ipl-logo

The Holocaust Exposed In Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men

1115 Words5 Pages

In Ordinary Men, the author, Christopher Browning describes the way the men of Reserve Police Battalion 101 transformed from normal family-oriented middle class working citizens, to becoming murderers involved in the historic genocide of the Jews during the Holocaust in World War II. The Holocaust was a very brutal and emotional time for everyone, including those who were taking part in the slaughter of the innocent victims. The men who were assigned to the Reserve Police Battalion were from the working class, from Hamburg Germany, and lived ordinary lives prior to joining Battalion 101. Factors that contributed to these men turning into perpetrators and participating in the massacres included their tendency and desire to obey the orders …show more content…

It was a greater challenge for the older men to follow through with the killings than for the younger policemen. They had more life experience and families, which made it extremely difficult for them to execute the women and children. Because of this, Browning mentions that “Kammer relieved not only these two men but a number of other older men as well.” (Browning, p.62). The sympathy of Kammer and Trapp demonstrated some of their humane treatment of their own officers, during the horrific genocide that was ordered. These men were not punished or harmed for their inability to execute the killings. In fact, once they transferred out, they were not burdened with the lifetime guilt of killing thousands of innocent people, as were their younger comrades. In Ordinary Men, Browning provides an excellent analysis of showing how a working man from the middle class, can be transformed into a mass murderer through peer pressure and the desire to follow orders of their superiors. The Holocaust was one of the most devastating and brutal massacres in modern history, executed by people who previously lived normal lives. By dehumanizing the situation, the members of Reserve Police Battalion 101 were able to justify the orders to murder the Jews, and then later suffer the lifetime terrible feelings of guilt for their

Open Document