS men who were gaining control of the camp. His efforts managed to halt the killings temporarily, but the steamroller that was the Nazi movement soon ran him--and the few good men helping him, such as state medical examiner Dr. Moritz Flamm--over. Ryback poses the question: What if there had been hundreds of Hartingers and Flamms throughout Germany, standing up to Nazi rule? Would the weight of judicial evidence and power been enough to strangle the Nazi movement before it hurtled Germany into World War II? Of course, we'll never know--but he makes a strong case.
The book is meticulously researched and gives an excellent portrayal of a country on the brink--unsettled and with its citizens often caught unawares by the movement of power and unsure how to fight back. Even those with some power--like the judiciary and state police--found it very difficult to work within the laws to try and combat the creeping evil. The records of Josef Hartinger and Dr. Flamm make it all too clear how quickly the political landscape could change--taking with it the rules, conventions, and laws that hold a society together.
An absorbing historical account of men who, as they watched their way of life going off the rails, tried the best to stave off the coming Nazi deluge. It is disturbing to read of these early Nazi atrocities (which actually pale in comparison to what was to come), but it was also heartening to read about men who were trying to do what they could to maintain a system of justice in perilous times.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Once Hitler rose to the Chancellorship and the Nazi forces began to take over, there was still the remnants of judicial power left to those who wished to see the country returned to a free republic. As the first concentration camp (then called a detention camp and work camp for political prisoners) was formed at Dachau, it still fell under the jurisdiction of state police authority and due process. When political prisoners--nearly all Jews--began to die in suspicious circumstances, Josef Hartinger, a German prosecutor, began collecting evidence and meticulously examined every coroner's report looking to build a case that would bring justice to the camp and seriously hamper the power of the SS men who were gaining control of the camp. His efforts managed to halt the killings temporarily, but the steamroller that was the Nazi movement soon ran him--and the few good men helping him, such as state medical examiner Dr. Moritz Flamm--over. Ryback poses the question: What if there had been hundreds of Hartingers and Flamms throughout Germany, standing up to Nazi rule? Would the weight of judicial evidence and power been enough to strangle the Nazi movement before it hurtled Germany into World War II? Of course, we'll never know--but he makes a strong case.
The book is meticulously researched and gives an excellent portrayal of a country on the brink--unsettled and with its citizens often caught unawares by the movement of power and unsure how to fight back. Even those with some power--like the judiciary and state police--found it very difficult to work within the laws to try and combat the creeping evil. The records of Josef Hartinger and Dr. Flamm make it all too clear how quickly the political landscape could change--taking with it the rules, conventions, and laws that hold a society together.
An absorbing historical account of men who, as they watched their way of life going off the rails, tried the best to stave off the coming Nazi deluge. It is disturbing to read of these early Nazi atrocities (which actually pale in comparison to what was to come), but it was also heartening to read about men who were trying to do what they could to maintain a system of justice in perilous times.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
February 17, 2024
3,5* Um relato que antecede os horrores que viriam a acontecer posteriormente.
A coragem de Josef Hartinger ao denunciar os primeiros crimes cometidos pelas SS ainda antes de Hitler ter acedido ao poder
A coragem de Josef Hartinger ao denunciar os primeiros crimes cometidos pelas SS ainda antes de Hitler ter acedido ao poder
January 26, 2016
This book really begins with the aftermath of WWI, but doesn't go into a lot of detail. It kind of assumes that you the reader will already know the political background that led to where the book begins. In order to help you understand what the book was about, you need to read the following link as this is the best I have found to convey where the German people were and how they allowed the following to happen.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2...
This is the story of Josef Hartinger, the German prosecutor who risked everything to bring to justice the first killers of the Holocaust and whose efforts would play a role in the Nuremberg tribunal. Before Germany was engulfed by Nazi dictatorship, it was a constitutional republic. And just before Dachau became a site of Nazi genocide, it was a state detention center for political prisoners, subject to police authority and due process. The camp began its irrevocable transformation from one to the other following the execution of four Jewish detainees in the spring of 1933.
In reading this book, I saw a lot of similarities to where the USA currently sits in relation to the political arena and the rise to power of the Nazi's and that frightened me. If we as a people do not have the personal courage to stand up for what is right and just, then the collective human failure that the world experienced in WWII will be perpetuated on us again.
As far as the book goes, I had no idea of the political unrest in Germany and when the killings began, this book was an eye opener.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2...
This is the story of Josef Hartinger, the German prosecutor who risked everything to bring to justice the first killers of the Holocaust and whose efforts would play a role in the Nuremberg tribunal. Before Germany was engulfed by Nazi dictatorship, it was a constitutional republic. And just before Dachau became a site of Nazi genocide, it was a state detention center for political prisoners, subject to police authority and due process. The camp began its irrevocable transformation from one to the other following the execution of four Jewish detainees in the spring of 1933.
In reading this book, I saw a lot of similarities to where the USA currently sits in relation to the political arena and the rise to power of the Nazi's and that frightened me. If we as a people do not have the personal courage to stand up for what is right and just, then the collective human failure that the world experienced in WWII will be perpetuated on us again.
As far as the book goes, I had no idea of the political unrest in Germany and when the killings began, this book was an eye opener.
September 17, 2015
This book may be a resource to those who want detailed research about the earliest days of the concentration camp system in Nazi Germany, at Dachau, or as a forensic document, but I would not recommend it to the general reader. There are pages and pages of detailed descriptions of torture and murder of the internees in the early days of Dachau, most of them singled out merely because they were Jews, or for political reasons. The story of the prosecutor's attempt to apply the rule of law and bring murder charges against the responsible men gets lost in these details and in the attempts to supply a context to all the events. Because the author publishes the detailed source material used by the prosecutor as he attempted to seek justice in an appendix, those details, which would be necessary to a legal case, are available to the reader. But the main text of the book loses focus by repeatedly detailing the crimes and moving back and forth between those crimes, the broader historical context, and the little material there is on the prosecutor's (and the brave medical examiner's) efforts. There is no "arc" to the story or development of heroes or villains as characters, as though the author could not decide how to present his discoveries--as a history or as a research report--and so does not completely succeed at either endeavor.
