Ideological Training of the SS Garrison of the Camp

The transcript of the podcast

What did ideological training for SS personnel at the Auschwitz camp look like and how did the ideology of national socialism influence the functioning of this SS formation? These questions are addressed in our podcast by dr. Agnieszka Kita, Deputy Head of the Auschwitz Museum Archives.

Let us start with the issue of national socialist ideology in the SS and the role of the SS in the Third Reich.

National socialist ideology was, in a sense, the foundation of the operation of the SS and, of course, the most critical factor in SS training. However, before the official concentration camps were established in 1933, such ideological and semantic foundations for SS training had long since developed. This took place in the waning days of the Weimar Republic.

Here was a specific form of power struggle, which took place not only in the political arena, but also transformed into a battle in the strict sense of the word on the streets of German cities. Killing an enemy took on a completely different meaning. Namely, political assassinations ceased to be a political act and became a means of killing an enemy in the fight for a better Germany. So, we see here that defending ideology involves not only public debates, but also tangible, drastic actions. Furthermore, Hitler, as leader of the National Socialist Party, did not instruct his subordinates. He simply issued them orders, and these orders were interpreted as military orders, meaning they had to be obeyed. Disobeying an order was effectively tantamount to high treason. Therefore, as we can see, this ideology of National Socialism was quite specific. As I mentioned, the foundations of SS training were already being developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Furthermore, as I hope this entire podcast will demonstrate, National Socialist ideology was a key element of SS training. In a sense, the SS was to become a symbol of National Socialism, because the SS guards were supposed to be not only new people, exemplary National Socialists, new Germans in racial terms, but also ideologically. It is said that the SS were political soldiers, which distinguish them from traditional soldiers, such as members of the Wehrmacht, in that the Wehrmacht fought an external enemy. This is the task of every army, whereas the SS's task was to fight an internal enemy, meaning the one within the Reich. In essence, the SS guards were the vanguard of National Socialism and the Third Reich's conquests, because to begin fighting the external enemy, one must first secure one's rear, meaning defeating the internal enemy. Therefore, this task fell to the SS. And where could we find such internal enemies? In the concentration camps, of course. This was also one of the reasons why the SS took over the concentration camps, and why the SS men became guards in the concentration camps. As I mentioned, the SS guards were supposed to be, in a sense, the embodiment of National Socialism. Therefore, it was a system of interconnected vessels. On the one hand, they had to be entrenched in National Socialism, and on the other, they were to be its symbol and a role model for other citizens, as the nation's elite. Consequently, these two elements mutually reinforced each other, and as a result, National Socialist ideology was crucial in the training of SS guards. And it was intended to aid them in their intended role, primarily as political soldiers, and later as a symbol of the Third Reich in the occupied territories as well. The first concentration camp where SS guards served was Dachau, established on March 22, 1933. Initially, the guards at this camp were policemen, but it quickly became clear that for various reasons, both political and disciplinary, they were not particularly suited. In June 1933, when Theodor Eicke became the camp's second commandant, SS guards also became guards, and this was the pattern until more or less the end of the war.

Let's then move on to Theodor Eicke himself and his role in creating guidelines for the ideological training of concentration camp staff members.

