Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp. The Photography of Mauthausen tells the story of Spanish prisoner and former newspaper photographer Francisco. Director of the Erkennungsdienst, Ricken, was an amateur photographer himself. He orders Francisco to assist him in photographing the inmate death scenes.
And those scenes are horrific. Injecting gasoline into inmate’s hearts? Pushing prisoners into electrified fences “Just for laughs”? Ricken wanted to turn these terrible deaths into art. Francisco, with the help of the Spanish communists within the camp, wants to send them to the Russians to use for anti-Germany propaganda.
The Photography of Mauthausen is a perfect merging of story and art to tell a true memoir of a particularly malevolent time in human history. The coloring, especially the brown lithographic scenes, added to the emotion in the scenes. This is an important story that needs to be told. Plus it takes a new, more personal, perspective on concentration camp inmates and their guards. 5 stars!
Thanks to Dead Reckoning and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.