Laurence Rees

Auschwitz-Birkenau is the site of the largest mass murder in human history. Yet its story is not fully known. In Auschwitz, Laurence Rees reveals new insights from more than 100 original interviews with Auschwitz survivors and Nazi perpetrators who speak on the record for the first time. Their testimonies provide a portrait of the inner workings of the camp in unrivalled detail-from the techniques of mass murder, to the politics and gossip mill that turned between guards and prisoners, to the on-camp brothel in which the lines between those guards and prisoners became surprisingly blurred. Rees examines the strategic decisions that led the Nazi leadership to prescribe Auschwitz as its primary site for the extinction of Europe's Jews-their "Final Solution." He concludes that many of the horrors that were perpetrated in Auschwitz were driven not just by ideological inevitability but as a "practical" response to a war in the East that had begun to go wrong for Germany. A terrible immoral pragmatism characterizes many of the decisions that determined what happened at Auschwitz. Thus the story of the camp becomes a morality tale, too, in which evil is shown to proceed in a series of deft, almost noiseless incremental steps until it produces the overwhelming horror of the industrial scale slaughter that was inflicted in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Insights gleaned from more than one hundred original interviews shed new light on history's most famous death camp, with the testimonies of survivors providing a detailed and chilling portrait of the camp's inner workings, in a companion volume to the PBS documentary.

A New History

Auschwitz

This landmark work answers two of the most fundamental questions in history - how, and why, did the Holocaust happen? Laurence Rees has spent twenty-five years meeting survivors and perpetrators of the Holocaust. Now, in his magnum opus, he combines their enthralling eyewitness testimony, a large amount of which has never been published before, with the latest academic research to create the first accessible and authoritative account of the Holocaust in more than three decades. This is a new history of the Holocaust in three ways. First, and most importantly, Rees has created a gripping narrative that that contains a large amount of testimony that has never been published before. Second, he places this powerful interview material in the context of an examination of the decision making process of the Nazi state, and in the process reveals the series of escalations that cumulatively created the horror. Third, Rees covers all those across Europe who participated in the deaths, and he argues that whilst hatred of the Jews was always at the epicentre of Nazi thinking, what happened cannot be fully understood without considering the murder of the Jews alongside plans to kill millions of non-Jews, including homosexuals, 'Gypsies' and the disabled. Through a chronological, intensely readable narrative, featuring enthralling eyewitness testimony and the latest academic research, this is a compelling new account of the worst crime in history.

The Holocaust

An award-winning historian plumbs the depths of Hitler and Stalin's vicious regimes, and shows the extent to which they brutalized the world around them. Two 20th century tyrants stand apart from all the rest in terms of their ruthlessness and the degree to which they changed the world around them. Briefly allies during World War II, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin then tried to exterminate each other in sweeping campaigns unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, affecting soldiers and civilians alike. Millions of miles of Eastern Europe were ruined in their fight to the death, millions of lives sacrificed. Laurence Rees has met more people who had direct experience of working for Hitler and Stalin than any other historian. Using their evidence he has pieced together a compelling comparative portrait of evil, in which idealism is polluted by bloody pragmatism, and human suffering is used casually as a political tool. It's a jaw-dropping description of two regimes stripped of moral anchors and doomed to destroy each other, and those caught up in the vicious magnetism of their leadership.

The Tyrants and the Second World War

Hitler and Stalin

"For the last 20 years, award-winning director and bestselling author Laurence Rees has worked on projects based on the Second World War. His documentaries such as Auschwitz and The Nazis: A Warning From History have been celebrated across the board and have broken new boundaries. In the course of his work he has encountered a spectacularly wide range of people who lived through the war. Some of these people he found inspirational in their seemingly limitless ability to deal with impossible situations, to cope with no end of despair and still come out the other side. Viewers of his programmes will know that he has also achieved the impossible - in persuading those who carried out what can only be described as crimes against humanity, to talk about how they came to act the way they did; to bring us all closer to an understanding of what human beings are capable of doing when pushed to extremes. resented as a beautifully packaged small hardback, this is a unique and special book. On one hand it represents fascinating encounters with a collection of individuals. And on the other hand, it is an inspiration, a book that encourages you to dwell on the big questions, that challenges you