Generally, Theodor Eicke is a key figure when we discuss the history of concentration camps and the role of SS guards. He was a person who created two regulations of the functioning of concentration camps. One concerned prisoners, and the other, SS guards. Eicke was a very interesting figure in the entire National Socialist movement, and his influence on the development and construction of not only the concentration camps, but also the SS itself, cannot be underestimated. Niels Weise wrote an interesting biography of Theodor Eicke, in which he devotes a great deal of space to Eicke's past and how he became who he was. Commandant of Dachau, later inspector of concentration camps, and later commander of the SS Totenkopf Division. He also presents his career. However, what is most important for us is, of course, the initial stage of Theodor Eicke's career. He was a very ideological, fanatical Nazi, a veteran fighter who supported Nazism long before Adolf Hitler seized power, and took the task entrusted to him, which was the concentration camps, to heart. As I mentioned, in June 1933, he became the second commandant of the first official concentration camp, Dachau Concentration Camp. He set himself the task of creating an elite within the elite. That is, this elite was to be the SS, and the elite within the elite were to be the concentration camp guards. Here, Eicke achieved a truly remarkable feat, however trivial it may sound, because he transformed the sentries, or rather the prisoner guards, into a formation that uniquely embodied the idea of National Socialism, not only theoretically, but above all, in practice. It is precisely this practise, it seems to me, that is the most terrifying, the most cruel thing we see in the operation of concentration camps. Why did Eicke have such ambitions? It stemmed primarily from his fanaticism, so to speak, his fanatical belief in National Socialism, his antisemitism, and his belief and need to prove himself and prove his worth after the turmoil of his earlier life. Above all, he told his men that the service they performed was not a duty of an overseer of prisoners, but a very honourable service in defence of the fatherland and of the Führer, because they protected their fellow citizens from these internal enemies. Who was Eicke looking for? This is also very important, because it wasn't like he just showed up and started training people. He had an exact plan for who he wanted to train, how he wanted to train them, and what results he wanted to achieve. This is generally evident if you trace the history of the first concentration camps and how Eicke trained his future staff. Above all, he sought out very young men, preferably those fresh out of the Hitler youth, age 17 to 19, because young people are easier to mould. They don't yet have established views. Therefore, such men, especially those who had left the Hitler youth, where the seeds of National Socialism had already been sown, were much easier to manage than mature, politically mature men.

Therefore, these were the people Eicke sought. He also tried to train his men in a few traits, such as loyalty, toughness, camaraderie with other SS guards, and a sense of duty. He believed that serving in a concentration camp wasn't just ordinary service, but rather a form of self-improvement. His task was to educate these men. Eicke was tough on his charges, which I'll discuss in a moment. But on the other hand, he was a very supportive person, one might say. He was nicknamed Papa Eicke. He was able to take SS guards whose families had, in a sense, disowned them because of their party affiliation or for leaving the church, and yet he was able to take them in and invite them to dinner. He didn't divide his men into officers or privates, but treated everyone equally. Consequently, he was a charismatic leader, and this was crucial in his training, because people listened to him. They wanted to listen to him. He also sought out people who were ruthless and tough on prisoners, disciplined individuals, and antisemites. Of course, antisemitism was one of the key points in Eicke's ideology. Wherever he appeared, he was also featured in various antisemitic newspapers, with Der Stürmer at the forefront, as well as magazines widely available in the barracks among his men, which they could familiarise themselves with. As a result, his ideological training was very intense. Still, on the other hand, it proceeded quite naturally, as if by induction into camp service, as Eicke, in a sense, administered the camp's cruelty to his men. Such rites of passage, recalled by those who served under Eicke, include the fact that all SS guards had to witness the floggings. At least one company had to be present when the prisoners were being whipped, and great care was taken to ensure that people didn't avert their eyes while watching the floggings. For example, Rudolf Höss recalls in his autobiography that Eicke was very keen to accustom his men to violence and cruelty, and, on the other hand, to show them that these prisoners weren't really human beings, that they were