Who is Kurt Gerstein from 'the Good Old Days': The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders and what is their importance?

Gerstein held an engineering degree and studied medicine before joining the Nazi party in 1933. He was subsequently ejected in 1936 for hostile religious activity and spent some time in 1938 as a prisoner in a concentration camp. His sister-in-law was gassed and cremated, apparently sparking an interest in the process of genocide. He joined the SS in 1941 and became a specialist in Zyklon B, or prussic acid, and transported materials used in gassing. He witnessed several mass executions by gas in 1942. During the closing days of the war he was captured by the French, imprisoned as a member of the SS, and in mid-1945 he was found dead in his cell, an apparent suicide. Prior to his death, Gerstein wrote several reports on his experiences and observations. These reports have become somewhat controversial because of a number of known inaccuracies; some theorize that Gerstein was actually murdered to prevent him from writing more materials.