Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS

Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS is the online exhibit of a photo album recently acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was originally created by Karl Höcker, a member of the SS stationed at Auschwitz from roughly 1944-45, which as the Introduction to the exhibit points out was the deadliest time at the camp. The album came to the USHMM via a retired American Army man who worked for the Counter Intelligence Corps and wished to donate the collection anonymously.

Selection Process

As far as I know the USHMM digitized and put on exhibit the entirety of the photo album. The pictures detail what life was like for the Nazis who were at Auschwitz. The exhibit features photos of people carrying on with life-as-usual as well as of ceremonies, funerals, and other military proceedings.

Object Characteristics

There are a few different ways the website allows the viewer to engage these photos. One way is to simply view a slideshow of the album. In total there are 146 photos in the slideshow. However, a number of these are details of individual photos that may appear on the same page of the album. Alternatively, the site also gives one the opportunity to read up on Höcker and the history of Auschwitz and view the photos as an accompaniment. In this case there are thumbnails within the text which lead to pop-ups of larger images.

Metadata

Regardless of which way one chooses to view the album listings of who is in the photograph, what the scene depicts, and any caption that may have been provided are offered when available. Additionally, the item number for the photos is also provided in the event that one would choose to do further research in the USHMM archives.

Intended Audience

As the introduction to the album points out this is a very historic and significant collection of photographs, being only one of two that depicts life at Auschwitz. As such I would imagine this exhibit would be of great interest to WWII and Holocaust historians, as well as Holocaust survivors and their descendants.