Was aus einem braven Bürger und Untertanen, einem kritiklosen Befehlsempfänger, einem Mitläufer, einem Durchschnittsmenschen, wie wir alle es sind, werden kann - Theodor Kotulla demonstriert es am Beispiel von Rudolf Höß (im Film Franz Lang, gespielt von Götz George), der von 1940 bis zum Ende KZ-Kommandant in Auschwitz war und 1947 eben dort von den Polen hingerichlet wurde. Dem Film, der auf Robert Merles Roman ,,Der Tod ist mein Metier" basiert, gelingt der vom Regisseur angestrebte Ausgleich zwischen Dokument und ,,fiction", der ihn glaubwürdig und zu einem Stück noch längst nicht unaktuellen Anschauungsunterrichts macht.

What a good citizen and subject, an unquestioning follower of orders, and an average man like all of us can turn into is demonstrated by Theodor Kotulla's portrayal of Rudolf Hoess (called "Fritz Lang" in the film and played by Goetz George), commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp from 1940 til the end and who ended up being hanged there by the Poles in 1947. The film, based on Robert Merle's novel, "Death is My Trade", successfully balances fact and fiction, making the whole thing seem historically factual and providing a valuable lesson to the viewer.  In line with the times, just a short time before the TV-series Holocaust made its appearance, the violence associated with the subject is "sanatized" and only barely hinted at.  Nevertheless, the monologue at film's end, detailing the "special handling" of the transports which arrived at Birkenau's ramps up to and including the eventual gassing of the majority of the deported, is as catastrophic in its graphic nature as it is distressing in its monotone delivery.

DVD-R is in German with switchable English subtitles.  Approx. 139 mins.  Some softening of the picture (see video sample).