It is really difficult to give this book five stars because its content is so repugnant and disturbing. A quote from a review by Elie Wiesel on the rear cover perfectly sums it up - "Most often one is sick to one's soul. Yes, that is the word that is needed ... one is gripped by a profound existential nausea." And I did feel sick to my stomach while reading much of this book - but it is important precisely because it serves as a most necessary reminder that each and every one of us is capable of deep good and profound evil. It is our work in this life to face up to this truth and do our best to work toward the former and away from the latter. This requires an understanding of how evil is allowed to persist. Gitta Sereny does a masterful job of cross-examining both her subject, Franz Stangl, and his friends and family members about their support for and participation in mass murder and torture, and the psychological mechanism of deep denial. For any student of human rights, the Holocaust, or genocide, this is difficult, but essential reading. ( )

"In quelle tenebre" è l'agghiacciante biografia di Franz Staingl, che fu Kommandant dei campi di sterminio di Sobibor e di Treblinka. (fonte: Google Books)

Più che una biografia, un'indagine sulla vita e la personalità di Franz Stangl, comandante dei campi di sterminio di Sobibor e Treblinka, effettuata a partire da una serie di colloqui che Gitta Sereny ottenne quando l'ex nazista era in carcere a Düsseldorf, condannato all'ergastolo dopo la sua cattura in Brasile. Dalle interviste, la ricerca si allarga coinvolgendo altri testimoni a partire dalla moglie di Stangl, che sembra aver vissuto gli anni di "servizio" del marito in una sorta di pervicace ostinazione ad accontentarsi delle vaghe informazioni che da lui riceveva sulla sua attività, probabilmente terrorizzata dall'idea di vedere confermati i propri sospetti. Un viaggio impietoso e a tratti angosciante nei meandri di una personalità complessa e contraddittoria, ritratta con estremo rigore morale e con grande lucidità di analisi. Un libro, credo, di fondamentale importanza. ( )

I prefer Longerich

In this book on Stangl, as in her book on Speer, Sereny is not just the author but a prominent character herself. We read about her many travels to interview various people, and how they hosted her. We are informed about Sereny's interpretation of the looks in her interviewees' eyes, the reddening of their faces, their slowness to respond to a question. We are taken along on a 50-page digression in which Sereny sets Stangl to the side and recounts her attempts to get the Vatican to come clean about its relations with Nazis and ex-Nazis. The Epilogue is her personal Declaration of Faith about freedom, individuality, and society.

All this may be quite appealing to many readers, but I personally was hoping for a little more history and a little less Oprah. Since I knew little detail about Treblinka before reading this book, Sereny certainly did teach me some history, but always there was Sereny herself in the foreground. The contrast in style between Sereny's books and Longerich's books on the Holocaust and on Himmler could hardly be stronger. You can read Longerich's books and forget that he even exists, as the focus is entirely on the river of facts he's sending your way. I much prefer Longerich, but your mileage may vary. ( )

Intense. Penetrates the mind of Stangl. Answers the question, "How could they do it?" Excellent read.
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