The Auschwitz Commandant Who Tried to Escape—but Was Caught: Höss

Rudolf Höss was the longest-serving commandant of Auschwitz and one of the central figures in the development of the Nazi concentration camp system during the Second World War. Under his administration, Auschwitz evolved from a detention camp for political prisoners into the largest German concentration camp complex in occupied Europe and a key site in the Holocaust. Born in Baden-Baden in 1901, Höss grew up in a strict Catholic household shaped by discipline, obedience, and military ideals. After the First World War and the political unrest that followed Germany’s defeat, he joined nationalist paramilitary groups before becoming a committed supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement. In 1934, he entered the SS and began his service at Dachau concentration camp, where methods of control and repression that later spread across the camp system were first developed. In 1940, Höss was appointed commandant of Auschwitz in occupied Poland. Over the following years, the camp expanded dramatically. New camp sections, railway links, and industrial facilities transformed Auschwitz-Birkenau into a centre of forced labour, deportation, and mass murder. Under Höss’s supervision, transports arrived from across occupied Europe carrying Jews, Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and other victims targeted by Nazi racial policy. This documentary examines how Rudolf Höss organised the daily operation of Auschwitz, his relationship with Heinrich Himmler and the SS leadership, and the role of camps such as Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz, and Ravensbrück within the wider system of Nazi Germany. It also explores the collapse of the Third Reich, Höss’s attempt to hide under a false identity after the war, and his eventual arrest by British investigators in 1946. The film follows his transfer to Poland, the trial before the Supreme National Tribunal in Warsaw, and the final chapter of the man who oversaw Auschwitz during some of the darkest years of the twentieth century. Narrator: Marchand Steenkamp. Join World History channel and get access to benefits:    / @worldhistoryvideos   Disclaimer: All opinions and comments below are from members of the public and do not reflect the views of the World History channel. We do not accept promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on attributes such as: race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation. World History has the right to review the comments and delete them if they are deemed inappropriate. ► CLICK the SUBSCRIBE button for more interesting clips:    / @worldhistoryvideos   #RudolfHöss #rudolfhoess #hoss #ww2documentary #worldwar2videos #worldhistory #warcriminals #warcrimes #auschwitzbirkenau #auschwitz #holocaustdocumentary #holocausteducation #holocaustremembrance #oświęcim #concentrationcamps #thirdreich #warstories #dachauconcentrationcamp Rudolf Höss biography, Rudolf Höss, Rudolf Hoess, Rudolf Franz Höss, Commandant of Auschwitz, Commandant Auschwitz, Rudolf Hess Auschwitz, Who ran Auschwitz, Who was in charge of Auschwitz, Auschwitz commander, Auschwitz leader, Commander of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoess Auschwitz, Auschwitz Rudolf Hoess, Head of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoess wife, Rudolf Hoess children, Poland during World War 2, Battle of Poland, Germany attacks Poland, When did Germany invade Poland, Poland WW2, German invasion of Poland, German occupation of Poland, Holocaust in Poland, Poland Holocaust, Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Rudolf Höss and Heinrich Himmler, Zyklon B Auschwitz, Nazi criminals, Auschwitz commandant, When did Germany invade Poland, Rudolf and Hedwig Höss, SS camps, German SS, how did the gas chambers work, Zyklon B gas, what gas was used in the holocaust, Commandant of Ravensbrück concentration camp,