In 1938, von Walther attained the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer, and from this time, the diligent, adaptable, and clever von Walther began his rise, acquiring a mastery of bureaucratic mechanism as well as his superiors' trust. His self-discipline and imposing personality brought him to the attention of Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer-SS, head of the Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei, Gestapo), head of the black-uniformed Guard Squadrons (Schutzstaffeln, SS; originally, Hitler's personal bodyguards), and second most powerful man in Nazi Germany. Von Walther was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer in 1940. An able and courageous fighter, von Walther was twice severely wounded in battle with partisans and Russians. He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, in 1940; the silver Wound Badge and the Roll of Honor Clasp in 1941.
The severity of his injuries the second time prompted Himmler to request von Walther's transfer from the Eastern Front. Once established in the bureaucracy, von Walther evidenced a single-minded dedication to his work and an incredible devotion to the Party. Obviously impressed, Himmler sought to reward von Walther with a position of prominence and real power. It was on Himmler's orders that von Walther first visited Auschwitz in 1941.
As early as 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, the Head of the Security Service of the SS (Sicherheitsdienst, SD) had compiled an extensive file on von Walther and was urging an investigation into von Walther's lapses of National Socialist behavior. After Heydrich's assassination (by Czech free agents) in 1942, the investigation of von Walther was relentlessly pursued by Heydrich's successor, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who openly despised and denigrated von Walther.
The minutes kept by Adolf Eichmann show that von Walther attended the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942 (at Am Grossen Wannsee No. 56), over which Heydrich presided. The purpose of this conference was to "Solve the Jewish Problem in Europe": in other words, to discuss methods and means of extermination. Von Walther was given the task of researching the lethal dose of hydrogen cyanide, known as Zyklon B; he reported this to conference members as one milligram per kilogram of body weight. Von Walther also reported that the only drawback of Zyklon B was its deterioration in the container within three months, so it could not be stockpiled. Von Walther's conscientious notes were discovered in his files after the war.
His participation in the Wannsee Conference, his participation in the drive against "forest Jews" (comprised of individual escapees, members of the Soviet partisan movement, and members of Jewish resistance units who hid in, and attacked Germans from, the forests) which was launched early in 1942, and his distinguished participation in the Mobile Killing Units (Einsatzkommandos) on the Eastern Front garnered for von Walther the respect and admiration of Himmler. In 1942 von Walther was promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer and made Kommandant of his own concentration camp (Konzentrationslager, or, in the contemporaneous slang, Kazett: the German pronunciation of the letters K-Z).
As Kommandant, under direct supervision of Richard Glücks, von Walther's unbounded ambition and latent sadism blossomed. Renowned for his innovation and efficiency in the extermination and destruction process, von Walther won both admirers and enemies. Blinded, perhaps, by his own sense of superiority, by his overconfidence in his innate abilities, or by his trust in his superiors' protection, von Walther chose to ignore his enemies, to his own political demise. By 1943, with Kaltenbrunner's approval, von Walther's enemies were openly scheming to secure his downfall.
Von Walther survived two assassination attempts in the camp by members of the Resistance, though he was injured in the second attack: wounded in the leg by shrapnel from a grenade, von Walther was left with a permanent limp. Because his superiors regarded these assassination attempts, albeit unsuccessful, as an indication of von Walther's loss of control, von Walther tightened his already relentless grip on the camp's personnel and inmates. It was to no avail, however, since by that time his conflicts with Party members and personal problems had seriously affected his ability to run the camp and outmaneuver his opponents. By the end of the war, even Himmler, who had been von Walther's most ardent supporter, had abandoned him. Von Walther's closest friend and age-mate, Dieter Hoffmann, was killed in action on 31 December 1944. Thus, by the end of the war, von Walther had few personal supporters and virtually no political ones.
By the time the Allies liberated the camp, von Walther had already fled. His home and office, however, located on the camp's grounds, were virtually intact, and a great many incriminating documents were recovered. Among these were two complete manuscripts of verse, discovered under the floorboards of his office. Though the poems in these manuscripts are filled with intimate details of von Walther's personal and professional life, the handwriting of these manuscripts does not exactly match that on the other documents alleged to have been written by von Walther, so it is highly unlikely that the poems were written by him. In addition, the poems in these manuscripts portray Jews sympathetically, an attitude of which von Walther would not have been capable. Up to his death, von Walther steadfastly denied any knowledge of these manuscripts. Nevertheless, many of his detractors denounced von Walther for his betrayal of Nazi principles, insisting that he had composed the manuscripts in their entirety.
As he was one of the most intensely sought war criminals, rumors of von Walther's fate abounded at the close of the war: some claimed he had committed suicide, some that he had escaped (with American help) via Rome to South America, some that he had eluded his captors and fled to the United States. In reality, however, von Walther was captured in Poland after the war. With his typical egotism, he had not even bothered to change his name or to disguise himself. He was charged with war crimes and put on trial at Nuremberg.
