A Judge in Auschwitz Konrad Morgen's Crusade Against SS Corruption & 'Illegal' Murder

by Kevin Prenger

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.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 19, 2017

Reviews

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not certain I've ever read about such a self-serving, morally corrupt, pretend good deed doer, and fantasist that eclipsed even The Former Guy as I did in this book.

Konrad Morgen - yet another Nazi who fails to meet the Aryan ideal the Nazis themselves decided was the untermensch - was a lawyer in Germany during WWII. While he claims not to have joined the Nazi party voluntarily, it's clear he did, as otherwise he would not have been consistently promoted as he was, and he certainly would never have been in the SS.

Eventually. Morgen is tasked with rooting out corruption in the SS, which only makes sense if you're a completely twisted jackass. Most of what was deemed corruption dealt with stealing from the luggage left behind by Jews and other "undesirables" and the absurdly termed "illegal killing" - that is, killing inmates outside the defined policies under which the camp operated. While I can see how the Nazis would be able to separate the two, it makes my brain hurt to do so.

Morgen bounces around from camp to camp: Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and other camps, investigating any thievery or murders. He is, as one might surmise, astonishingly ineffective at bring many people up on charges: those people are transferred, or deemed necessary to do the heinous work they do, or have powerful friends like Himmler to step in for them. Like some of the camps (Thereisenstatd, for instance) this investigatory thing into the SS was, in my opinion, a show: an act put on so that people would see the SS was bound to certain policing, just like anyone else. Except it isn't policing if you're investigating yourself, and there are few charges and fewer punishments involved.

There is one documented death sentence handed out from his investigation, involving the commandant of Buchenwald, Karl Koch. Koch's sadist and equally evil wife was also found guilty, but face no serious punishment for her part.

Morgen lays claim to attempting to charge a slew of other people, from Eichmann to Dirlewanger to Mengele, but there seems to be no "there" there, as he claims his investigations suffered interference at all turns. Shocker.

The most outlandish of Morgen's claims, however, come after he war. As he is questioned by the military tribunal and testifies at various trials, Morgen paints himself not only as a paragon of justice - he tried to stop the thefts of items that now belonged to the Reich and tried to stop the so-called illegal killings and use of the punishment bunkers in the camps! - but also someone working inside the system to stop the Holocaust itself.

What he was in reality: someone with delusions of grandeur and a serious worker of the tribunal system, on one hand throwing other defendants under the bus, while on the other insisting that he was within the law to ignore the mass murders that were policy at that time.

It's a sometimes infuriating read, and shares a lot in common with books about con wo/men in any sort of setting. It may also make you want to punch Nazis. If you're already in great favor of punching Nazis, as I am, this will simply bolster that feeling.

Five out of five stars.

Thanks to Pen & Sword Military and NetGalley for the reading copy.

[Elma Voogdt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about a judge in Auschwitz, a story that is not really well known, makes it all the more curious. In the book, we follow Judge Konrad Morgen, who was an SS judge, who during World War II, among other things, investigated crimes committed in Nazi concentration camps and collected evidence for the persecution of camp guards and commanders by SS courts.

The book tries to form a picture of exactly who Konrad Morgen was and what he stood for. Morgen does not really fit into the picture of the real SS man, but in order to progress in society, he joined the group like many others. Morgen is charged with investigating criminal acts in concentration camps such as: Sachsenhausen, Vught and, as the title suggests, Auschwitz. When you read the book you will notice that it is not just the camps mentioned above. What was meant by criminal acts? It was about corruption and especially enriching yourself with the property of others. You should not keep it for yourself, but hand it over to the Government.

Through these investigations we also get to know many camp commanders and SS leaders. Not only in name, but also in their actions. Not exactly facts that make you happy. Some or just 99% of the events are downright shocking. Your stomach turns. In certain cases, Morgen was able to achieve results, so to speak. But in general the persons were transferred and action was taken by higher authorities (usually Himmler) and the sentence was overturned and they got away with it in the first instance.

