Into That Darkness

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The biography of Franz Stangl, commandant of the Treblinka extermination camp, is a compelling study of evil. Only four men led Nazi extermination camps, and Stangl was one of them, found guilty of co-responsibility for the deaths of at least 900,000 people. Gitta Sereny’s investigation delves into his psyche and the influences that shaped him. Through extensive conversations with Stangl and thorough research, she presents his self-perception and how he was viewed by others, including his wife. While horror is a natural outcome, Sereny’s aim is to understand how individuals can become instruments of such profound evil. Sereny, of Hungarian-Austrian descent, was trilingual and became a social worker during World War II, caring for war-damaged children in France. After the war, she worked as a Child Welfare Officer in UNRRA displaced persons' camps in Germany. In 1949, she married American photographer Don Honeyman and settled in London, where she raised a family and began her journalism career. Her work, particularly focused on the Third Reich and troubled children, appeared in various prominent publications. Sereny authored several books, including a novel and critical examinations of child exploitation and notable figures from the Nazi regime. She passed away in June 2012.