This thesis focuses on Rudolph Hӧss, who was the commandant of Auschwitz from May 1940 to November 1943. The introduction begins by presenting a historiography of Auschwitz and the following chapters focus on Rudolph Hӧss, the victims and an analysis on the motives for holocaust perpetrators. A developed body of research exists on perpetrators of the Holocaust and this thesis seeks to contribute to this body of scholarship by examining Hӧss’ diaries, and trial transcripts, as well as Holocaust survivor memoirs, to determine whether Hӧss may be appropriately labeled a “desk killer.
