Rudolf Höß commandant at Auschwitz. part 7 of 18. As the Reich collapsed. August 1944 - May 1945.

Rudolf Höß left Auschwitz on 29 July 1944 and returned to his permanent position in the SS concentration-camp administration at Oranienburg. As chief of Amt D I within the SS Economic and Administrative Main Office, Höß continued to play a role in the administration of the concentration-camp system until the final collapse of Nazi Germany. After returning to Oranienburg, Höß resumed his work in Amtsgruppe D. His office dealt with correspondence with camp commandants and the RSHA, personnel appointments, inspections, prisoner transports, supplies, guard equipment, punishments and the deployment of concentration-camp prisoners as forced labour. The video examines Höß's return visits to Auschwitz, including his presence at the SS military hospital in September 1944 and his appearance in the Karl Höcker Album. It also considers the evidence surrounding his activities at other concentration camps, including Mauthausen, Bergen-Belsen and Ravensbrück. In January 1945, the evacuation of Auschwitz began. Approximately 56,000 prisoners were marched westwards between 17 and 21 January. Höß claimed that Oswald Pohl subsequently sent him to Silesia to restore order during the chaotic evacuation. He encountered Richard Baer at Gross-Rosen and attempted to reach Auschwitz, but Soviet armoured forces prevented him. Höß's account of the evacuation is examined critically, including his claims concerning the Auschwitz prisoner columns, the treatment of prisoners unable to march, his encounter with a Luftwaffe sergeant-major near Leobschütz and his meeting with Higher SS and Police Leader Heinrich Schmauser in Breslau. Even after Auschwitz had been evacuated, Höß continued to participate in the central administration of concentration-camp prisoners. On 23 February 1945 he issued a telex concerning prisoners at Flossenbürg who were being considered for transfer to the SS Dirlewanger Brigade. In March he claimed to have accompanied Oswald Pohl on a "lightning tour" of concentration camps, including Bergen-Belsen, where conditions had deteriorated catastrophically. As the war approached its end, the concentration-camp administration continued attempting to exploit prisoners for armaments production even as the SS destroyed records and prepared to abandon its headquarters. In April 1945, Höß supervised the destruction of records belonging to the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps at Oranienburg. The final section follows Höß and the remaining SS officials as they fled north after the evacuation of Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück. Höß travelled with members of the concentration-camp Inspectorate and SS families, eventually reaching the Flensburg area. There he described his final meeting with Heinrich Himmler and the collapse of the SS concentration-camp administration. Höß ultimately received false papers identifying him as Franz Lang and attempted to disappear among former German naval personnel. This channel distinguishes between documented archival evidence, contemporary records and Höß's own postwar testimony. Particular attention is paid to claims that cannot be independently verified, because understanding the limits of the evidence is essential when reconstructing the final year of Rudolf Höß's career. Sources discussed include Rudolf Höß's autobiography Commandant of Auschwitz, his 5 April 1946 sworn affidavit, the Karl Höcker Album, Arolsen Archives documentation, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum research, Stefan Hördler's work on the concentration-camp system during the final year of the war, and other specialist studies. Rudolf Höß after Auschwitz Rudolf Hoess after Auschwitz Rudolf Höß 1944 1945 Rudolf Hoess final year of the war Rudolf Höß Oranienburg Rudolf Hoess concentration camp inspectorate Rudolf Höß Amt D I Rudolf Hoess WVHA Rudolf Höß Auschwitz after July 1944 Rudolf Höß Ravensbrück Rudolf Hoess Bergen-Belsen Rudolf Höß Bergen Belsen Josef Kramer Rudolf Hoess evacuation of Auschwitz Rudolf Höß January 1945 Rudolf Hoess final days Nazi Germany Rudolf Höß escape 1945 Rudolf Höß, Rudolf Hoess, Rudolf Höss, Auschwitz, Auschwitz Birkenau, Rudolf Höß after Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoess 1944, Rudolf Höß 1945, Amt D I, WVHA, SS Economic and Administrative Main Office, concentration camp Inspectorate, Amtsgruppe D, Richard Glücks, Oswald Pohl, Bergen-Belsen, Bergen Belsen, Josef Kramer, Ravensbrück, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz evacuation, Auschwitz evacuation 1945, concentration camps 1945, Nazi Germany, SS, Holocaust, Holocaust history, World War Two, WWII history, Rudolf Hoess biography, Rudolf Höß biography, Rudolf Hoess final days, Rudolf Höß final year, Rudolf Hoess escape, Franz Lang, Karl Höcker Album, Flossenbürg, Mauthausen, concentration camp system, Nazi concentration camps, SS concentration camp administration, Rudolf Höß Oranienburg, Rudolf Hoess Ravensbruck #RudolfHoss #RudolfHoess #Auschwitz #Holocaust #Ravensbruck #Sachsenhausen