Masters of Death

The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust

By: Richard Rhodes

Narrated by: Neil Hellegers

In Masters of Death, Richard Rhodes gives full weight, for the first time, to the Einsatzgruppen's role in the Holocaust. These "special task forces", organized by Heinrich Himmler to follow the German army as it advanced into Eastern Poland and Russia, were the agents of the first phase of the Final Solution. They murdered more than one and a half million men, women, and children between 1941 and 1943, often by shooting them into killing pits, as at Babi Yar. These massive crimes have been generally overlooked or underestimated by Holocaust historians, who have focused on the gas chambers.

In this painstaking account, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes profiles the eastern campaign's architects as well as its "ordinary" soldiers and policemen and helps us understand how such men were conditioned to carry out mass murder. Marshaling a vast array of documents and the testimony of perpetrators and survivors, this book is an essential contribution to our understanding of the Holocaust and World War II.

©2002 Richard Rhodes (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Rhodes, a Pulitzer winner for The Making of the Atomic Bomb, has pulled together a mountain of research on the mass murders of Jews perpetrated by the Einsatzgruppen...Rhodes holds the mirror up." ( Publishers Weekly)

Well researched and well written.

Mr. Rhodes starts be trying to pinpoint who these soldiers were are why they did it. What motivated then to commit such horrific violence. The explanation of the sociology of the progress of the stages of violence was also explored and very informative . The timeline of the atrocities, who the decision makers were, and who actually committed the atrocities were well explained as the war progresses. Not an easy book to read because of the violence and tragedies described, but a necessary journey for understanding how and why it happened. The violent antisemitism of some of these men is hard for me to wrap my head around. I found this book to be engrossing and glad I read it to be better informed about this time in world history. I recommend it.

Narration irritated me.

It was interesting to finally see an in-depth look into one of the most depraved, murderous, perverted and totally demented groups of individuals willing to do the bidding of a bunch of criminals in a mobster state. I had a difficult time with the narration. I am not used to having certain words and names pronounced that way when I watch documentaries or listen to audiobooks.(i.e. Heydrich, Eichmann, Heinrich and Reich) I've always heard it pronounced differently in all the media that I consume. It just threw me off. Plus the tenor of the narrator sounded as if he was in a secret hiding place himself. Waiting for the Nazis to break down the door. I understand using that affect if you're doing a direct quote, but not everything has to be breathless.

Never forgetting

Terrible and painful experience to re-listen to this WWII nazi onslaught on unarmed men women and children, but this is also what states do, what many of us can do, how we do what we are told by our society.
Holocausts still take place today and states let it happen. We are still a heartbeat away from medieval societies...

human nature at it's worst

study of evil I am shocked at what men do to each other

Wow

It is so hard to believe that people could be so cruel to other human beings and the inventions of torture they can come up with for innocent people.

This was not a relaxing book but a eye opening book that this horrible event actually happened and it has happened again since on a lesser scale. People need to learn from the past

most brutal thing I've ever heard

gruesome details on an important part of history that must not be forgotten. so gnarly.

Horrifying Detail

I have a ghastly fascination for the worst crimes against humanity…and the Shoa is the worst. Any cursory examination of that appalling crime features the mechanized nightmare of Auschwitz which certainly murdered over 1 million victims…perhaps 1.5. In most accounts the brutal actions of the “special operations” killing squads which traveled behind the advancing German army as it occupied Europe, Russia and Eastern European countries are a footnote. These massacres weren’t done by gas chamber and incineration rather they were done face to face, close up and in person. These actions murdered at least as many as Auschwitz yet this monstrosity gets nowhere near much attention as the more theatrical events of the death camps. This book covers this revolting, hands on, low tech process in extremely well documented and researched detail. It’s hard to listen to and many of the descriptions will stay with you, but if you are interested in this part of the story this book fills in the detail. It follows one of these killing squads but also covers the banal evil of the bureaucracy which organized the process. As the book so tellingly puts it…once you have resolved the questions of humanity and morality then what’s left are the logistics of murder and disposal. This happened within the living memory of survivors. The process was so brutal and damaging to the psyche of the murderers that it accelerated the development of high volume less hands on methods used at the notorious death camps. This excellent book is an example where you stare into the abyss…and the abyss stares back…and winks.

People at their worst!

A time in our past to horrific to be fiction and not enough was done to stop it!

Makes you think

Who among us today would have acted differently or stood up to The Fürher? I often ponder what I would have done. It’s easy to think I’m a good person so I would have done what’s right. These “SS” men and all underneath them thought what they were doing was right.
I enjoy books such as this cause it reminds me of how easy I have it living free in America. I’m grateful for all those who sacrificed so I might have these freedoms. Got bless

Narrator is Compassionate

Not terribly sure what the other review was hearing but this was very well narrated.