The OBLIVIOUS Wife Of The Commandant Of Auschwitz

Inside of the concentration camps opened during the Second World War, there were a number of women who lived with their husbands who ran the evil camps. One woman who did was Hedwig Hensel, who lived with her husband Rudolf Höss at Auschwitz. Höss became known for being one of the most barbaric and brutal war criminals of the Second World War, and he was responsible for the deaths of millions of people at Auschwitz. However he led a rather double life, as when he was at home he was considered a doting father and he left his mass-murdering persona at the door. But it's believed that his wife Hedwig Hensel was rather oblivious to the crimes that were being carried out at Auschwitz by her husband.

She later claimed that she heard of the crimes of Auschwitz from another member of the SS, but then she confronted her husband about this and she even refused to sleep in the same bed as him. Her house that she was living inside was sheltered from the smoke of the crematoria, but at the end of World War 2 she told the allies where her husband was hiding. Rudolf Höss was then executed inside of Auschwitz for his evil crimes on a specially built gallows.

[zzzzipy]

I’m sure she knew exactly what was going on.

[TheFarinsqarin]

You would constantly smell the burning. I very much doubt she didn’t know, she had prisoners working in her home. She probably choose not to acknowledge it until she had too.

[mariaescosura]

The Zone of Interest shows vividly the daily life inside Hoss's family home. There was the smell from the chimneys and, more tellingly, the incessant loud noises and cries from the prisoners in the camp - she couldn't claim not to have known!

[brandyjean]

So did she allow her son to whip servants prior to living in the camp?
She probably wouldn't share her bed with him because he reeked of burnt flesh.
She left him because she saw the writing in the wall: they were losing.
I'm calling bs & she should be known as the lying wife.
In my opinion.

[kaylamanor]

She knew. Period. She knew. And if she CHOSE ignorance, she still knew.

[robertaevans]

Abhorrent vile people! They knew exactly what was happening.

[MrMalvolio]

She was NOT “oblivious, ” no more than the citizens of Dachau who walked past their concentration camp *every day* were. After the War, *many* Nazis found it All-Too-Convenient to “forget” or feign ignorance of what was TRULY, “secretly” going on. Not possible

[sonyastribling]

What’s shocking is she was allowed to immigrate to America.. she knew what was going on

[Devy]

Disgusting. Of course she knew. Like most sheep, she chose to turn a way. The son learned early too. Again, she is just as culpable.

[bradleysitsandsipstea]

She was not oblivious, and neither was the general public.

[ladythalia]

She knew, I’m sure. A book I read, “Playing for Time” by Fania Fenelon mentions that they had a Jewish nanny that they selected among the imprisoned women from the female orchestra in Auschwitz. She knew. Of course she knew.

[melly]

she was NOT oblivious, why would this even be suggested ?

[CT]

She knew exactly what happened. She toured the camp more than once and personally stole the possessions of murdered people. She even chose to stay at the camp when her husband was sent back to Berlin.

[wcgezfl]

His grandson testified, that family tried to keep it as a secret for many years.

[helgimarbjarnason]

In the movie Zone of Interest she obviously knew what was happening but she blocked in denial because she wanted the life and the great house they lived in.

[belindamackey]

She knew … she chose not to … she was as guilty as her her husband…

[jenniferngure]

Excuse me?! She knew everything that was happening there.

[UltraCinemaScope]

See the astounding film The Zone of Interest about this story.

[bronwyntaylor]

How could she not know, totally not possible

[simonharesnape]

In the film her mother goes home in disgust when she sees what's happening in the camp, leaving a letter for her daughter, if this fact was true then hedwig was more than aware of what was going on