Das Erbe des Kommandanten - a few words from Rainer Höss, about his book pt.1

the cover of the book

Thanks to Anne (Bokofilia) I got to know about the book Das Erbe des Kommandanten. Written by the grandson of the infamous Rudolf Höss, Rainer Höss. I've bought the book and red it in German but I'm definetly going to buy the English version when it will be available March 2014 (just to be sure I understand it correctly). The book was really interesting as well as a bit sad. It most of all gave me a lot to think about.

       This is not the first time I've heard about Rainer Höss though. A while ago I watched the great documentary Hitlers children, a documentary who focus on the descendants of some of the high profile Nazi perpetrators. Amongst these descendants were also Katrin Himmler and Rainer Höss (If you have not seen it, I would highly reccomend you to do so). It's really interesting to know how their relatives huge crimes have affected their lives. Imagine signing in to a hotel as Mr/Ms Höss or Himmler... you must get a lot of different feedback from people you don't know... The documentary and also some of the books I've read this year, made me so curios that I finally got the courage to contact Rainer Höss and ask him a few questions. Thankfully he didn't find me to wacko so he sent me an e-mail in return. With his permission I have copied it into this blogpost.

Dear Karete,

i don’t had any Problems to ask me questions. Thanks for your nice Mail. I know not all people like my work or like in general what I do. They think it would be better to let the past rest. And others wrote smear and lies against me to stop my foregoing to built bridges. Never mind, I don’t stop until I die…

It was not easy to judge my family against the past. I research now more than 28 years my heirloom and the crimes which my family was involved. I cut the lines to all family members in 1985 including my father. I could not accept the way he lives the fact that his Father and my grandfather was a typical German monster. My father was deeply influenced by the Nazi Ideology. But it is not easy to get answers of all our Questions, mostly in my research I get more questions than answers.

To carry such burden, it is not easy at all. But where is a will there is a way to handle it. The path we after born had to walk, is very small and dangerous. And believe me I am far away from that ideology my father and his family lives until today. My grandfather, and that I accept was a beloved father, but also a brutal and rigorous human, feeling cold and inhuman. But that's not unusual in these criminals. They saw their work as a duty and loyalty to the homeland, what it has not done apologizing. you always have the option not to do it. For my Grandmother and my father he was a hero, without any doubt. I don’t now if my publisher company would be translate the book in Norwegian language, English version will be available next year around March.

You ask about the Book from Thomas Harding (Hanns and Rudolf). Thomas and I visit Auschwitz 2009 together, and yes the postscript at the end of the book is about me. Also the Picture at the book, shows me and my mom at the gate sign in 2009. Also Pictures which Thomas use in his Book are from the estate of my Grandfather.
Kind Regards,
Rainer 

I will write more about this book next year when I have red the English version. Hopefully I'll get some more words from Höss then. If you're curios about his book there's an excerpt from the it here.  It's also available in German on Amazon.The book by Thomas Harding that he reffers to, I've written a blogpost about earlier. It's in Norwegian and you can find it here.

Why have I written this in English? To be sure that Rainer Höss knows exactly what I have written about him, since I presume his Norewgian isn't fluent :)