We also get a lot from Morgen during the Nuremberg Trials, where he was an important witness. Morgen himself was acquitted of war crimes and you name it. A little hard to comprehend. Morgen tackled the corruption, but the atrocities of the gas chambers in particular remained untouched. He must have known that, but it was said: it is work.. it was tolerated.

A Judge in Auschwitz is a fascinating and instructive book. Facts and people you get to know you name it. It is also described in a clear way, step by step we go through the events. All very well documented. Which means that the author Kevin Prenger has done some very good research. It takes a lot of hours to put down a detailed account of the events. It must also be said that the author knows how to bring the usually dry and dusty facts in a lively way. You have more the feeling that you are reading an exciting book than that you are just reading facts etc. That’s the art of writing.

In summary: A judge in Auschwitz tells the story of Konrad Morgen, a mostly unknown story that should definitely be read and known to everyone. It is a fascinating and educational book, with good research. Definitely a must for anyone interested in history, especially the Second World War.

[Teresa Grabs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prenger dives into the life story of SS Officer Konrad Morgen and his investigations of crimes committed by fellow SS officers during the war. Few know what they would have personally done in those circumstances but Morgen walked a fine line between maintaining a facade for whatever group he was talking to. Prenger's book is well-researched and presented nicely (but a bit dry in areas). This would make a good gift for anyone interested in the human side of the war.

Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword Military for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

[ywanderingreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the first time I’ve read a full non-fiction account on Auschwitz and this was quite an interesting read although it was a little dry but I could tell a lot of research has gone into this. The story is very informative and detailed but I didn’t enjoy this as much as I would have liked.

This story focuses on a judge in Auschwitz, Konrad Morgen. He is an SS judge who investigated crimes committed in Nazi concentration camps and collected evidence in order to prosecute camp guards and SS commanders. Interesting, isn’t it? A German SS judge going against his own comrades for what happened in the camps? Throughout the story, Prenger tries to establish exactly who Konrad Morgan was and what his intentions were. He has his own set of values that does not necessarily align with the Nazis but then in order to live, he joined them.

Although he was tasked to investigate crimes in concentration camps, is it safe to say he didn’t know what had been going on in these camps, not even the gas chambers? Although to give him the benefit of the doubt, he did prosecute many SS officers and camp commanders for their crimes but it was under the law of the Nazis. What was meant by criminal acts for the Nazis? Many SS leaders and commanders were introduced here and the crimes they committed. They are truly horrifying and many of them committed these crimes with no remorse which sends chills down my spine. You may be curious to find out what happened to Morgen in the end. Was he trialled fairly during the war crime trials? I was not surprised with the ending.

I love how well documented this was. Prenger described the timeline and events clearly. Some incidents were so frustrating to read and again horrifying details of what happened in the camps is still hard to stomach. Prenger also added pictures of some of the officers at the end of the story and I honestly felt like ripping their smiling faces. Overall, I would recommend reading this with an open mind.

Thank you Netgalley and Pen & Sword for the arc.

[julianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

Well researched and absolutely fantastic.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Caroline 'relaxing with my rescue dogs' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was completely different but so informative and you could tell the research that had gone into it. Sometimes with detailed books they are a bit dry but this wasn't. It really explored the motives of the judge both during the war and after. The way the chapters were written really helped with this.

I can't say I enjoyed the book but I did get a lot out of it and for that I am grateful.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

[Crystal Credeur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page in Holocaust history and the subsequent Nuremberg trials; this one detailing Konrad Morgan’s efforts to keep illicit activities at a minimum, as well as his attempts to arrest and prosecute those guilty of such activities.

[Edwin]

Moeilijk om hier een waardering aan te geven. Interessant om te lezen.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book by the Dutch author Kevin Prenger which offers a meta-analysis, as it were, of the case of lawyer and NSDAP member Konrad Morgen, a SS officer who held the position in the SS of Judge with that criminal organization's internal judiciary system (the equivalent of a military court system). As such, his task, endorsed by SS head Himmler, was to root out corruption among SS personnel (stealing, bribery, black marketeering, "illegal" murder) specifically within the concentration and extermination camp system. I was dumbfounded that such a system existed within the SS, which is why I read the book. It struck me as surreal that there was any effort to curb or prosecute excesses within the SS, since the SS always struck me, a lay non-expert, as the worst, most murderous, of the Nazi groups.

