Karl Höcker relaxes with SS physicians

Karl Höcker (on left, looking at the camera) relaxes with SS physicians, including Dr. Fritz Klein (far left), Dr. Horst Schumann (partially obscured next to Klein, identified from other photographs), and Dr. Eduard Wirths (third from right, wearing tie).

From Karl Höcker's photograph album, which includes both documentation of official visits and ceremonies at Auschwitz as well as more personal photographs depicting the many social activities that he and other members of the Auschwitz camp staff enjoyed. These rare images show Nazis singing, hunting, and even trimming a Christmas tree. They provide a chilling contrast to the photographs of thousands of Hungarian Jews deported to Auschwitz at the same time.