Hedwig Hensel was born in 1908. In 1929, she married Rudolf Höss who was a member of the Nazi party.
When Hedwig married Rudolf, she took his last name. She became Hedwig Höss.
The couple Rudolf and Hedwig had five children:
** Klaus (1930-1986)
** Heidetraut (1932-2020)
** Inge-Brigitt (1933-2023)
** Hans-Jürgen (born 1937)
** Annegret (born 1943)
In 1933, when Hitler and the Nazi party came to power, Rudolf began to rise within the party and within the German government
In 1940, Rudolf was appointed as the commandant of the concentration camp Auschwitz in German-occupied Poland.
This camp was quickly transformed into a death camp whose primary purpose was to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe.
Rudolf and Hedwig lived with their children in a large villa next to the camp for three years (1940-1943).
Prisoners from the camp were used as household staff. One prisoner worked in the garden while another prisoner cleaned the house. A third prisoner worked in the kitchen, while a fourth prisoner was a chauffeur.
Whenever Hedwig needed a specific item such as a bracelet for herself or a daughter, she would order a prisoner to go to the camp and find a suitable item.
Did Hedwig know what was going on in the camp next to the house? Did the children know what was going on in the camp?
When questioned after the war, they claimed they did not know it was a death camp. They claimed they believed it was a prison camp.
It is hard to accept such a statement as truthful. How could they not know what was happening on the other side of the wall which separated the death camp from the villa?
In 1943, the family left Auschwitz. Rudolf had other positions in the Nazi government.
In 1945, when the war came to an end, the family tried to disappear. They decided to split up in order to avoid being found.
Hedwig and the children were found first. When questioned about her husband, Hedwig refused to say anything. But after a while, she changed her mind.
She told the British team which was looking for Rudolf where he was. He was hiding in Flensborg. He was living under a false name.
In 1946, he was identified and arrested. First, he testified at the Nuremberg trial in Germany. When he had testified in Germany, he was handed over to Poland.
In 1947, he was tried in a Polish court of law where he was found guilty. He was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out in 1947.
Hedwig lived on for many years.
She died in 1989.
Portrayed in modern media
Here are two examples:
(1) The life of the Höss family is the subject of a historical drama which premiered in 2023:
The Zone of Interest
(2) Hedwig Höss is one of six persons whose lives are portrayed in a historical drama (a miniseries with six episodes) which premiered in 2024:
A World Divided (1939-1962)
REFERENCES
# 1. The following items are available online
Meilan Solly
“The Real History Behind The Zone of Interest and Rudolf Höss,”
The Smithsonian Magazine
04 January 2024
Marta Balaga
“A World Divided Director Olga Chajdas Shares Trailer, Discusses Shows Characters,”
Variety
17 October 2024
# 2. Books
Hitler's Furies:
German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields
By Wendy Lower
(2013)
Nazi Women:
The Attraction of Evil
By Paul Roland
(2014)
Nazi Wives:
The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany
By James Wyllie
(2020 = hardcover)
(2021 = paperback)
# 3. Film and video
The Commandant's Shadow
This is a documentary film
** Director = Daniela Völker
** Run time = 103 minutes
(2024)
*****
This photograph shows
Hedwig and Rudolf Höss
with their five children
*****
The Commandant's Shadow
This documentary film
premiered in 2024
*****