criminals, that they were dangerous individuals who had to be treated precisely in this way. The idea was to transform wimps and civilians into, as he called them, true SS guards. Ruthless, dangerous, and understanding their mission. Therefore, as we can see, Eicke employed not only purely ideological training, but also a kind of practical training, if we can call it that. Many SS guards who later served at Auschwitz, and indeed, many concentration camp commandants in general, came from Eicke's school. Such as Rudolf Höss, Hans Aumeier, Richard Baer, and Josef Kramer. They all began their careers in Dachau, and this was significant, because if they later became camp commandants and influenced the operation of the camp, or served in those camps, Eicke's school was, in a sense, copied by them. This was in keeping with the Dachau model, which was intended to be a model camp for others. Interestingly, Eicke could also be very strict, because if he saw an SS guard becoming too familiar with prisoners, too lenient, too kind, he would humiliate him in front of his fellow garrison members, publicly demoting him, ripping off his shoulder pads, and expelling him from the SS. If it weren't for Heinrich Himmler, he likely would have sent them to concentration camps as well, as he found it unthinkable for SS guards to become familiar with prisoners. Eicke indeed held the position as commandant of Dachau for about a year. Still, his promotion and the establishment of the Concentration Camp Inspectorate in 1934, along with his official authority over the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the guard units in the concentration camps from 1935 onwards, gave him enormous influence over the training structures. He influenced how SS guards would be trained and established certain guidelines for the future instructors. He sought out both veteran fighters and young men born just before the outbreak of World War I, naturally, National Socialist fanatics, whose attitudes would influence their subordinates, the SS guards they were training. On the other hand, he also valued a certain amount of military experience. He welcomed people in such positions who had at least some experience commanding men at the platoon or squad level, so perhaps not senior officers, but individuals who had some ability to manage people. But as he himself said, military training was not what mattered most to the guard units in the concentration camps. In 1936, Eicke stated quite clearly that the strength of his men came not from the training grounds, drill or mess halls, but solely from our worldview, namely, National Socialism. This was something Eicke promoted, something he was very proud of, and what these training officers or those responsible for training the SS guards also aimed to achieve was the implementation of National Socialism. The point was to strengthen them in National Socialism and all their actions, their entire lives, were to be based on the ideology of National Socialism.

Are there any surviving documents regarding the training of SS guards at Auschwitz? Who was responsible for such training?

Of course, such documents have survived. Perhaps not in our archives themselves, but searching various archives of other memorial sites and other camps, one can come across such documents. I assume they were also used at Auschwitz, as they were universal documents created under Eicke's influence. And since Dachau, as the Musterlager, a model camp, served as an example for other camps, they were organised more or less the same way. Therefore, we can venture to say that such documents were also in force at Auschwitz. That is, we can also see this from the camp practise itself, that this was the case. It's a very interesting document. There are many, of course, and it's impossible to describe them all, but there are a few key documents I'd like to highlight here. For example, Lessons on the Duties and Responsibilities of a Guard. It's a collection of questions and answers for concentration camp guards. It's divided into four sections. The first section covers the basics of guard duty in a concentration camp. Here we have information about what a concentration camp is, who is in a concentration camp, why guard duty in a camp is important. In short, everything Theodor Eicke always talked about. These questions and answers are designed to shape and convince the guard that this is right, that this is how it should be. The second is the general duties of a guard, and the third are the specific duties of a guard. Here we have information about what a guard must do, their functions, where they stand guard, and how they should relate to prisoners, such as the distance they should maintain from them, and the duties of a guard on watchtowers. There's information there, for example, that falling asleep while on duty is a war crime, punishable by death. Here's an interesting tidbit. We have the third company's punishment book, and it contains information about an SS guard falling asleep while on guard duty, or sitting on the grass while on duty instead of guarding working