THE DOCTORS OF AUSCHWITZ

27 January 1945. Soviet troops enter the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau for the first time and discover in horror the largest extermination camp of the Third Reich. While 60,000 prisoners had been evacuated at their approach, only 7,000 starving patients remained on site. How did they manage to survive this hell? What was the exact role of high-ranking Nazi officers, and in particular the doctors, in the organization of the camp?

Drawing on previously unpublished documents and numerous survivor testimonies, this work answers these questions and sheds light for the first time on the pivotal role played by SS doctors in the execution of the Final Solution. From 1940 to 1945, it was they who orchestrated the murders and exploited their status to commit the unthinkable. In addition to taking the lives of thousands, they used those they spared as guinea pigs for their medical experiments and, following the example of Josef Mengele, subjected them to the most appalling atrocities.

Fortunately, in a countermovement, the deported doctors showed tenacity and determination in caring for the sick around them and protecting their fellow sufferers. Lying, concealing, pilfering and falsifying became their watchwords. But how far were they prepared to go in compromising themselves to save lives? Should they accept collaboration and thus enter the "grey zone", so remarkably described by Primo Levi, in the hope of being spared?

Far from any Manichean simplification, Dr. Bruno Halioua masterfully traces the little-known history of the doctors of Auschwitz, and attempts to understand their psychology. A book as chilling as it is essential.

Work prefaced by Claude Quétel, and published with the support of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah.