The Theory and Practice of Hell: The German Concentration Camps and the System behind Them
Eugen KogonKogon, manages to comprise a classic account of life and death within concentration camps. Through this work, The Theory and Practice of Hell, Kogon shows what life inside the camps is like from a critical perspective using honest details. First published in German in 1946 as Der SS-Staat – Das System der deutschen Konzentrationslager, Kogon’s account shows not individual stories, but rather a picture of the system as a whole.
It was the first study published on the nazi concentration camps system. The Holocaust is not central in this study since it happened only partially in "camps" and, when in camps mainly in pure extermination centers (not the main subject of Kogon's book). Some figures are obviously outdated but the analysis is still valuable. First english translation appeared in 1950.