prisoners. In fact, none of them were sentenced to death. They were sentenced to arrest or reprimand, but not the death penalty. Of course, there was a certain reference to frontline soldiers, but it's worth noting that fighting on the home front, as I mentioned, was also considered combat. Hence, the comment about endangering colleagues, comrades, and danger made perfect sense. The fourth part, however, discusses the handling of weapons, including when to fire, how to operate them, how to clean and maintain them, and so on. So we see guidelines here that we can also observe among guards at Auschwitz when reading various documents, or even memoirs and testimonies from survivors. We see that these regulations were indeed in force here as well. Breaking these regulations, of course, meant becoming an enemy of the nation and risking being sent to a concentration camp. But as I mentioned, this was a bit of an exaggeration. We can't interpret them so literally. What's also very important about these regulations, and what's evident in the commandant's orders, not only from Auschwitz, but also from other camps, is that the guard was supposed to be a role model, an example for the prisoners. This meant not only ideological leadership, a true National Socialist who was supposed to show the prisoners that National Socialism was the good, true ideology. And if you behaved like me, if you were a good National Socialist, you would be allowed to leave this camp. But also visually. That is, the image of the military was much more prominent here than in ordinary units. Here, an SS guard had to look neat and in accordance with regulations. Not only because of military requirements, but also because it represented the ideal to which a prisoner in the camp should aspire. A neat uniform, all buttons fastened, a shiny helmet, and shiny shoes without any frills or accessories. This was what the prisoner was supposed to identify with, as perverse as it sounds. These were the theoretical assumptions of these regulations, and the SS training also emphasised their appearance. For example, at Sachsenhausen, one commandant threatened the SS guards in the commandant's office that if they didn't wear their hair in accordance with regulations, he would find a prisoner barber who would cut their hair as he saw fit. Therefore, we see that this was more than just a regulation of military principles and regulations. This is why so many orders regarding the appearance and behaviour of SS guards also appear. Here, I'd also like to address the training contained in many memoirs of SS guards who served not only in concentration camps, but also in frontline units. Specifically, the training involved one week of SS guard duty in a concentration camp, followed by three weeks of additional military training. There's information that many young men who joined the SS in these guard units were not particularly pleased with the idea of having to serve in a concentration camp at all. Some managed to avoid the fate of guard duty for the entire war and served in frontline units, while others spent the entire war, so to speak, on the watchtower or in the camp as sentries. However, what I'd like to say next is that although I'll focus on ideological training here, it's impossible not to mention the military training provided by the SS, as it also influenced how the SS later treated prisoners. This training was very brutal and very specific. It was much harsher, one might say, than, for example, the soldiers serving in the Wehrmacht as a rule. However, the brutality of this training later caused the SS guards to vent their frustration on the prisoners. According to the principle that the beaten later beat others, they later treated prisoners in the same way, because they knew nothing else. So all the exhausting exercises called sport that we hear about in the prisoners' stories originated in the SS barracks, because they were also treated in the same way. Therefore, we see that this service, also from the SS guards' perspective, was not easy. Despite this ideological training and the physical preparations that had hardened their characters, many of them were unable to cope. However, on the other hand, there is very little information in the sources about suicides among SS personnel. Returning to the documents we are discussing here, important documents can be found in the SS guards' personal files. One of these is a briefing, usually given by the Lagerführer, that generally concerns the contact and treatment of prisoners. After the Lagerführer's briefing, each SS officer was required to sign a document confirming their familiarity with these rules. Such training was organised every few months in accordance with the orders of the SS and inspectorate training offices. Other documents we can find include information and instructions that Adolf Hitler alone had the power to decide about a prisoner's life and death, which was obviously untrue, because, knowing the realities of concentration camps, we know perfectly well that any SS officer could even kill a prisoner without significant