Mauthausen

Mauthausen-Studien 8: Bertrand Perz

The eighth volume in the series looks at the activity reports of the head of the SS administration of the Mauthausen concentration camp between 1941 and 1944, an almost unparalleled source documenting events in the camp from the perspective of the SS administration.

In this report, the administrative section of the Mauthausen concentration camp recorded significant events relating to its remit within the overall organisation of the camp. The entries range from information on the number of prisoners and guards to visits from prominent Nazis to remarks on the presence of special units, such as the Sonderkommando Eichmann before the occupation of Hungary. It also covers the construction of the camp, the activation of the crematorium ovens, the purchase of clothing, food and crockery and the procurement of the poison gas Zyklon B. The bureaucratic routine detailed in activity report holds a mirror up to the National Socialist politics of persecution and extermination at the Mauthausen concentration camp.

In his introduction, Bertrand Perz describes the origin, provenance and significance of this unique document for concentration camp research. Detailed commentary is given for all the entries, rendering the report accessible to a wider readership.