Die Wende zum Täter in der Holocaustliteratur
The Turn to the Perpetrator in Holocaust Literature

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the perpetrator perspective in studies on Holocaust and Holocaust literature. It focuses on autobiographical notes of Rudolf Höss, the infamous commandant of Auschwitz, who reports in a calm, matter-of-fact tone on the mass extermination techniques used in the camp he supervised. The paper also analyses two other novels – Death is My Trade (1952) by Robert Merle, and Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones (2006). Through the example of their fictional protagonists who are both Nazi criminals, the authors point out to the dangers associated with acknowledging the views of a perpetrator, especially in the literary representation of Shoah.

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