Rudolf Hoess - Commandant of Auschwitz

Pohl was very capricious and often went from one extreme to the other. It was inadvisable to contradict him when he was in a bad humor, for this would result in a snub. But when he was in a good humor, even the most disagreeable and unpleasant things could be told him and he would not take them amiss. It was not easy to work with, him in his immediate presence for any length of time, and his adjutants were changed frequently and often with startling suddenness.

Pohl liked to show his position and his power. His uniform was deliberately simple and he wore no decorations, although Himmler forced him to wear the German Cross and the Knight’s Cross to the War Service Cross, with which he was later decorated.

In spite of his age (he was over fifty) he was exceptionally brisk and active, and tremendously tough. To accompany him on a duty journey was not an unmixed blessing.

Pohl’s behavior toward the Reichsführer SS was peculiar. He did everything through Himmler. Every letter and every teletype message was dispatched under Himmler’s name, and yet Pohl only went to him in person when he was summoned.

For Pohl every wish expressed by the Reichsführer SS, and they were not few in number, was a command. I have never known of an occasion when Pohl criticized or even expressed disapproval of an order from Himmler. An order from the Reichsführer SS was something that was settled and fixed, and had to be carried out exactly as it stood. Nor did he like there to be any discussion as to the interpretation or impracticability of these orders, which were often very obscure. This was especially so with regard to Kammler and Glücks, both of whom were very talkative; they were often bluntly reproved in this connection, although in other respects Pohl allowed them to take many liberties. In spite of his commanding personality Pohl was the most willing and obedient executive of all the wishes and plans of the Reichsführer SS, Heinrich Himmler.

He was a businessman and a veteran member of the Party and the SS. He originally came from Saxony. Before 1933 he held a senior position as accountant in his local SS unit.

In 1934 he took an administrative post in the SS in Munich, and Pohl brought him into the auditing department. His skill as an auditor had already been noticed by Pohl, and he was employed in the newly established Central Administrative Office concerned with the commercial undertakings of the SS, of which Pohl later made him inspector.

Maurer thus gained a knowledge of the concentration camps and took a particular interest in matters connected with the industrial employment of the prisoners. He obtained an insight into the peculiarities of the commandants and commanders of the protective custody camps and their negative attitude toward these industrial schemes. Most of the older commandants and commanders felt that the prisoners employed in the commercial undertakings were too well treated and also that the heads of these undertakings were learning too much from the prisoners about what went on in the camps. They played many tricks on the executives of these industries. They would, for example, suddenly remove skilled men and employ them on outside work, or retain them in the camp, or they would send them prisoners who were quite unfit for work.

Maurer dealt ruthlessly with these schemes by giving Pohl many reports which he found useful. On Maurer’s instigation and in order to avoid these unedifying intrigues, Pohl later made the camp commandants directors of all the commercial undertakings set up in the camp. They received a considerable monthly allowance for this according to the size of the industries, and later they received a share of the profits. As a result, the commandants paid more attention to these industries, and their subordinates were forced to recognize their needs.

It was Maurer, however, who persuaded Pohl to introduce a system of bonus payments. Later, in 1944, Maurer drew up, at Pohl’s request, the regulations for the payment of prisoners, which laid down that every prisoner was to be paid according to the work he had done. These regulations, however, were never carried into effect.

Soon after the incorporation of the Concentration Camp Inspectorate into the Economic Administration Head Office, Maurer became chief of department DH, concerned with the employment of prisoners. Maurer proceeded to organize this office with great thoroughness. He installed an employment officer in each camp, who was responsible to him and was thoroughly instructed in his task of procuring prison labor for the war industries. This officer also had to make a record of every prisoner’s trade or profession and take strict care that each prisoner was employed according to his abilities. Most of the commanders of the protective custody camps, as well as the Rapportführer and labor officers, tried to sabotage the work of the employment officer, because they wanted to continue to have independent control over the prisoners’ employment. At first this caused a lot of friction, but Maurer took severe action whenever any incidents of this kind were brought to his notice.

Maurer was an energetic man and had sharp eyes and ears. If anything was wrong in the camp he would notice it at once and either make the commandant aware of it or report the matter to Pohl.

Pohl had complete confidence in Maurer. When Glücks wanted to keep something unpleasant from Pohl, Maurer would always tell him about it.

After Liebehenschel’s departure, Maurer became Glücks’s deputy. By this appointment, Pohl to all intents and purposes handed the inspectorate over to Maurer. Glücks gradually entrusted all the most important matters to Maurer. He was Inspector in name only.

I had already known Maurer when I was at Dachau and Sachsenhausen, but we got to know each other better during my time as commandant of Auschwitz. We always got on with each other and worked together very well. I was able to bring many things to Pohl’s attention through Maurer, which it was impossible to do through Glücks. We shared the same views on almost all problems concerning the prisoners and the conduct of the camp. Only on the question of selecting the able-bodied Jews from the rest did we hold contrary opinions. Maurer wanted to employ as many Jews as possible, even those who would probably only be able to work for a short time, whereas I wanted only the fittest and strongest to be selected, for reasons which I have often explained. We never agreed on this matter, and although the results of Maurer’s attitude became plain enough later on, he refused to grasp their significance.

Maurer had watched the development of Auschwitz from the start, and I had drawn his attention to the deficiencies on every visit he made. He observed them for himself as well. He reported them all to Pohl, who was then inspector of the industrial undertakings, but it had no effect.

Maurer was always in favor of treating the prisoners well. During his factory inspections he often talked with the prisoners about their accommodations and feeding and about the way they were treated. By doing so, however, he often harmed the prisoners more than he helped them, since the Capos were always lurking in the background.

Maurer displayed enormous energy in pursuing his main task of obtaining labor for the armaments industry. He traveled a great deal, inspecting the start of an undertaking in one place, or the progress of one somewhere else, or solving difficulties which arose between the industrial chiefs and the labor company officers and hearing complaints about the prisoners’ work or from the industrial employers about their ill-treatment. There were hundreds of matters with which he had to deal. There was the eternal pressure from the Armaments Ministry and the Todt Organization for more prisoners, and the everlasting cry from Auschwitz about the many too many transports. Maurer had his full measure of work. But it was never too much for him, and in spite of his lively manner he maintained an unruffled composure.