consequences. Another interesting document demonstrates that this ideological training was not always entirely effective. This document, published at the time of the mass deportation and extermination of the Jewish population at Auschwitz, states that misappropriating any Jewish property was a war crime and punishable by death. So we see that being an SS guard was somewhat tempting in Auschwitz because in a wartime situation with a shortage of all goods, food, and so on, Jewish property is tempting. However, here, according to the ideology of National Socialism, you couldn't take it for yourself. You had to send it back to the Reich. This is, of course, a huge hypocrisy and it wasn't like that. Nevertheless, we find such information in the SS documents. We also find information about the trials of SS guards who had taken Jewish property and were often expelled from the SS and arrested, imprisoned in various SS camps, or sent to the front. We also have testimonies about their service records. These may not be documents that directly tell us about training. Still, they do tell us how that training affected people, because the SS guards are held accountable not only for their duties, but also for their good National Socialists. As if one thing were equal to another, if someone performed their duties meticulously, treated other SS men with kindness, and didn't become familiar with prisoners, it automatically meant they were sufficiently entrenched in the National Socialist ideology. This was a person who could be trusted and therefore someone who could be proposed for promotion and who could eventually pursue a career in the SS. On the other hand, there were reports that an SS guard wasn't particularly good at his duties, even becoming too familiar with prisoners. Such individuals were often punished with demotion or removal from their duties. Therefore, we can see here that despite these ideological trainings, some absorbed these National Socialist guidelines more than others. This is quite obvious, as these were different people with different backgrounds and varying degrees of sensitivity. Interestingly, regarding training, the concentration camp offered not only ideological training, but also purely practical training, which I'll discuss later. I want to point out that at Auschwitz, for example, an SS guard could even obtain a driving licence for a motorcycle, car or truck, whichever was needed. Turning specifically to ideological training and who was responsible for it. In the initial period, there was a staff sergeant at the commandant's office whose duties included the ideological training of the SS guards, as well as organising their free time. From the autumn of 1941, Kurt Knittel, Unterscharführer and later Oberscharführer, or later sergeant, came to Auschwitz from Oranienburg. He assumed the position of head of department six, responsible for the training and security of guard units. His name appears for the first time in an order from the commandant's office on October 17th, 1941. It seems to be the first mention of this sixth department in Auschwitz, which coincides somewhat with the testimony of Kurt Knittel from the Frankfurt trial, in which he says that he arrived at Auschwitz in the autumn of 1941. He took over as head of this sixth department, Abteilung VI. He had four men under him. We know the names of two of them. One was Leopold Behrends, the other Heinrich Neumann. This department six consisted of a chief, in this case Knittel, a writer, a person responsible for screening and acquiring films, and a library manager. This included all the tasks that this department faced and had to perform. Kurt Knittel was responsible for the ideological training of SS guards, as I mentioned. He also participated in various conferences and training sessions for heads of department or Abteilung VI from other camps. For example, in 1942, he was in Berlin, where he not only participated in a training session that included lectures on national socialism, the history of the SS, and the Nazi party, but also attended various cultural events. As a speaker, he presented a report on his work at Auschwitz. How did this department six function? And what were its specific tasks? Primarily, ideological training and entertainment for the SS guard units in the camp were provided. But I would like to focus solely on these ideological lectures and this issue. Above all, there were lectures organised by department six. These were mandatory lectures. They were divided among rank-and-file SS guards, non-commissioned officers, and officers. The only difference between these mandatory lectures was that the lectures for officers concluded with a communal dinner. The training materials used came from the SS headquarters, the training department, and were ordered, as it were, by Knittel, or by the entire department six. In documents at the Bundesarchiv in Berlin, concerning the economic and management department of the SS, we can find materials that provide information on what Knittel ordered, when it arrived, in what quantities, and so on. Very often, these