Their Darkest Hour

Stalin, the Nazis, and the West

World War Two: Behind Closed Doors

In 'Auschwitz: a new history', documentarian Laurence Rees excavates a wealth of information and offers a new perspective in his shocking portrait of this most infamous death camp. Informed by more than a hundred original interviews with survivors and Nazi perpetrators, Rees's study exposes the inner workings of the camp in unprecedented detail -- from the continually refined techniques of mass murder to the shrewd psychological manipulations of inmates, and from the unimaginable living conditions to the bizarre microcosms that emerged, such as the brothel and the dining hall, where the line between guard and prisoner became surprisingly blurred. -- Dust jacket

This book answers two fundamental questions about the Holocaust. How, and why, did it happen? Laurence Rees' masterpiece is revealing in three ways. First, it is based not only on the latest academic research, but also on 25 years of interviewing survivors and perpetrators, often at the sites of the events, many of whom have never had their words published before. Second, the book is not just about the Jews - the Nazis would have murdered many more non-Jews had they won the war - and not just about Germans. Third, as Rees shows, there was no single 'decision' to start the Holocaust - there was a series of escalations, most often when the Nazi leadership interacted with their grassroots supporters. Through a chronological narrative, featuring the latest historical research and compelling eyewitness testimony, this is the story of the worst crime in history.

Holocaust

Previously unpublished archival material, photographs, and eyewitness testimony offer a look at Nazi Germany from Hitler's rise to power to the end of World War II

A Warning from History

The Nazis

Adolf Hitler was an unlikely leader - fuelled by hate, incapable of forming normal human relationships, unwilling to debate political issues - and yet he commanded enormous support. So how was it possible that Hitler became such an attractive figure to millions of people? That is the important question at the core of Laurence Rees' new book. The Holocaust, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the outbreak of the Second World War - all these cataclysmic events and more can be laid at Hitler's door. Hitler was a war criminal arguably without precedent in the history of the world. Yet, as many who knew him confirm, Hitler was still able to exert a powerful influence over the people who encountered him. In this fascinating book to accompany his new BBC series, the acclaimed historian and documentary maker Laurence Rees examines the nature of Hitler's appeal, and reveals the role Hitler's supposed 'charisma' played in his success. Rees' previous work has explored the inner workings of the Nazi state in The Nazis: A Warning from History and the crimes they committed in Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution. The Charisma of Adolf Hitler is a natural culmination of twenty years of writing and research on the Third Reich, and a remarkable examination of the man and the mind at the heart of it all.

The Charisma of Adolf Hitler

Entenda como hitler se tornou uma figura tão atraente para milhões de pessoas. Movido pelo ódio, incapaz de estabelecer relacionamentos humanos normais, Adolf Hitler parecia um líder improvável, contrário a debates políticos, que, no entanto, conseguiu um apoio gigantesco. Como foi possível Hitler se tornar uma figura tão atraente para milhões de pessoas? Essa é a pergunta essencial do novo livro de Laurence Rees. Nesse livro fascinante, que acompanha a série na Rede BBC, o aclamado historiador e autor de documentários, Laurence Rees, analisa a natureza atrativa de Hitler, revelando o papel que seu suposto “carisma” desempenhou em seu sucesso.