August 26, 2017
In light of the last few days (Arpaio's pardon, laws to protect criminals running over protesters, etc.), I highly recommend this book to Americans and Canadians especially. This micro-history examines the exact steps over the three-month period of Dachau's first weeks in 1933 when there was still a chance for the judicial system to stop Nazism. When you get to 1934 and the author says by then it was too late, it makes one wonder where we are in that timeline.
***
A couple minor quibbles. There are two typos in the first edition that make understanding difficult (a couple of dates are off). If you're confused by those two dates, one of them gets cleared up later. The other quibble is that the book ends quickly; I understand why, as Ryback was concentrating on the crucial first weeks. I guess the moral is that we readers just have to read other authors on this topic.
***
A couple minor quibbles. There are two typos in the first edition that make understanding difficult (a couple of dates are off). If you're confused by those two dates, one of them gets cleared up later. The other quibble is that the book ends quickly; I understand why, as Ryback was concentrating on the crucial first weeks. I guess the moral is that we readers just have to read other authors on this topic.
December 29, 2016
This little known story can be described as 'life in Europe before all hell truly broke loose." It recounts the events of the early days at Dachau concentration camp, shortly after the Nazis took power and imprisoned the communists and other dissenters. The inmates were, at first, overseen by the local authorities. When that changed, and when the Nazis became the wardens, they were able to quench their bloodthirst rapidly and sadistically. The story about the prosecutor who raced to bring the guards and camp commander to justice before the wheels flew off the cart of humanity is intriguing, compelling, and, in the end, quite sad.
March 29, 2017
This is an excellent and compelling read if you are interested in WWII and how Hitler and the Nazis rose to power and were able to commit the atrocities they did. It details the first deaths at Dachau concentration camp in 1933 and how they were reported, investigated and attempted to be brought to trial by a prosecutor named Josef Hartinger. Well researched and put together in an in depth but easy to read manner, this book sheds light on the beginnings of the murders in concentration camps as well as international reaction.
June 23, 2017
Enlighteningly horrifying. What will happen when a German prosecutor decides to challenge the official version of events for deaths at Dachau? The answer is, in hindsight, obvious, but Ryback describes the journey to that answer in a moving and compelling way. Sometimes, though, I wonder if Ryback tries too hard to make Hartinger a "one man versus the Nazis" figure. A bit more of the wider context of anti-Nazi protest would have been helpful.
July 20, 2015
This is heartbreakingly powerful. You can see how if things had gone just slightly differently, the course of history could have been altered and millions saved. At the same time, it's an amazing story of two men's insistence on justice, even when it put them at grave risk, challenging us all to ask whether we would be as brave if faced with the same circumstances.
March 3, 2016
This book provides an account of an early (1933) investigation into Nazi atrocities.
The first parts of this book were dry and repetitive with a jumbled / confusing narrative. The second half of the book was much more interesting with an account of individuals trying to do the 'right thing' against massive institutional pressure / force.
Real rating 3.5
The first parts of this book were dry and repetitive with a jumbled / confusing narrative. The second half of the book was much more interesting with an account of individuals trying to do the 'right thing' against massive institutional pressure / force.
Real rating 3.5
July 21, 2016
A detailed account of the firsts months of the Dachau Concentration Camp that gives an accurate picture of the hell it was since the beginning.
Trough some few characters you get to know the terrible life of the people living there and it helps you understand the how rotten the Nazi party was inside and how it didn't lost any time to use power to corrupt all of German society.
Trough some few characters you get to know the terrible life of the people living there and it helps you understand the how rotten the Nazi party was inside and how it didn't lost any time to use power to corrupt all of German society.
November 16, 2017
I picked up this book in Budapest when it was recommended by the bookstore staff when asking about books about the Holocaust. Technically, it covers the period prior to WWII and the opening of Dachau but I still found it very interesting and educational. The more I read the more I enjoyed the book. Worthwhile.
June 17, 2018
Een heel goed boek die de moorden in de eerste maanden van Dachau beschrijft en hoe het toenmalig Duitse gerecht zich probeert te verzetten tegen de al op post zijnde Nazi's.
Het boek is erg compleet en laat de onderzoeker aan het woord en beschrijft heel goed hoe alles in elkaar zat en ook de puzzel van de Nazi's op zijn plaats valt. Ik vind dit zeker een aanrader.
Het boek is erg compleet en laat de onderzoeker aan het woord en beschrijft heel goed hoe alles in elkaar zat en ook de puzzel van de Nazi's op zijn plaats valt. Ik vind dit zeker een aanrader.
October 10, 2015
"Just because one is without power does not mean one needs to be without courage and ultimately without character. Shouldn't one try to find some way to make a difference, even in such hopeless circumstances, without necessarily jeopardizing one's life?"
June 8, 2015
This book was very hard to read . The text was not difficult, in fact it was quite lucid for a non lawyer like myself. However, the content was so upsetting that I had to read it in very small doses.
January 27, 2017
utterly disturbing. the rise of fascism in Germany in the 30's is a cautionary tale for us in our time. i fear that history will repeat itself. and afterward, we'll all scratch our head and wonder how it could have happened. so scary.
December 16, 2014
There were some Germans who were not Nazis who respected the law & tried to bring these early criminals to justice but it was not to be.
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