Customer Reviews
Excellent - By: Mr. A. Creelman, 22 Dec 2007 
A very thought provoking book. Shows what can happen if you keep givingin little by little.
Could not put it down. - By: M. L. Mitchell, 07 Jun 2007 This is a very human book, examining the character of the man who, through a series of decisions & circumstances, became commandant of Treblinka & oversaw the murder of a million people. What is fascinating is that there never seemed to be any malicein him - he was simply doing his job - & he wanted to do it well. The flawsin his character that drove him to this position are all too commonin many of us - & that makes this work a very powerful revelation.
An extraordinary read. - By: M. Warburton, 04 Dec 2006 As with her book on Albert Speer, Sereny goes looking for the man behind the myth, both self-created & fashioned by historical fact. Again as with Speer her determination to face up to this monster of a man is both compelling & disturbing. A difficult read understandably but Sereny's braveryin facing up to man of this sortin a bid to understand him is both rewarding, enlightening & worthy of your time.
Utterly unmissable!!! - By: , 30 Mar 2006 Gitta Sereny does a fantastic job here of transcribing her interviews with one of the key Nazi figures of Operation Reinhard. Franz Stangl held management positionsin not one, but two of the three Nazi death camps, where all prisoners were killed within 24 hours of arrival, with the exception of a small number who were kept alive to maintain the camp (also destined for death when all the Jews had been killed, if they lasted that long!) Please remember here that thousands & thousands of men, women & children were murderedin these camps.
Franz Stangl was commended on his efficient workin the camps & that is what makes these interviews so compelling. Here is a unique opportunity to look into the mind of a true Nazi, initially a very ordinary, non-descript man, & his recollection & feelings on his 'work' during WWII.
The book is completely un-biased, leaving the reader to decide whether or not this man was evil, easily led or otherwise! The author does not shy away from difficult or painful questions, (such as how Stangl felt about the killing of children & babies). This book must be read. There are very interviews from the menin key positionsin the death camps, & whether or not you believe all of Stangl's explanations, it does give you a compellable insight into the psyche of a Nazi.
Compelling - By: giraudtheunwilling, 28 Aug 2005 A grim but utterly compelling look at the mind of Nazi mass-murderer Franz Stangl. Incredibly, Stangl emerges as a kind of sympathetic figure, tortured by his profound moral failure & yet unable to fully face the truth of what happened. This is primarily a work of historical psychology, but also does a commendable job of rendering the history of the Nazi death machinein some detail.
Sereny has as usual interviewed almost anyone she could lay her hands on, although the result that the truth comes as but one (or none) of a number of competing versions, any of which seem plausible. Soin that regard Sereny is almost a detective, trying to sift through the masses of evasions, half-truths, mis-rememberances, & indeeed lies, & she ends up teasing out what seems to be very close to the ultimate strands of truth.
