sósoldatok

Sósoldatok are Hungarian soldiers who stood guard at the Auschwitz concentration camp during its operation. They were Hungarian military personnel who were stationed at Auschwitz, primarily between 1942 and 1944. The sósoldatok played a crucial role in maintaining the camp's daily functioning and ensuring the smooth operation of its processes.

Emerging in 1942, the sósoldatok replaced the early guards of the SS during the liquidation and sorting of Hungarian Jews arriving at the camp. Conceptually separate from the notorious Wachmanns SS, the sósoldatok's primary mission involved protecting the Auschwitz camp's order, discipline, and movement of goods.

Interviews with former sósoldatok among the approximately 33,000 Hungarian soldiers, reveal more nuanced episodes of solidarity existing alongside civic separation, loyalty to their endeavours, utility of survival for their infernal circumstances and evidence pointing to historic conflicting authoritative forces.