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From Patriotism to Perpetration:
Understanding Rudolf Hoess's Transformation Process
Teuntje Wenting (2818359)
Faculty of Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
R_Perp.byst: Atrocity Actors; Perpetrators, Bystanders and Victims
March 4, 2024
Word count: X
, 2
Introduction
The Führer has ordered that the Jewish question be solved once and for all and that we,
the SS, are to implement that order.
- Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of Auschwitz (p. 183), 1959.
This quote, extracted from the autobiography of Rudolf Hoess (1959), illustrates the
context of obedience in which horrific atrocities were carried out in concentration camps
during World War II (WWII). The German SS officer, born in 1900, rose through the ranks of
the Nazi regime to become the commandant of Auschwitz, the most infamous death camp of
WWII. Under his command, Auschwitz became known for the systematic murder of millions
of Jews, Roma, homosexuals, and others deemed undesirable by the Nazi ideology. Hoess’s
involvement in the so-called Final Solution was significant; he oversaw the implementation
of mass murder techniques, contributing to the industrial scale of the Holocaust (Hoess,
1959). His memoirs and analysis of his actions provides an insight into the rationalization and
justification mindset behind the genocide, as well as the ideological and organizational
mechanisms that facilitated such atrocities (Smeulers & Grünfeld, 2011).
Hoess's transformation from a seemingly ordinary background to becoming a
perpetrator of horrendous atrocities underscores the complex interplay of the role of ideology,
social context and agency. By applying a theoretical framework combined of relevant
theories and concepts, the following research question is answered: How did Rudolf Hoess
become a perpetrator of international crimes?
Hoess’s narrative provides an interesting case study for understanding the
mechanisms that enable individuals to commit such atrocities. The role of human agency in
causing atrocity, aside from famous experiments (Milgram, 1974; Zimbardo, 2007) and social
From Patriotism to Perpetration:
Understanding Rudolf Hoess's Transformation Process
Teuntje Wenting (2818359)
Faculty of Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
R_Perp.byst: Atrocity Actors; Perpetrators, Bystanders and Victims
March 4, 2024
Word count: X
, 2
Introduction
The Führer has ordered that the Jewish question be solved once and for all and that we,
the SS, are to implement that order.
- Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of Auschwitz (p. 183), 1959.
This quote, extracted from the autobiography of Rudolf Hoess (1959), illustrates the
context of obedience in which horrific atrocities were carried out in concentration camps
during World War II (WWII). The German SS officer, born in 1900, rose through the ranks of
the Nazi regime to become the commandant of Auschwitz, the most infamous death camp of
WWII. Under his command, Auschwitz became known for the systematic murder of millions
of Jews, Roma, homosexuals, and others deemed undesirable by the Nazi ideology. Hoess’s
involvement in the so-called Final Solution was significant; he oversaw the implementation
of mass murder techniques, contributing to the industrial scale of the Holocaust (Hoess,
1959). His memoirs and analysis of his actions provides an insight into the rationalization and
justification mindset behind the genocide, as well as the ideological and organizational
mechanisms that facilitated such atrocities (Smeulers & Grünfeld, 2011).
Hoess's transformation from a seemingly ordinary background to becoming a
perpetrator of horrendous atrocities underscores the complex interplay of the role of ideology,
social context and agency. By applying a theoretical framework combined of relevant
theories and concepts, the following research question is answered: How did Rudolf Hoess
become a perpetrator of international crimes?
Hoess’s narrative provides an interesting case study for understanding the
mechanisms that enable individuals to commit such atrocities. The role of human agency in
causing atrocity, aside from famous experiments (Milgram, 1974; Zimbardo, 2007) and social