The book explains that there was a dual state during the Nazi period in Germany: The "normative" laws of the Weimar Republic period were retained and those laws were used to prosecute offenses committed by ordinary Germans (so that theft, murder, and any other crimes were prosecuted in civilian courts as before). But there was also another state that was not bound by these laws, it was called "...Massnahmenstaat" ('prerogative state') consisting of organizations and agencies not bound to laws and drawing their legitimacy from Hitler's authority. Hitler's power as Fuhrer was 'total and all encompassing...'" It was under this system that the SS, along with other Nazi organizations, committed mass crimes, such as the Holocaust. Under this system, the horrific crimes against were "legitimate" murders because they were ordered by Hitler. One of Morgen's tasks was to investigate the "illegal" murders, that is individual murders for any other reason other than the "Endlosen" (final solution) ordered by Hitler, as well as extreme abuse or torture, even though most of the camp inmates were to die eventually anyway. He also investigated the pilfering of the goods robbed from the victims of the Holocaust (as well as political detainees, PoWs, and a number of other groups targeted for extermination by Hitler, such as Gypsies) by SS camp officers including commanders, and successfully broke up a number of such rings in camps. However, singularly atrocious commanders, such as the commander of Auschwitz, Rufolf Hoss, despite their corruption, were impossible to prosecute since the SS judiciary system required the permission of higher-ups in the organization before anyone could be arrested. The higher-ups also had to approve or suspend a sentence. Hoss was a "favorite" of Himmler, the head of the SS, and so he and other corrupt, cruel and "efficient" commanders, would never had ended up in jail or executed - because they enjoyed the protection of Himmler. This despite Himmler's wish to see corruption rooted out in the camps, and encouragement of Morgen and his large team of investigative judges and attorneys, in his task. Himmler wanted the SS to consist of upright, ethical men who never deviated from following orders, never stooped to corrupt behavior - yet the camps were cesspools of corruption, with every sort of corrupt behavior committed by the SS, often in conjunction with prisoners. For instance, the SS would shake down prisoners, or steal from prisoners and then demand payment to get their property back. The SS would steal valuables from the valuables that had been stolen from the murdered - this stolen property was supposed to be sent directly to the Reichbank in Berlin to fund the war (gold was melted down into bars at the camps yet even these bars were sometimes stolen by SS men). The vast quantity of goods stolen made it impossible to implement a registration or tracking system and the SS men were practically universally unable to resist the temptation to steal. And so the entire organization was mostly corrupt - the portion of the SS judicial system tasked with rooting out corruption was more or less a sham designed to confer "legitimacy" upon a thoroughly corrupt system. Morgen himself never stole, but he had joined the SS and the party after graduating law school to advance his career; personal ambition mostly motivated him, rather than belief in Nazism. The irony is that his successful efforts at prosecuting corruption mostly netted small fry in the SS and were a drop in the
bucket. They may have temporarily changed things such that conditions may have marginally improved after his investigations at various camps, but the system of mass murder could not be stopped - had he tried to stop it, or complain about it, he probably would have been imprisoned himself or worse. The only thing he did was try to curb the "illegal" individual killings, the poor conditions in the camps, abuse, stealing, black marketeering, criminal activity such as shakedowns and so forth that the camps were rife with, to lesser or greater extents (some were horrific than others, also the level of horror changed over time, depending on commanders and at what stage the war was in; for example, once the war in the East was going badly, more labor was needed in arms factories in Germany and so the instructions were sent out to treat the prisoners better so that they could serve as forced labor; also, once the tide of the war was turning in Russia's favor, camps in the East were evacuated to camps in Germany - so that overcrowding, disease, mass death by malnourishment set in, especially once the entire system including the transportation system crumbled and food became scarce).

