Andreas Kilian

Andreas Kilian is a historian and has been researching the history of the Jewish “Sonderkommandos” in the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau since 1992. After two study trips to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site in Poland in 1991 and 1992 and after the broadcast of Filip Müller's testimony in Claude Lanzmann's documentary film “Shoah” in March 1992, Kilian began his studies of “Sonderkommando history” and worked as a volunteer for Action Reconcilation in Auschwitz from 1993-1995. He then studied medieval and modern history and German literary studies. In 2003, he founded the “Independent Research Center for the History of the Jewish Sonderkommandos in KL Auschwitz-Birkenau” and the first internet portal on the subject, “Sonderkommando-Studien”. He is the author or editor of more than 90 publications, including the first monograph “Zeugen aus der Todeszone” (with Eric Friedler and Barbara Siebert, 2002) and in the “Encyclopaedia Judaica” (“Sonderkommando, Jewish”, with Gideon Greif, 2nd Ed. 2006) as well as scientific advisor to the first television documentary on the “Sonderkommando History” entitled “Sklaven der Gaskammer” (by Eric Friedler, 2000). Kilian edited the new edition of Miklos Nyiszli's memoir “Im Jenseits der Menschlichkeit. Ein Gerichtsmediziner in Auschwitz” (2005) and is the editor of the revised and expanded edition (with Friedrich Herber, 2024). Kilian also contributed significantly to the revision of Gideon Greif's pioneering work “Wir weinten tränenlos...” for Walter H. Pehle's book series published by Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag (1999) and also to the second revised edition (extended annotations) in Israel (1999). Kilian was also the editor of Pavel Polian's standard work “Briefe aus der Hölle. Die Aufzeichnungen des jüdischen Sonderkommandos Auschwitz” (2019 and 2024) and a contributor to the edition of Salmen Gradowski's manuscripts published by Aurelia Kalisky under the title ‘Die Zertrennung’ (2019). He has also written articles for Filip Müller's autobiographical memoir “Sonderbehandlung” and on the testimonies of Marcel Nadjary and Herman Strasfogel. Since 1997, Kilian has also been working on aerial photo interpretations and since 2003 on the creation and publication of schematic plans of the extermination zones in Auschwitz-Birkenau and since 2002 on the revision and creation of site plans of KL Auschwitz-Birkenau.