Mistress of Life and Death

This biography of Maria Mandl, the highest-ranked woman in the Nazi killing machine, provides a detailed look into her life from a seemingly ordinary childhood in Austria to her role as Head Overseer at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Drawing on archival testimonies and community memories, Susan J. Eischeid examines how Mandl's transformation into a key perpetrator of the Holocaust unfolded within a climate of hatred and fear. The book offers a complex and chilling exploration of how everyday citizens can become involved in unimaginable evil.