The title is Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience. I have just finished reading one of the most profound (and profoundly disturbing) books I have encountered in my 75 years of life - originally published in 1974 by the journalist Gitta Sereny (who passed away at 91 in June 2012). I much prefer Longerich, but your mileage may vary. You can read Longerich's books and forget that he even exists, as the focus is entirely on the river of facts he's sending your way. The contrast in style between Sereny's books and Longerich's books on the Holocaust and on Himmler could hardly be stronger. Since I knew little detail about Treblinka before reading this book, Sereny certainly did teach me some history, but always there was Sereny herself in the foreground. The Epilogue is her personal Declaration of Faith about freedom, individuality, and society.Īll this may be quite appealing to many readers, but I personally was hoping for a little more history and a little less Oprah. We are taken along on a 50-page digression in which Sereny sets Stangl to the side and recounts her attempts to get the Vatican to come clean about its relations with Nazis and ex-Nazis. We are informed about Sereny's interpretation of the looks in her interviewees' eyes, the reddening of their faces, their slowness to respond to a question. We read about her many travels to interview various people, and how they hosted her. In this book on Stangl, as in her book on Speer, Sereny is not just the author but a prominent character herself. For any student of human rights, the Holocaust, or genocide, this is difficult, but essential reading. Gitta Sereny does a masterful job of cross-examining both her subject, Franz Stangl, and his friends and family members about their support for and participation in mass murder and torture, and the psychological mechanism of deep denial. This requires an understanding of how evil is allowed to persist. It is our work in this life to face up to this truth and do our best to work toward the former and away from the latter. one is gripped by a profound existential nausea." And I did feel sick to my stomach while reading much of this book - but it is important precisely because it serves as a most necessary reminder that each and every one of us is capable of deep good and profound evil. A quote from a review by Elie Wiesel on the rear cover perfectly sums it up - "Most often one is sick to one's soul. The remarkable story of Simon Wiesenthal and Franz Stangl is documented for all to see in the acclaimed documentary ‘The hunter and The Hunted’, which details their epic game of cat and mouse with stunning detail and insight from both sides of the equation.It is really difficult to give this book five stars because its content is so repugnant and disturbing. Yet despite his best efforts, Wiesenthal never discovered who this mysterious informant was or received any payment for his assistance in bringing one of WWII’s greatest villains to justice. It goes without saying that Stangl was high on Wiesenthal’s list of wanted war criminals taking no chances he immediately made a deal with the stranger but only sealed it upon capturing Stangl in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Following the conclusion of hostilities Stangl escaped via a ‘ratline’ to Brazil where he lived in comfort and safety until his eventual capture many years later. During World War II he rose through the ranks to become commandant at three Polish extermination camps where over 800,000 people were murdered. Stangl was an Austrian career policeman who joined the Nazi party and proved himself adept at executing Hitler’s brutal vision of racial superiority through genocidal violence. His pursuit was dramatically reaffirmed on Februwhen an unexpected visitor showed up at his office – a drunken man who offered to reveal the location of notorious Nazi war criminal Franz Stangl for a sum of $7,000. From his office at the Jewish Historical Documentation Centre located in Vienna, Austria, Wiesenthal has kept detailed files on hundreds of fugitive war criminals and relentlessly pursued their capture. Simon Wiesenthal is one of the most renowned figures in history for his tireless efforts to bring justice to victims of Nazi war crimes.
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