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the Second World War; it does give a unique insight into a little-known aspect of the Nazi system which was in effect in Germany for 12 years. These SS men thought they were the vanguard of rectitude, superior in morality and so forth and thus entitled to push around or even kill, the little guy, the ordinary people. Yet within the camps, where their power was unquestioned, they all tended to degrade into corrupt, greedy, often drunken layabouts, no better than ordinary criminals - putting their own gain before their responsibilities to the state (as they put it) boozing it up with female prisoners etc., stealing vast amounts of gold and other valuables. The "prerogative state" was nothing more than a crass low-down criminal enterprise, and Morgen's effort fell far short of ending the rot. Morgen, despite having been an SS officer, managed to avoid imprisonment post-war and resumed his law career in W. Germany; he never did get involved in theft during the war and never did directly get involved in murder, ("legal") mass murder or ("illegal") individual murder either. This is an extremely interesting book which can be read in a day or two. There is constant use of SS officer titles throughout and references to various groups within the SS and the Nazi state, but a glossary and listing of officer ranks, with translations is appended to the text, which are very helpful. I found I had to constantly refer to these appendices - since many of the officer titles sound similar. He could have used the English equivalent but that is a minor critique. Overall, I found the book, despite the gruesome subject, readable and even fascinating, considering the surreal nature of the task entrusted to Morgen by Himmler during the war.

Here are the quotes:

From Chapter IV, The Dual State:

"The Hauptamt SS-Gericht was one of the ...twelve main departments of the SS. [It] ...dealt with judicial matters within the SS, including persecuting and sentencing members of the SS who had been charged with transgressions or crimes while on duty. ...this could include theft, corruption and insubordination. Murdering and torturing inmates of concentration camps could also be considered a crime while at the same time the SS was responsible for the extermination of the Jews."

"While public servants, police officers and judges remained bound to largely the same laws and regulations that had already been in [effect] ...during the Weimar period...now organizations and agencies emerged within the Third Reich that were accountable to Hitler only and were authorized, on his orders, to violate existing laws and measures. The clearest example of such an organization was the SS."

From Chapter V, Justice Within the SS:

"[From Himmler's] ...notorious speech to his officers ...on 4 October 1943]: We had the moral right, we had the duty towards out people, to destroy this people that wanted to destroy us. But we do not have the right to enrich ourselves... We do not want, in the end, because we destroyed a bacillus, to be infected by this bacillus and to die."

From Chapter XI, The Blood Judge:

"By order of Himmler...Special investigative committees of SS lawyers, coordinated by ... Morgen, set off to concentration camps to gather evidence to be submitted to the responsible SS and Police courts."

"Morgen...had jurisdiction in all SS districts, both within and outside German borders, and had permission to enter each and every camp with or without permission from the management."

"[Morgen] ...stated at the Nuremberg trial...'I was working mostly in Buchenwald itself for eight months and have lived there. I was in Dachau for one or two months.' Other camps where he conducted an investigation included Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Vught, Krakau, Plaszow and Warsaw."

"[Morgen] ...claimed to have taken on 800 cases (often involving numerous suspects) of which 200 resulted in sentencing by the court."

"...in the end only a few camp commanders were prosecuted, of whom, according to Morgen, only two were executed (Koch and Florstedt)."

"In 1941 [Himmler] ... established a detox center in concentration camp Buchenwald for SS men with alcohol problems."

"Oranienburg was the name, frequently used, of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, established in 1936 ... in Oranienburg near Berlin."

"...Hans Loritz [commanded] .... ...Sachsenhausen concentration camp...from April 1940 onwards. He was relieved of his post in August 1942 because of corruption: he had employed forced laborers in the construction of a yacht for himself....[as well as camp] ...inmates...[in the construction] ....of his luxurious villa Waldheim in St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang in Austria."