were books for the library, because every concentration camp, if it was large, meaning, if it had more than three guard companies, was required to have a library containing at least 150 books and 40 song books. Furthermore, department six had to have its own library at the disposal of its chief, which contained approximately 50 books. Knittel did indeed have such a library, as we can see from the account of a young woman who came here as a teacher at the German school in Auschwitz, and he and his wife welcomed her very warmly. She was supposed to replace his wife as a teacher, and she said that he offered to lend her books from his library, because the school's book supply was poor. Therefore, Knittel did indeed have such a library here at Auschwitz, and it's worth noting that from 1941 until the camp's dissolution, he held the position of head of department six. So what lectures were actually organised for the SS? Primarily, they were intended to familiarise them with the history of the party, the history of national socialism, the history of the SS, but also the international situation. They discuss contemporary issues in the orders issued by the Auschwitz camp command. Such information has survived, including exemplary lectures such as the political and military significance of combating bandits in the Balkans, the question of German prisoners of war in Russia, and the political situation and the priority of the commander's worldview tasks. These were for officers. Many lectures were also devoted to Volksdeutsche and Reichsdeutsche. This stemmed from the fact that the Reichsdeutsche SS guards, it seems to me, and this is also confirmed in sources and studies, that the Reichsdeutsche SS guards treated these Volksdeutsche SS guards as second class SS guards. However, the SS training department in Oranienburg, Berlin, was determined to foster a very close bond between the SS guards. So they tried to bring them closer together to bridge the barriers that divided them. Very often, this was a language barrier. So it happened that the Volksdeutsche SS guards held their lectures in their native languages. They were even sent for intensive German language training to master the language and communicate with their colleagues and superiors. Therefore, the Volksdeutsche training is also a quite interesting topic here, and I think it deserves a separate discussion. However, there were indeed many such lectures. One can observe a tendency. The longer the war lasts, the more political lectures there are, and the less emphasis is placed on entertainment. 44 was probably the most intense year here at Auschwitz in terms of lectures and ideological training. In addition to lectures conducted by members of Department 6, we also had external experts who taught the SS guards and informed them on topics related to their field, such as chemistry, anti-aircraft defence, and racial issues. Therefore, such external experts also came to the concentration camps and told the SS guards various things. Of course, all of this was underpinned by National Socialist ideology, because as a totalitarian ideology, National Socialism was everywhere. Everything had to be underpinned by National Socialist ideology. Regarding the end of Department 6's activities at Auschwitz, it dates back to January 16, 1945. The last entry we have in the Commandant's Orders is from January 16, 1945, which informs us of a lecture that was supposed to take place on January 23, concerning hostile propaganda. What's worth knowing about the training and the activities of Department 6 in general is what was actually in the library I mentioned earlier. Books, newspapers, magazines. What books, exactly? Unfortunately, none of this has survived. Nevertheless, by reviewing the documents in our archive and those in Berlin, one can attempt to recreate such a collection. I won't cite it here, but it can be reconstructed because these departments, these libraries, were very standardised, and copies of books were ordered by various Department 6 heads, which arrived at the camps at specific times. The press, of course, includes classics like "Das Schwalze Korps", Völkischer Beobachter, and magazines. The SS's main training magazine, the SS-Leitheft, was essentially the magazine. So, as we can see here, regarding these Department 6 libraries, they contain books that described and spoke about the ideology of National Socialism, the National Socialist point of view. Of course, there were various books on race research, anti-Semitism, the influence of Jews on what was happening in the world, analysis of political opponents, etc., etc. Sometimes such a library also contained copies of fiction and literature. Still, of course, they were all by German authors, or, as it were, with the consent of the National Socialist, censorship. So, only those permitted for reading. Still, these were not only books related to the ideology of National Socialism, but also lighter literature, of course. For example, Karl May, which could not be missing.

What other materials were used in the ideological training of SS guards?

