This disturbing book, which casts new light on one of the most hellish places the world has seen, was published to mark the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation on January 27, 1945.
During the Second World War, in a remote part of Poland, the Nazis set up the huge, part-labour, part-extermination camp which was the setting for the mechanised murder of over a million men, women and children.
Most were Jews, but there were also many victims from other groups.
Rees traces the development of Auschwitz into the Nazis' principal killing field and tries to establish how the men who carried out the slaughter were able to perform such an appalling task.
The suffering of Auschwitz survivors did not end with their liberation by the Allies, and their subsequent experiences make one despair for the human race.
Rees's book is horrifying, but should be compulsory reading for older schoolchildren.
It carries a terrible warning of what can happen when a civilised nation rejects democratic values and tamely acquiesces when its leaders whip up hate and discrimination against minority groups and "outsiders".
AUSCHWITZ - THE NAZIS AND THE 'FINAL SOLUTION by Laurence Rees is published by BBC Books priced £20.
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