From Chapter XIV, A Very Special and Grim Function:

"[In the end] ...over forty satellite camps would be established around the original Auschwitz concentration camp and over 40,000 inmates were deployed in various industrial enterprises in Upper Silesia. It is [thought] ...that Auschwitz yielded a profit of some 30 million RM to the Nazi state, money earned by providing forced laborers to industry. Today however, Auschwitz is not known for having been a conglomerate of labor camps and industrial enterprises but as the location for mass murder."

From Chapter XXIX, The Devil's Advocate?

"...the prisoners could not count on protection from the law. The laws only existed to serve the interests of the state; economic deployment of inmates had to be guaranteed and the possessions taken from deported Jews were destined for the state."

[Phil Curme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it a contradiction in terms to refer to anyone as a 'good Nazi'? That is the key question which is addressed in this latest biography of Konrad Morgen, an SS judge who was active in investigating 'crimes' committed by concentration-camp officers. Despite his Nazi affiliations and active participation in the mechanics of the concentration-camp system, Morgen has often been painted as a force for good. In his well-regarded biography of Adolf Hitler, the American journalist John Toland credited Morgen with attempting to impede the mass extermination of the Jewish people. Post war, Morgen had proved very helpful to the Allies in testifying against Nazi war criminals at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, the 1947/48 Pohl trial and the 1965 Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt-am-Main. His successful prosecution of several concentration-camp commanders for corruption and 'illegal killing' stand to Morgen's credit but was his later assertion that he wished to halt the Nazi killing machine correct? The author of this book is sceptical and on the basis of the evidence presented, I would be inclined to agree.

The book opens with an account of Morgen's early days as a lawyer. Like many others, he was mesmerised by Hitler's vision for Greater Germany, and he joined the ranks of the National Socialists in January 1933. A couple of months later Morgen joined the Allgemeine-SS - something which he denied later in life but which is proved on the evidence. Following the invasion of Poland, he was drafted into the Waffen-SS and was given the opportunity to practice his legal skills in the General Government. Aside from the horrors being inflicted on countless millions of people in the newly captured eastern territories corruption was rife and Morgen gained a reputation as the 'blood-hound' judge. He clearly had powerful sponsors and whilst his attempts to prosecute Hermann Fegelein and the odious Dr Oskar Dirlewanger were unsuccessful he did manage to secure a number of other important convictions.

Following the mobilisation of Aktion Reinhard in late 1941, Morgen investigated crimes committed in the concentration camps - including cases at Buchenwald, Dachau and Auschwitz. It seems that Morgen was comfortable with the system itself, imbued as he was with the racist ideals propagated by the Nazi regime so, for example, he was not exercised about the state confiscation of property but was very determined to root out instances where individuals were pocketing valuables for their own personal gain. Similiarly, and to his credit, Morgen was dogged in investigating instances of accentuated cruelty. For example, he was instrumental on securing the conviction of Amon Göth, the infamous commandant of the Płaszów camp near Krakow on grounds of corruption, maltreatment and murder. A similiar investigation into the notorious Auschwitz commander, Rudolf Franz Höss, was drawn to a halt by Himmler in April 1944.

As is the case with a number of other more articulate and intelligent Nazis who were implicated in wartime crimes (most notably Albert Speer), Morgen has been able to construct his own narrative. With most of Morgen's professional contacts either dead or in hiding and, given the victorious allies desperation to work with credible witnesses, it is hardly surprising that Morgen has hitherto been posited as an innocent functionary. This important well evidenced biography sets the record straight. Until the end Morgen was an apologist for the SS and despite his later protestations to the contrary, he was a fervent supporter of both Hitler and Himmler until the very end. It would seem that Morgen's distaste for some of the brutish individuals running the concentration-camps was not driven by an unambiguous acknowledgement that the Nazi system was intrinsically evil. Whilst constraining the excesses of murderers and psychopaths is clearly a good thing (to say the least) the real crime is that the holocaust was state sanctioned. As a willing participant in the implementation of a genocidal state policy, Konrad Morgen was surely complicit. Good Nazi? There's no such thing.

