From legacy of the Nazi commandant of Auschwitz, born-again descendant brings hope to the valley of the shadow of death

“It’s a fact. My grandfather was the greatest mass murderer in human history,” admits German pastor Kai Höss, telling the terrible story. “He was the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. It was his brainchild.”

The horrifying family secret only came to light when Höss was in seventh grade at school. In Germany Holocaust education is mandatory, but he was alarmed to hear his family name. “I went home that day and said, "Mom, tell me is that Höss anything to do with us?” She said, "Yes, it's your grandad." I couldn't believe it, right? I mean, who wants to have Rudolf Höss as his grandad?” Höss told Fox News in an interview.

Höss now serves as a pastor at Bible Church of Stuttgart, an English speaking congregation attended by many U.S. servicemen and women. He relayed a powerful incident that took place while he was preaching and a big, intimidating marine came up to him from the back of the church.

“He comes down to the speaker podium, and he puts his arms out and he embraces me,” Höff recounted. “He takes me in his arms and he whispers to me, and says, “Brother, I love you, I forgive you. All my family was murdered in Auschwitz." And so, knowing who I was… I can't reverse history, but I thought, you know, I can do something. I can just love them.”

Since coming to faith in 1989, Höss has been a strong believer in Jesus. He has dedicated his life to meeting with Jewish communities, telling his family’s story, and warning the world of the dangers of antisemitism. 

Höff has since received many messages of appreciation and forgiveness from Holocaust survivors and their descendents, as he uses his platform to stand against the hatred his grandfather perpetrated.

“It became clearer and clearer who they are and what my grandfather had done,” he told the Washington Post. “I had several wonderful experiences where I met these people, and they’re very gracious. There is a spirit of forgiveness and kindness.”

“I was recently speaking at a synagogue in Budapest,” he relayed, “and an elderly woman in a wheelchair motioned for me to come over to her. And when I bent down, she wrapped her arms around me and said, ‘I just want to hug the grandson of the man who murdered half of my family.’ ”

The extent of the evils committed by his grandfather Rudolf Höss are evident in his autobiography, “The Commandant of Auschwitz”, which he wrote while on death row. It was as a teenager that his grandson, Kai, discovered the book, and was shocked at how clinical his grandfather’s thoughts were as he explained the process of developing the gas chambers for greater efficiency. 

“It just broke my heart,” he later said in an interview, “and ignited a love in my heart for the people he hurt so bad.”

Two films have now been made about the stories surrounding Höss, one named “Zone of Interest”, referring to the area near the concentration camp where the Nazi commandant had moved his whole family to be near the operation, and the other named “The Commandant’s Shadow” which is based on a book by Maya Lasker-Wallfisch whose mother survived the camp.

The family of Rudolf Höss were largely shielded from the brutal reality of what was happening just over the fence at the time, and his son, Hans Jürgen Höss, only came to terms with the truth in his late eighties, and as a result of his son’s prompting. His transformation is documented in “The Commandant’s Shadow”.

Filmmaker Daniela Volker tracks the steps of Lasker-Wallfisch’s mother, Anita, who only survived because she played the cello for the Nazis. Now living in London, Anita and her daughter agreed to welcome both Kai and Hans Jürgen Höss into their home. 

“A historic moment,” acknowledged Anita Lasker-Wallfisch as she greeted the son of the notorious Nazi. “Who would have thought it?” replied Hans Jürgen Höss.

Yet this is exactly the kind of dialogue that Pastor Kai Höss was hoping for. “He didn’t deny the Holocaust happened, but he felt it was all water under the bridge,” Höss explained. “Which of course, it’s not.“

“I wanted to see his heart pricked, I think, now that he's in his 80's. I wanted to see his expression. And I saw it in Auschwitz,” Höss told the National Board of Review (NBR).”I saw his countenance, his face and his demeanor, and just heard his words... I realized it hit home. He was deeply touched, and there was remorse… I think it broke his heart that day, and it broke mine.”

The film deals with the generational repercussions that still shudder through history, and asks what responsibility there is for the descendants of the perpetrators. Pastor Höss for his part is taking both responsibility and the initiative to bring change.

“I don’t expect to change the world, but I hope I can touch some people and start to shift some paradigms,” he told People Magazine. “People can theoretically understand the facts and figures behind the Holocaust with their head, but only a story can trigger something in your heart,” he says, ”and that’s where real change happens.”

“The students know all the facts, figures and numbers about what happened,” said Höff. “But when I finish, they have tears running down their cheeks and suddenly [the atrocities] don’t feel so far away.”

“The truth is painful, but silence is more dangerous,” he warned. 

“At the end of the day, all I can say is that he had a choice,” said Höss. “We all have choices. And he could have said, ‘No, I'm not going to kill over a million people.’ But he didn’t do that. He excelled in it. He was meticulous about it. He helped set everything that happened into motion.”

For his part, Höss has chosen to give his life to bring life and love instead of death and destruction. In his testimony he explains that experiencing God’s love gave him the desire and capacity to love all people - Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers alike.

Höss exemplifies the power of repentance but also the freedom that comes with forgiveness. The B-roll of his Fox News interview shows him standing in front of a screen bearing the title of his sermon: “Enjoying the blessings of an un-condemned heart,” with the verses from 1 John 3:21-23:

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

“Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is not a reward for the righteous (who is righteous?) but a gift for the guilty – which we all are (Ephesians 2:8-10). Understanding this has been life transforming, enabling me to overcome the generational ‘curse’ or trauma that has been haunting our family as a result of the horrific sins/crimes against humanity my grandfather committed,” he explained. 

“There is grace, there is forgiveness, there is love,” he said. “We can make it happen if we want to.”

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