Wife of SS-Obersturmführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Rudolf Höss.
Hedwig Höss was born Hedwig Hensel in 1908 to Ostwald Richard Hensel and Linna Florendine Hensel (née Kremtz). Hedwig married Rudolf Höss on August 17, 1929, at age 21. During the time he was commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, they produced five children: Klaus, Hans-Jürgen, Heidetraut, Inge-Brigitt and Annegret.
The family lived in a villa directly next to the camp. Hedwig often referred to Auschwitz as 'paradise'. Food and clothing were confiscated from the Jews' luggage before they were murdered. Discovered living north of Flensburg with her eldest son, Hedwig taken into custody by the British Army's 92 Field Security Section. She was interrogated for six days as to where her husband was, but she repeatedly said that he was dead. She finally relented and wrote down the address where he was living. Rudolf Höss was at this time working as a farm laborer under the name of Franz Lang. After her husband's arrest, Hedwig and her son were released. Hedwig sought to make a new life in Germany where she re-married, living in Stuttgart. Hedwig died in 1989, aged 90, while visiting her daughter in the USA.
Wife of SS-Obersturmführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Rudolf Höss.
Hedwig Höss was born Hedwig Hensel in 1908 to Ostwald Richard Hensel and Linna Florendine Hensel (née Kremtz). Hedwig married Rudolf Höss on August 17, 1929, at age 21. During the time he was commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, they produced five children: Klaus, Hans-Jürgen, Heidetraut, Inge-Brigitt and Annegret.
The family lived in a villa directly next to the camp. Hedwig often referred to Auschwitz as 'paradise'. Food and clothing were confiscated from the Jews' luggage before they were murdered. Discovered living north of Flensburg with her eldest son, Hedwig taken into custody by the British Army's 92 Field Security Section. She was interrogated for six days as to where her husband was, but she repeatedly said that he was dead. She finally relented and wrote down the address where he was living. Rudolf Höss was at this time working as a farm laborer under the name of Franz Lang. After her husband's arrest, Hedwig and her son were released. Hedwig sought to make a new life in Germany where she re-married, living in Stuttgart. Hedwig died in 1989, aged 90, while visiting her daughter in the USA.
Gravesite Details
Marker states simply 'Mutti' (German for Mommy)
1908-1989
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