O Carisma de Adolf Hitler

The brutality of Japanese soldiers towards both allied prisoners of war and millions of civilians in Asia during the Second World War was one of the greatest horrors of the Twentieth Century. Here Laurence Rees, award-winning historian and author of Auschwitz and The Nazis: a Warning from History, turns his attention to a crucial question: why were these atrocities carried out? In this classic and seminal study, Rees talks openly with perpetrators and victims alike, and asks how seemingly ordinary people were driven to mass murder, rape and suicide. Uncovering startling first-hand testimonies of cruelty and barbarity, Horror in the East looks to individual experiences to understand this dark and violent chapter of human history. 'Another stunning slice of history from Laurence Rees' Daily Telegraph review of Horror in the East, BBC TV

Horror In The East

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'Superb' ANDREW ROBERTS In this classic book, highly acclaimed author and broadcaster Laurence Rees tells the definitive history of the most notorious Nazi institution of them all. We discover how Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners into the site of the largest mass murder in history - part death camp, part concentration camp, where around a million Jews were killed. Auschwitz examines the mentality and motivations of the key Nazi decision makers, and perpetrators of appalling crimes speak here for the first time about their actions. Drawing on Rees's landmark documentary and material from the Russian archives, which challenged many previously accepted arguments, this book reveals significant and disturbing facts - from the operation of a brothel to the corruption that was rife throughout the camp. This is the story of murder, brutality, courage, escape and survival, and a powerful account of how human tragedy of such immense scale could have happened.

Holokaust. Nowa historia

Holokaust

When do you think the Second World War ended? If the end of the war was supposed to have brought 'freedom' to countries that suffered under Nazi occupation, then for millions it did not really end until the fall of Communism. In the summer of 1945 many of the countries in Eastern Europe simply swapped the rule of one tyrant, Adolf Hitler, for that of another: Joseph Stalin. Why this happened has remained one of the most troubling questions of the entire conflict, and is at the heart of Laurence Rees' dramatic book. In World War II: Behind Closed Doors, Rees provides an intimate 'behind the scenes' history of the West's dealings with Joseph Stalin - an account which uses material only available since the opening of archives in the East as well as new testimony from witnesses from the period. An enthralling mix of high politics and the often heart-rending personal experiences of those on the ground, it will make you rethink what you believe about World War II.

Stalin, the Nazis and the West

Hätkähdyttävän ajankohtainen teos natsismin historiasta. Palkitun historioitsijan analyysi natsien mentaliteetista näyttää vastaansanomattomasti, miksi nykyäänkin on elintärkeää taistella orastavia ääriliikkeitä vastaan. Miten SS-joukot saattoivat syyllistyä tekemiinsä rikoksiin? Miten juutalaisia lähietäisyydeltä ampuneet tappajat pystyivät tekemään hirmutekonsa? Miksi keskitys- ja kuolemanleirien komentajat olivat valmiita innokkaasti toimeenpanemaan joukkomurhia? Miten tavalliset saksalaiset saattoivat suvaita tämän kaiken? Bestseller-historioitsija Laurence Rees kartoittaa teoksessaan natsien mentaliteetin nousua 1920-luvun marginaalipolitiikasta 1930-luvun vaalivoittoon ja joukkomobilisaatioon sekä holokaustiin ja natsihallinnon lopulliseen tuhoon asti. Teos perustuu entisten natsien ja natsijärjestelmässä kasvaneiden henkilöiden aiemmin julkaisemattomiin aikalaistodistuksiin ja uusimpaan psykologiseen tutkimukseen. Se piirtää esiin olosuhteet, jotka mahdollistivat väkivaltaisen ideologian kukoistuksen ja sen ylläpitämän hienostuneen propagandan, ja varoittaa saman voivan toistua nykyajassakin. Laurence Rees on palkittu historioitsija ja dokumenttielokuvantekijä. Hän on kirjoittanut useita natsismia ja holokaustia käsitteleviä tietokirjoja.

