Zelanator reviewed Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning
Review of 'Ordinary Men' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Excellent book. Christopher Browning provides some tentative answers to why members of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 who were probably the least apt candidates for aiding in the perpetration of the Holocaust, nevertheless took part in the shooting deaths of some 36,000 Jews and the deportation of roughly 88,000. It's a short read and Browning's writing is very accessible. He cannot reach a neat conclusion for why these men took part in the Final Solution but attributes their behavior to a variety of factors including the mutually reinforcing relationship between war and racism and the intensifying effects of wartime propaganda and indoctrination. He also suggests that the men's impulses to conform with group behavior—to not appear cowardly—may have contributed to some of their actions. Nevertheless, some soldiers refused outright to kill and others refused to continue after the killings began. He concludes that "human responsibility is an individual matter" and …
Excellent book. Christopher Browning provides some tentative answers to why members of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 who were probably the least apt candidates for aiding in the perpetration of the Holocaust, nevertheless took part in the shooting deaths of some 36,000 Jews and the deportation of roughly 88,000. It's a short read and Browning's writing is very accessible. He cannot reach a neat conclusion for why these men took part in the Final Solution but attributes their behavior to a variety of factors including the mutually reinforcing relationship between war and racism and the intensifying effects of wartime propaganda and indoctrination. He also suggests that the men's impulses to conform with group behavior—to not appear cowardly—may have contributed to some of their actions. Nevertheless, some soldiers refused outright to kill and others refused to continue after the killings began. He concludes that "human responsibility is an individual matter" and that the men he studies represented a wide spectrum of reactions to wanton violence—some became eager killers, others reluctantly killed out of obedience to orders and expressed occasional moments of pity (which did not absolve their complicity and participation), while still others absolutely refused to take part. Raises some interesting and enduring questions about how the Holocaust happened and what factors can lead men toward unspeakable acts of violence.