During his trial, he was alternately charming and bitter, revealing his incredible egocentrism and powerful charisma. His semantic facility won him the respect of many but exasperated his accusers. At one point, the prosecutor lost his temper and shouted at von Walther: it was the prosecutor who was admonished for unprofessional behavior. Indeed, throughout the trial, despite the graphic revelations and undeniable allegations concerning him, von Walther nevertheless managed to increase his number of admirers and supporters.
Despite his charm and cleverness, von Walther was found guilty of crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in the concentration camps. In his final statement, von Walther once again displayed the quick intelligence and impressive personality that had contributed to his success in the Nazi Party. No mitigating circumstances were found, however: von Walther was sentenced to death.
Despite appeals, his sentence was not commuted. Von Walther asked permission to be shot rather than hanged, the latter of which was considered shameful for a man in his position. This request was denied. The day before the execution, to the amazement and consternation of his American captors, von Walther handed over to the guards two cyanide capsules which he had until then concealed in his prison cell. On 23 October 1947, unrepentant and proud still, Maximilian Ernst von Walther was executed by hanging at the concentration camp where he had served.
Leah Sarah Abramson
(1920-1945?)
A renowned beauty from an early age, Leah Sarah Abramson was born on 18 June 1920 in a small village near Prague, Czechoslovakia. She was the only child, born late, of the accomplished pianist Hannah Sarah Silber and the brilliant mathematician Samuel Isaac Abramson. Between 1934 and 1935, fearing Hitler's spreading influence and to protect their daughter, the Abramsons tried to get Leah adopted by a Christian family. With her fair skin and coloring, Leah could, indeed, have passed as the adoptive family's daughter. The adoption papers were drawn up, but Leah refused to remain with the Gentile family and returned home.
After the Abramsons' elderly, non-Jewish housekeeper was forced to quit their employment, under the Law for Protection of German Blood and Honor (Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre, 1935; which actually only forbade Jews from employing German servants under the age of 45), Leah maintained a loving and frequ
ent correspondence with her. Because their former housekeeper was unable to find employment, no doubt due to her advanced age, the Abramson family sent her food and clothing. This continued until, depressed and in ill health, the housekeeper committed suicide. Her death greatly affected Leah, who had considered her part of the family: Leah was despondent for several months afterward.
Her maternal aunt, Miriam, and Miriam's non-Jewish husband Boris were arrested for Race Defilement (Rassenschande). Miriam and Boris were forced to endure public scorn and ridicule by standing in the village square wearing placards: on Boris' were the words, "I am a swine who has sexual relations with Jews," while Miriam's read, "I am a Jew. I can get any man into my bedroom." Miriam died after a brutal interrogation by members of the Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei, Gestapo), while her husband Boris disappeared in the maze of concentration camps.
Leah's paternal uncle, Jacob Abramson, had emigrated with his wife Naomi to Germany in 1925, and Jacob urged Leah's family to join him in Germany. After Czechoslovakia ceded the Sudetenland to Hitler on 1 October 1938, Samuel Abramson was deprived of his university post. On 9/10 November 1938, the small grocery that Jacob had established was destroyed during the Nazi-induced night of violence which came to be known as the Night of the Broken Glass (Reichskristallnacht). Along with Jacob and Naomi, the entire Abramson family emigrated to Poland in March 1939, just days before Czechoslovakia agreed to German "protection" of the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. Later, Jacob, then widowed, emigrated again: first to Hungary and then to America.
An accomplished linguist, fluent in several languages (including Czech, Polish, Hungarian, French, Hebrew, Yiddish, and German), Leah excelled in academics. She studied modern languages, history, and philosophy. Under the Law Against Overcrowding of German Schools and Universities (Gesetz gegen die Überfüllung deutscher Schulen und Hochschulen, 1933), she was among the Jewish students expelled. Though she was awarded a university scholarship to study in Poland during the summer of 1939, she was forced to relinquish even her private studies, with Hitler's 1 September invasion of Poland and the start of World War II. By her late teens, however, Leah had already begun writing the poetic works for which she is now famous.
In 1938, she published her first collection of poems: Cain's Lament, a series of striking dramatic monologues by Old Testament characters. By 1939, when her second volume of poems, Ahab's Wife and Other Women, was published, she had already established herself as a major talent. Incredibly, she continued to write even after the upheavals of emigration and war. In 1942, her last documented book appeared: Little Birds, a long poem comprised of several voices and dealing with the Nazi-Jewish conflict. Even at this early age, Leah Abramson was arguably one of the most innovative poets in the European community. By the time of Little Birds, she was considered an influential and powerful poet, one whose career was cut short by the Nazis and by World War II.
As openly political in private life as she was in her art, Leah Abramson advocated the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, with a Jewish army and unrestricted Jewish immigration. She opposed the total assimilation of Jews into the national community and supported Zionism. Because of her vocal opposition to the Nazis, she was arrested and briefly imprisoned several times, but her prominence as an artist seems to have protected her from German retaliation in the early years.
In 1939, after suffering a series of minor heart attacks, Samuel Abramson rapidly deteriorated, both mentally and physically. His wife, Hannah, who had never been robust, became more frequently ill, leaving Leah not only to fend for herself but to care for them as well. As long as she was able to find employment, Leah worked several part-time jobs in order to help support her ailing parents. Eventually, as the Nazi sphere of influence increased, Leah was forced into smuggling and other black market activities in order to get the medications and food the family so desperately needed.
