The Children of the Third Reich: Descendants of Nazi Perpetrators with Dr. Finn Ballard

In this Conversation, we'll take a look at the biographies of the children and grandchildren of Nazi perpetrators, who ran (and run) the spectrum from Holocaust denial to philanthropic activism. We'll look at the unrepentant (Heinrich Himmler's daughter Gudrun, a Nazi til the last) and at those who have dedicated their lives to confronting the past (Himmler's great-niece Katrin). We'll discuss the stories of Hermann Göring's daughter Emmy, Martin Bormann's ten children (the DNA of whom was used to identify Bormann's body in 1998), and Harald Quandt, the one surviving child of Magda Goebbels. We'll investigate how the descendants of the perpetrators of atrocities in the concentration camps have navigated their lineage - with a particular focus on the relatives of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, whose grandson Rainer bears a yellow star tattoo and has been accused by many of exploiting his ancestry - and of Amon Göth (played by Ralph Fiennes in the movie 'Schindler's List') whose mixed-race granddaughter Jennifer Teege published her autobiography under the title 'My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me.' And we will also have a look at the 'Long Island Hitlers,' descendants of Adolf's elder brother Alois - as well as the curious story of the Frenchman Jean-Marie Loret, who claimed to be Adolf Hitler's son. 

Led by an expert on Third Reich history, Dr. Finn Ballard, this Conversation will facilitate reflection on a most curious question: what if you discovered your grandfather was a monster? Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased awareness of how descendants of Nazi perpetrators have reconciled with their past - or not.