12 varoitusta historiasta

Natsin mieli

O conceituado historiador Laurence Rees mergulha nas profundezas dos regimes cruéis de Hitler e Estaline e mostra até que ponto os dois homens brutalizaram o mundo à sua volta. Dois ditadores do século XX distinguem-se pelo impacto e crueldade que tiveram no mundo. Aliados por um curto período de tempo durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, Hitler e Estaline tentaram depois exterminar-se mutuamente em campanhas de guerra nunca vistas no mundo moderno, afetando soldados e civis de igual modo. Quilómetros sem fim da Europa de Leste foram arruinados neste combate mortal e milhões de vidas foram sacrificadas. Recorrendo a testemunhos inéditos de soldados do Exército Vermelho e da Wehrmacht, de civis que sofreram durante o conflito e daqueles que conheceram pessoalmente os dois homens, esta obra-prima — o culminar de 30 anos de trabalho — do autor bestseller Laurence Rees, um dos melhores historiadores contemporâneos, analisa o percurso dos dois tiranos durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, quando a Alemanha e a União Soviética travaram a maior e mais sangrenta guerra da História, demonstrando que, apesar de ferozes adversários, Hitler e Estaline eram, em grande medida, os dois lados de uma mesma moeda. «Da autoria de um dos mais conceituados especialistas na Segunda Guerra Mundial, este é um relato importante, original — e devastador — de Hitler e Estaline como ditadores.» Robert Service, autor de Estaline — Uma Biografia «Neste estudo fascinante de dois monstros, Laurence Rees é extraordinariamente percetivo e original.» Sir Antony Beevor, autor de Estalinegrado «Laurence Rees combina de forma brilhante testemunhos poderosos, uma narrativa vívida e uma análise irrefutável neste soberbo relato de como dois terríveis ditadores lideraram os seus países na guerra mais destrutiva e desumana da História.» Sir Ian Kershaw, autor de Hitler «Um trabalho extraordinário e de grande coragem. Revelador, fascinante e extremamente relevante, mostra Hitler e Estaline como nunca foram mostrados. Uma verdadeira história do nosso tempo, com tantas lições a retirar para o mundo conturbado em que vivemos hoje que irá revolucionar o entendimento que temos destes dois tiranos.» Damien Lewis, autor de The Nazi Hunters

Hitler e Estaline: Os Tiranos e a Segunda Guerra Mundial

Аушвіц.«Остаточне рішення» нацистів

Accompanying a major BBC/PBS television event Auschwitz is the story of the role played by the most notorious Nazi concentration camp in the development of the final solution, published to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the camp's liberation in January 2005. With shocking eye-witness testimony and new archive material from the East, Auschwitz will revise current opinion on the running of the camp and the Nazi's decision-making processes.

The Nazis & the 'final Solution'

Hace sesenta años el mundo se horrorizó con el descubrimiento de la realidad de Auschwitz, el escenario de la mayor matanza de la historia humana: un millón cien mil seres humanos asesinados, incluidos más de doscientos mil niños. Pero, más allá de las imágenes y de los testimonios de las víctimas, la realidad de lo que Auschwitz fue y significó ha seguido escapando a nuestra percepción. Laurence Rees, que lleva quince años investigando el nazismo, no sólo ha utilizado la documentación aparecida en estos últimos años, sino que se ha valido de más de un centenar de entrevistas a supervivientes del campo y a sus verdugos nazis, que por primera vez hablan de sus experiencias, ahora que no arriesgan nada por dejar testimonio de lo que han vivido. Éste es el primer relato completo de la historia de Auschwitz, que se convirtió en un inmenso taller que trabajaba para la guerra, a la vez que en una fábrica de muerte, donde se acabó arrojando a los niños vivos a las hogueras, al no dar abasto las cámaras de gas. Un lugar singular, con funcionarios corruptos, con médicos sanguinarios como Mengele y hasta con un burdel para estimular a los prisioneros "muy trabajadores". Pero tal vez lo más terrible resulte saber que cerca del ochenta y cinco por 100 de los miembros de la SS que trabajaron en el campo y sobrevivieron a la guerra han quedado impunes, que ni se arrepienten ni creen necesario excusarse con la obediencia a las órdenes recibidas y que ello no parece escandalizar hoy a sus conciudadanos. Este libro pretende despertar nuestras conciencias para que entre todos impidamos que vuelva a haber otro Auschwitz.

Laurence Rees

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