Now translated into 12 languagesThe Pharmacist of Auschwitz is the little known story of Victor Capesius, a Bayer pharmaceutical salesman from Romania who, at the age of 35, joined the Nazi SS in 1943 and quickly became the chief pharmacist at the largest death camp, Auschwitz. Based in part on previously classified documents, Patricia Posner exposes Capesius’s reign of terror at the camp, his … reign of terror at the camp, his escape from justice, fueled in part by his theft of gold ripped from the mouths of corpses, and how a handful of courageous survivors and a single brave prosecutor finally brought him to trial for murder twenty years after the end of the war.
The Pharmacist of Auschwitz is much more, though, than a personal account of Capesius. It provides a spellbinding glimpse inside the devil’s pact made between the Nazis and Germany’s largest conglomerate, I.G. Farben, and its Bayer pharmaceutical subsidiary. The story is one of murder and greed with its roots in the dark heart of the Holocaust. It is told through Nazi henchmen and industrialists turned war criminals, intelligence agents and zealous prosecutors, and intrepid concentration camp survivors and Nazi hunters.
Set against a backdrop ranging from Hitler’s war to conquer Europe to the Final Solution to postwar Germany’s tormented efforts to confront its dark past, Posner shows the appalling depths to which ordinary men descend when they are unrestrained by conscience or any sense of morality. The Pharmacist of Auschwitz is a moving saga that lingers long after the final page.
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A further exhibition of the diabolical nature of the Nazi regime. Should serve as a warning to those who would destroy the freedom of expression, freedom of religion that our country professes to grant. It is frightening because of some of the similarities found in the US today.
While interesting the narrative is anticlimactic almost from the beginning.
Liked it. Most treatises focus on the big names (Hitler, Himmler, Heydrich)–this one focuses on a mid-level pharmacist. Though he appears not be a virulent anti-Semitic, he seems to easily assimilate into a cog of Auschwitz without remorse.
Gives you a look at the scary mindset of those behind the holocaust. Hard to understand how one human being could be so evil and selfish.
I really enjoyed it a lot! So surprised this man stayed alive to write about his life and experiences.
This story is so sad in that someone was so twisted to do what he did to so many people. The people who respected him and clapped for him after the war was over were just as twisted. It is hard to believe that what the Nazi’s did to fellow human beings and being respected for what they did is alarming. We need to be careful that this never happens again. Those of us who had fathers in WWII were told of the horrors that happened then, but I don’t think many young people now realize what happened.
Whatever the Allies did to Germany during WWII; they deserved all of it and more. One hell of a detective trail described in the pages…..a MUST read for any WWII or World History buff!!!
The story line really held together as the author takes you through two historical periods decades apart. In the first half of the book I was so deeply moved that I had to put it down between chapters.
Another Nazi war criminal. I had never heard of this one. Very interesting.
this one went fast. Really enjoyable if you are a WWII enthusiast. A little known Jewish character of the war. He was thrown into a role of selection at the concentration camp and stood trial for his actions. An ordinary man who had life threatening pressures to betray his own.
It amazes me now strong denial can be i the human species – to deny evil, deny our part in it. Frightening.
A surprising outcome to a cornor of the Nazi horror.
I would really like to give the book 3 ½ stars. The author painstakingly delved into each character’s history, but it was hard to keep track of how each of the characters interacted with the others because of the sheer volume of information. The story certainly needs to be told, so we comprehend the evil carried out during WWII and how many people it tortured and murdered. At the same time you find out about the rather unknown heroes who worked quietly to save as many people as possible at great risk for themselves. The book is interesting, but at the same time rather exhausting to read because of the long ‘biographies” of each of the main characters.
I couldn’t finish the book. It was too horrifying.
I was expecting this book to be more of like a historical novel than a documentary. Because of my expectations I was disappointed in the book. I found it tedious to read. But I think it is an important book that contributes to our understanding of the holocaust
The book spent too much time on the aftermath of the war and the trials instead of really letting you know the characters and what motivated them.
Seriously felt like I was reading a poorly-researched research paper or book report. Just say no.
It was interesting, but nothing new was revealed. I rated it three star for that reason and also I agree with the one review in which she said it read a lot like a textbook.