Kai Höss -- grandson of Rudolf Höss, the infamous commandant of Auschwitz -- visits the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague with his son, Samuel Ethan, in June 2023. CREDIT: Courtesy of Kai Höss
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Kai Höss grew up knowing little about his family's past.
When he was in fifth grade, though, he stumbled upon a name in his history book that haunted him: Rudolf Höss, the infamous commandant of Auschwitz.
"I heard the surname, and I was like, 'Is this my family?'" said Höss, now 63.
Höss's mother confirmed his fear: Rudolf Höss, the man who ran the most notorious Nazi death camp, was his grandfather.
"I was shocked, and I was ashamed," Höss said. "Who wants to have a man like that as your grandfather? It was just tragic."
Höss tried to keep his family's dark history out of his mind, but when he was 16, he decided to confront it. He read his grandfather's memoir, "Commandant of Auschwitz," which chronicles Rudolf Höss's role in operating Auschwitz, where 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed. He wrote the book while he was imprisoned by Allied forces at the end of World War II.
"It's a meticulous record," Höss said. "He caused so much pain. … It just broke my heart."
His grandfather was executed for war crimes in 1947, at the site of the Auschwitz death camp in previously Nazi-occupied Poland.
After reading the book, "I felt so indebted by what my grandfather had done," Höss said. "I had this desire to do something."
But he wasn't sure what that could be. It wasn't until decades later, in 1989, after Höss had a near-death experience and read the Bible, that he decided to seek reconciliation. He began meeting with Jews and sharing his story with them.
"It became clearer and clearer who they are and what my grandfather had done," he said. "I had several wonderful experiences where I met these people, and they're very gracious. There is a spirit of forgiveness and kindness."
Höss also started speaking out against antisemitism at schools, synagogues, churches and other venues.
"People need to understand how inhumane, how horrible, how coldhearted this was," said Höss, who is a nondenominational pastor in Stuttgart, Germany, leading services for local English speakers and American service members stationed nearby. "The truth is painful, but silence is more dangerous."
Höss will meet with Mike Igel - the grandson of three Holocaust survivors - for a conversation about their divergent yet overlapping legacies and their shared advocacy. The Florida Holocaust Museum describes the talk as exploring "history's impact and the power of our choices."
"It's going to be edifying for both of us," Höss said about the dialogue, which will be held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"He and I are running in the same lane," said Igel, the interim chief executive officer and board chair emeritus of the Florida Holocaust Museum. "We're using these lessons and experiences as the fuel to combat antisemitism - the very thing that led to all of this."
The Anti-Defamation League reported a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza. According to the ADL, there was a more than 200 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States in the first year after Oct. 7 compared with the year before. A recent global survey by the ADL found that nearly half of all people worldwide hold antisemitic beliefs.
"We are still combating on a daily basis," said Igel, 44.
Igel's father's parents survived the Holocaust because non-Jewish Polish farmers, Michel and Katarzyna Gerula, hid four members of the Igel family - as well as three members of another family - in their barn. The Gerulas - who had three young children - were caught by Nazis and tortured for several weeks, refusing to reveal where the Jews were hiding. The couple were ultimately executed.
"I realize how important it was for my grandparents to share not only the story, but also why it's important," said Igel, noting that the Gerulas are recognized as "Righteous Among the Nation," an honor given by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, to non-Jews who put their lives in jeopardy to save Jews during the Holocaust.
Igel's grandfather used to tell him: "The Holocaust was the worst in people. But it was also the best in people."
Igel recently watched the 2024 documentary "The Commandant's Shadow," which features Höss and his father, Hans-Jürgen Höss, as they confront their family's gruesome history. Igel decided to reach out to Kai Höss in the hope of arranging a conversation.
"I was blown away by his experience," Igel said. "He has a father who is largely in denial, a grandfather who is a monster. Most people would run away from that. He ran at it."
Igel said Höss should not be held accountable for his grandfather's actions, but he is accountable for what he does with the knowledge of those actions.
"That applies to me, too," Igel said. "I have a responsibility to take action."
When Igel called Höss, he said, Höss was delighted to hear from him.
"He has a very powerful story himself," Höss said. "We're really looking forward to connecting and spending some time just sharing."
Höss said he takes every opportunity he can to educate people about the past.
"What we're trying to do is move Holocaust remembrance from the head to the heart," he said.
Igel has the same goal.
"We need to be not only educating people but galvanizing them through these lessons," he said. "That's how we honor the victims and the survivors; that's how we keep them alive."
Höss said he hopes his conversation with Igel will contribute to more healing and understanding.
"There is grace, there is forgiveness, there is love," he said. "We can make it happen if we want to."
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