There was a relatively large amount of this material. As I mentioned earlier, it was created by the SS Race and Settlement Main Office. However, I'd like to focus here on the SS Leitheft, as I mentioned above for two reasons. First, it was the main SS training magazine. And second, it has some connection to Auschwitz, as one of the authors of the text for a time was Joachim Caesar, who later also served at Auschwitz. Interestingly, in the late 1930s, he made significant contributions to the development and construction of various training units and institutions for SS guards, which he headed at the time. He also, in a sense, set certain organisational and ideological trends regarding what SS guards should learn and what should be included in these materials. As I mentioned, he wrote for SS Leitheft. Therefore, here we have an element connecting the training of SS guards from Auschwitz with Joachim Caesar, who later headed a farm here. Editions of SS Leitheft were sent by the SS Training Department. They were published from January 1935 to October 1944 and created by the Training Department of the SS Race and Settlement Main Office. What topics were covered? Primarily, the basics of National Socialist Ideology. Of course, the study of race and heredity. German history broadly defined German-ness. Studies on political opponents. Later, during the war, information began to appear about the war and soldiers, including their duties and virtues. Of course, there were many quotes from Adolf Hitler, including discussions of chapters from Mein Kampf, as well as other authors and other important figures in National Socialist Ideology. It's worth asking how substantive these articles were. And here, on the one hand, it's clear that they were written to support a thesis. On the other hand, however, in a sense, they demonstrated a quite decent level of historical knowledge. Interestingly, for example, in one article, there are many of them, concerning Germanic people, or more precisely, the Vikings. We have a comparison of the depiction of Vikings in Wagner's operas with what they actually looked like, based on archaeological research. We have information indicating that this is a staged fabrication. They didn't look like that. And we actually have a comparison with the Vikings, who did look that way. Therefore, it's substantive because it somehow debunks these historical myths. But, on the other hand, many such myths are created, especially when it comes to articles about Jews, political opponents, or racial issues. So in terms of substantive content, it's impossible to say for sure. On the other hand, ideology and, as I said, thesis-driven writing obscure the substance of these articles. But their purpose wasn't to inform, but to shape certain attitudes and worldviews. And because experts signed them, their pseudoscientific nature, in quotation marks, gave them a certain validity and, in a way, legitimised their content. Therefore, you can indeed find some valuable content here. However, the vast majority of it is propaganda, characterised by aggressive and shallow writing, especially, as I mentioned, when it comes to Jews and other political opponents. Interestingly, the form and content of these materials, this magazine, changed throughout the war. While the 1930s were initially the focus, the subject matter is more closely related to the National Socialist Movement, its ideology, and political opponents. When war breaks out, the longer it lasts, the more materials there are devoted to soldiers. Letters from the front are reprinted, certain heroic attitudes are presented, and the attitude of soldiers that should be criticised as not soldierly are also discussed. I'm referring here to desertion, military theft, and so on. For example, there are articles from the SS military court, and they, of course, cite stories of SS guards who behaved un-SS-like, however that may sound. However, there are, of course, examples of heroism and sacrifice, not only for their comrades-in-arms, but also for their homeland. The longer the war lasts and the situation on the front becomes worse, the more such articles appear. Interestingly, the SS Light Heft was very comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics. It also touched on the private and family lives of SS guards, as there are articles that discuss what the ideal partner, the ideal wife of an SS guard, should look like. About a woman's duties, and even compare women's childbearing to men fighting on the front. All the classic tenets of National Socialism, dressed up in such lofty terms, can be found there. It was an ideology conveyed in a rather interesting way, it must be admitted. As I mentioned, not necessarily substantive, but the texts are interesting and very simple, and I think they resonated with people. Therefore, this magazine could be said to be important, and it's no wonder it was commissioned by the six departments in various concentration camps and used as training materials. Besides verbal propaganda, we also have visual propaganda, meaning we have a lot of photos, and we see here that these magazines were also intended, perhaps even primarily, for frontline soldiers. We have many photos of beautiful places in Germany, children, women, so there's also a kind of visual propaganda letting us know what we're fighting for. Our beautiful country, our beautiful women, our beloved children, and so on. We have both visual and verbal propaganda here, which certainly had an impact on the people. As I mentioned, these SS-Leithefte were very interesting materials for training SS guards, from a researcher's perspective. I think they're worth reading if anyone has the opportunity. Still, I'd like to warn you right away that you should read them very carefully due to the amount of ideology and Nazi propaganda they contain. Nevertheless, for researchers or for those experienced in this field, I find them to be very interesting and knowledge-enhancing literature. I'd also like to point out one more thing about training materials, as I found various pieces of information from various camps regarding the willingness of SS guards to participate in these training courses. And perhaps this is also worth mentioning. For example, at Auschwitz, we have information that many SS guards ordered training materials themselves until the Kommandant finally said no. Only Department 6 could do that. We have information that many books were borrowed or read, but that's another matter entirely. A debtor list had to be created because the SS guards were holding on to these books. On the other hand, Eugen Kogan reports that at Buchenwald, SS guards didn't even read newspapers. I don't know. Perhaps the Auschwitz garrison was unique, but we do have information that these SS guards actually participated in these training sessions. From other experiences and from other camps, we know that a lot depended on the head of Department 6. What the training sessions were like, who conducted them, and how many external experts came. At the Stutthof camp, for example, cooperation was even established with the local propaganda department, which received the latest films, including the weekly newsreel, Wochenschau, presenting the latest events not only on the front lines, but also in the Reich. Consequently, that department, for example, was very active. On the other hand, we can't really say how the department operated at Auschwitz, because beyond the commandant's orders, certain memoirs and statements, it's hard to say for sure, as no outlines of kneedle speeches have survived. No information has survived from the SS guards themselves about what such training was like, which I think would be very interesting, because we could tell how they perceived it. This would also give us insight into whether they believed it or whether it was simply a matter of completing another training session and returning to their duties. It could have been different, and of course, these were people too. Interestingly, the only information we have about whether such training actually worked comes from prisoners. And of course, this isn't as reliable as the information we could have obtained from the SS guards, provided it was collected during the war.

