The Making of an SS Killer: The Life of Colonel Alfred Filbert, 1905–1990

by Alex J. Kay

In this pioneering biography of a frontline Holocaust perpetrator, Alex J. Kay uncovers the life of SS Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Filbert, responsible as the first head of SS-Einsatzkommando 9, a mobile killing squad, for the murder of more than 18,000 Soviet Jews - men, women and children - on the Eastern Front. He reveals how Filbert, following the political imprisonment of his older brother, set out to prove his own ideological allegiance by displaying particular radicalism in implementing the orders issued by Hitler, Himmler and Heydrich. He also examines Filbert's post-war experiences, first in hiding and then being captured, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. Released early, Filbert went on to feature in a controversial film in the lead role of an SS mass murderer. The book provides compelling new insights into the mindset and motivations of the men, like Filbert, who rose through the ranks of the Nazi regime.

Genres: Biography, World War II

258 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2016

Reviews

[Geicodave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of of a mass killer. Some reviewers have elsewhere argued that the book does not adequately explain or expose the truth of why Filbert did what he did, but extracting such a "confession" or "the truth" from such a person is well-nigh impossible, even for those who are able to personally interview him or her. The true explanation is probably multifaceted (upbringing, mental illness, an authoritarian personality, careerism, an absence of the ability to feel empathy for others, peer pressure, etc. etc.) and identifying those factors, as the author does here, is the closest anyone can come.