‘Mum knew what was going on’: Brigitte Höss on living at Auschwitz, in the Zone of Interest family

Brigitte Höss, who died in October 2023, was the last person to remember what life was like in the villa at Auschwitz. Photograph: Thomas Harding

It was the morning of 16 December 2021, a week before Christmas. Across from me sat Brigitte, the daughter of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz. I was here to ask what life was like next to the camp.

Brigitte was 88 years old. With pale lips, thin arms and wisps of white hair, she was frailer than she had been the last time I saw her. Her voice was weaker too, her speech more languid and halting. But she was still able to think clearly and her eyes still sparkled with life.