Once the family was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, Leah's smuggling activities increased, though her own health was beginning to be affected. No longer protected by her reputation as an artist, Leah was under Nazi surveillance. She survived two interrogations by the Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei, Gestapo), who suspected her of being a member of the Resistance. The second time, she was imprisoned and tortured by the sadistic Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who later succeeded Reinhard Heydrich as the head of the Gestapo. Though her confession, which was obviously obtained under duress and at great physical and emotional cost to her, could not possibly have implicated fellow Resistance members who had been arrested the same night, Leah blamed herself for their capture and subsequent execution. After her experience with Kaltenbrunner, Leah became extremely withdrawn and circumspect. Indeed, members of the Jewish community and members of the Gestapo came to believe that she was no longer politically active.
Nevertheless, in 1942, Leah was arrested and charged with smuggling pistols into the Warsaw Ghetto. Out of pettiness and perhaps out of a sense of wounded pride, Kaltenbrunner had Leah's parents deported with her. After their arrival at Treblinka, upon learning that her elderly parents were to be immediately transferred to another camp, Leah bribed camp and train guards to allow her on the second transport, with her parents.
Not much is known with certainty of her experiences in the concentration camps, though it is clear that she ultimately ended up in the concentration camp of Kommandant Maximilian von Walther, one of the most notoriously vicious of the officers. It is also known that her parents, due to their advanced age, were sent to the gas chambers upon arrival. Then fact and rumor converge. There are tales that Leah was a member of the camp's Underground, tales that she perished in the quarries or of one of the virulent and deadly fevers prevalent in the camps.
The most persistent rumor, however, is that she became Kommandant von Walther's mistress. Given her nature and her violent and unceasing opposition to the Nazis, this seems quite improbable. Other stories abound, but nothing definitive is known of this period in her life except that, miraculously, she seems to have continued her writing.
Though published anonymously, the two collections of poems discovered in Kommandant von Walther's residence are generally believed to have been authored by Leah Abramson.
The poems in The Dead Bodies That Line the Streets and in Survivor: One Who Survives are highly controversial. They contain a curious blend of romanticized Germanic heroes and folklore on the one hand, and biting irony and naked violence on the other. The poems in these two volumes, though stylistically different and much more complex than her earlier work, continue the techniques and trademarks for which Abramson is famous. Most notably, her sympathetic portrayal of unsympathetic characters (and vice versa) continues the method she employed in Cain's Lament and in Ahab's Wife and Other Women.
The poems in The Dead Bodies and Survivor demonstrate impressive emotional weight, fierce directness, and an exceptionally fine craft. These two works are often likened to Rachel Levi's postwar novel No Man's Land. Indeed, that novel does portray a society modeled after the Third Reich and does show a Holocaust, but Levi's work, though compelling and powerful, lacks the tenderness and range of emotion for which Abramson is emulated.
Several postwar sightings of Leah were reported, including some in America, but none were ever substantiated. Her only surviving family member, Jacob Abramson, suffered a stroke and was unable to communicate for many years before his death. Several rewards were offered, both in the European community and in America, by artists' associations and publishers, for information concerning Leah's whereabouts or fate, but no one was able to claim any of the awards, not being able to adequately document what happened to her after she entered the camp.
Apparently Leah Sarah Abramson did not survive the concentration camps.
Author's Note to
Revised & Expanded, 20th Anniversary Edition of
The Kommandant's Mistress
My Start as a Poet
Writing my First Novel
Publishing The Komma
ndant's Mistress
On My Name
Special Notes to Readers about The Kommandant's Mistress
On the Three Different Endings
On Rachel as the Kommandant's "Mistress"
On Rachel's Poems & Books
On the Camp's Underground
Additions to the 20th Anniversary Edition
Revisions to the 20th Anniversary Edition
Spoiler Alert:
If you read this before reading the novel,
please be aware that it reveals plot elements
when answering questions posed by readers
since the novel's publication.
Please do not feel morally obligated to read this section
of the Revised Edition if you only want to read the novel itself.
Thanks, Alexandria
My Start as a Poet
I began my serious writing career as a poet when I was in college, and had modest critical success with my poetry. My work appeared regularly in University and literary journals; it was awarded some prestigious prizes, including the Elliston Poetry Prize (several times) as well as the Isabel and Mary Neff Fellowship for Creative Writing; my dissertation was comprised of original poetry, all of which had been published or accepted for publication by the time of my defense (about 1/3 of the poems in my dissertation were on the Holocaust).
I'd had dreams of being in the Nazi concentration camps, and of dying there, since before I was five-years-old. Though my great-grandparents acknowledged, when I was 8, that our family was, indeed, Jewish, I was cautioned to tell no one, and, if asked, to reply that "I was baptized and went Catholic schools", which I dutifully did my entire life. While I was working on my creative writing dissertation, the dreams of dying in the concentration camp became so frequent and so vivid that they began waking me up. I decided that I was supposed to write a poem on the concentration camps.
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