The True Story of the German Jew Who Caught the Kommandant of Auschwitz
It was murder on an industrial scale, and few may know it was the creation of one man; Auschwitz Kommandant Rudolf Höss. Today, we hear how he was caught by the first Nazi Hunter; the lone German who tracked him down, brought him to justice, and exposed the ghastly project for what it was.
Rudolf Höss did humanity one service. He helped detail some of the vast criminal intentions of the Nazis. And that might not have happened but for the efforts of the man who tracked Höss down.
Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht -- the night of Nazi mayhem that killed dozens of German Jews, destroyed Jewish property and sent thousands to concentration camps.
Life wasn't easy for Jews in Germany during the 1930s. But after Kristallnacht, there was a likelihood of no life at all. The crimes of the death camps such as the one Rudolf Höss oversaw stagger and revolt the imagination.
Hoss testified to the mass murder, and explained in detail how the terrible business was done. He was brought to justice because of the determined work of a German Jewish officer, working for the British military.
The dramatic story is told by Thomas Harding in his new book Hanns and Rudolf: The True Story of the German Jew Who Caught the Kommandant of Auschwitz. Thomas Harding was in London, England.
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This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal
Monday: Underage Canadian soldiers in WWI
Monday is Remembrance Day and we'll have a story that Canadians have certainly forgotten -- if they ever knew it at all.
It's no secret that many of the soldiers Canada dressed in uniform and sent to France weren't quite adults. But some were barely into their teens. A new book on Canada's Boy soldiers suggests as many as 20,000 underage troops were shipped overseas.
Private Willie Daily of Ganonoque lied about his age and signed up -- at age 14.
Private Percy McClare fought at Vimy Ridge when he was just 17 -- and wrote a letter in pencil to his mother describing the fighting.
Join us Monday to remember the boy soldiers who served in the First World War.
Last Word - CBC's Living Out Loud
This Sunday evening on CBC's Living out Loud, on CBC Radio One, a story tied to Remembrance day about events one nation has tended to forget.
It's the story of what happened to Italian Jews under the government of Benito Mussolini. The documentary is the result of years of work by freelance producer Roxana Olivera who examined hundreds of newly released documents relating to Italy's actions during the Second World War... Documents such as the deportation list police used to arrest Jews in Siena in 1943.
Living Out Loud on CBC Radio One airs at 8pm on Sundays.