[pężyrka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książka ciekawa, szczególnie dla osób, które interesują się tematem.
Ukazuje korupcję tamtych czasów, z którą walczył Konrad Morgen. I stara się pokazać prawdziwe oblicze Konrada, które przez niektórych może być wybielane, bo w końcu chciał sprawiedliwości.
Autor przedstawia nam sędziego stojącego na straży prawa, ale prawa, które obowiązywało w Trzeciej Rzeszy. Walczył on z korupcją, ale nie z wyzyskiem, ludobójstwem i brakiem człowieczeństwa. Ostatecznie zostajemy pozostawieni z postacią ciężką do oceny.

[Elma Voogdt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een boek over een rechter in Auschwitz, een niet echt bekend verhaal, des te meer nieuwsgierig maakt dat. In het boek volgen we rechter Konrad Morgen, die een SS-rechter was, die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog onder meer misdaden begaan in concentratiekampen van de nazi’s onderzocht en bewijzen verzamelde voor de vervolging van kampbewakers en commandanten door SS-rechtbanken.

Het boek probeert een beeld te vormen van wie Konrad Morgen nu precies was en waar hij voorstond. Morgen valt niet echt in het plaatje van de echte SS’er, maar om verder te komen in de maatschappij sloot hij zich net als vele andere aan bij de groepering. Morgen wordt belast met onderzoek naar strafbare handelingen in concentratiekampen als : Sachsenhausen, Vught en zoals de titel al doet vermoeden Auschwitz. Bij het lezen van het boek zul je merken dat het niet alleen bij bovengenoemde kampen bleef. Wat verstond men dan onder strafbare handelingen. Wel het ging om corruptie en het vooral het zich zelf verrijken met eigendommen van anderen. Die behoorde je niet zelf te houden, maar af te staan aan het rijk.

Door deze onderzoeken leren we ook veel kampcommandanten en SS-leiders kennen. Niet alleen van naam, maar ook in hun doen en laten. Niet bepaald feiten die je vrolijk stemmen. Sommige of gewoon 99% van de gebeurtenissen zijn ronduit schokkend. Je maag draait er van om. In bepaalde gevallen lukte het Morgen om resultaat te boeken zullen we maar zeggen. Maar over het algemeen werden de personen overgeplaatst en werd er door hoger hand ingegrepen ( veelal Himmler) en werd het vonnis te niet gedaan en kwamen ze er in eerste instantie mee weg.

We krijgen ook veel van Morgen mee tijdens de Neurenbergprocessen, waar hij een belangrijke getuige was. Morgen zelf werd vrijgesproken van oorlogsmisdaden en noem het maar op. Een beetje moeilijk te bevatten. Morgen pakte de corruptie aan, maar de gruwelijkheden van met name de gaskamers bleven ongemoeid. Dat moet hij toch geweten hebben, maar onder de vlag van : het is werk.. Werd het gewoon weg getolereerd.

Een rechter in Auschwitz is een boeiend en leerzaam boek. Feiten en personen die je leert kennen noem het maar op. Het is ook op een duidelijke manier beschreven, stap voor stap gaan we de gebeurtenissen bij langs. Allemaal zeer goed gedocumenteerd. Wat betekent dat de auteur Kevin Prenger een zeer goede research heeft gedaan. Daar moeten heel veel uren inzitten om zo een gedetailleerd verslag van de gebeurtenissen neer te zetten. Daarbij moet ook gezegd worden dat de auteur de meestal droge en stoffige kost op een levendige manier weet te brengen. Je hebt meer het gevoel een spannend boek te lezen, dan dat je alleen maar feiten etc. zit te lezen. Dat is toch de kunst van het schrijven.

Samengevat : Een rechter in Auschwitz vertelt het verhaal van Konrad Morgen, een veelal onbekend verhaal dat zeker gelezen moet worden en bekend bij iedereen. Het is een boeiend en educatief boek, met een goede research. Absoluut een aanrader voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd is geschiedenis en dan met name de Tweede Wereldoorlog.