Can we say what real influence ideological training had on the attitude of SS guards towards prisoners?

Of course, we can confirm this to a certain extent. As I mentioned, based on the prisoners' own accounts, Hermann Langbein, for example, claims that young SS guards took to heart and sincerely believed the information they received during ideological training. He even mentions that Hans Stock of the Politische Abteilung had on his desk or above his desk the slogan, pity is a sign of weakness. Looking at Hans Stock's behaviour in the camp, we can also conclude that he indeed took to heart what he heard during the training. We know that certain films evoked specific reactions among the SS guards. Regarding films containing antisemitic propaganda, they often catalyse the abuse of Jews in the camp. Of course, this could just be pretext. However, yes, ideological training as well as military training influenced the SS guards' treatment of both men and women prisoners. For example, the abuse of prisoners, because on the one hand, it's a way to vent frustration caused by the harsh, very brutal training, of course. But on the other hand, the knowledge that these are not human beings, that they are subhumans, enemies of the nation, dangerous creatures, make certain inhibitions disappear. And striking or killing such a person becomes much easier for us than someone we consider our equal, a full member of the Volksgemeinschaft, the national community. Therefore, of course, the ideology of national socialism had a huge influence on the SS guards, as it allowed them to justify certain behaviours. It allowed them to find their way in these concentration camps, because we must consider that serving in a camp wasn't so easy or obvious for many of them. It's not really easy to go out and kill someone, except for those who truly derive satisfaction from tormenting others. It's a process, a process of becoming accustomed to violence, of using violence yourself. Certainly, lectures, support, and propaganda encouraged this, and as I say, justified and reinforced these behaviours. People sometimes really want to believe in certain things, and national socialism, like many radical ideologies, offered simple solutions to complex problems. Therefore, such things appeal to people. It wasn't even the ideology itself, but the very context of the concentration camp and Europe during World War II that made the SS readily succumb to this ideology. Given the choice between serving in Auschwitz and serving, for example, on the Eastern Front, it was easier to believe in the National Socialist ideology, that these people here were internal enemies, and I was a soldier on the internal front, than to be a soldier on the Eastern Front. As if, for many reasons, it was much safer and much more convenient to believe it. Therefore, it's clear that the ideology of national socialism influenced this, and ideological training influenced how the SS treated prisoners. Of course, we can't say it affected everyone equally, and we wouldn't know, of course, that SS guards who agreed with national socialism immediately wanted to murder prisoners. Nor can we say that SS guards who were indifferent to national socialism didn't seize the opportunity because they had a sociopathic or psychopathic need to abuse prisoners, and therefore they did. So, of course, it's impossible to pinpoint this unequivocally. However, it must be said without a doubt that the influence of national socialism and, consequently, the ideological training conducted by Department 6 or in the concentration camp generally certainly had a significant impact on the SS guards behaviour and their perception of prisoners.