Introduction
When we are introduced to varied barbarousness histories, something in our instincts wants us to see these killers as far from typical. We like to imagine them as vicious creatures, stereotyped criminals who slaughter innocent people for enchantment and pleasure. In "Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland," the author expresses his thoughts on the Germans' mass murder. Browning attempts to provide a more in-depth insight of how ordinary Germans from all areas of life were able to perpetrate the Holocaust. He gives the readers a clearer understanding of how these “Ordinary Men” were psychologically transformed into ruthless beings and ended up being active participants in the most atrocious crime recorded in human history.
Research Study
Browning’s findings were based on examining and analyzing a group of Reverse Police Battalion 101 from Hamburg. He chooses this specific group of roughly 500 policemen as he perceives them as “Ordinary Men” with the majority being in their 30’s and 40’s and of lower-middle-class origins. Members of the Nazi Party and the SS constituted of an insignificant proportion with the majority being businessmen, teachers and truck drivers other than being qualified policemen. Later we see these “Ordinary Men” taking active roles in killing over 80,000 Jews in Poland. Browning based his research on detailed testimonies recorded in the postwar German legal investigations.
First Genocide and Growth of the Battalion
In “Ordinary Men,” the author begins by describing the first genocide committed by the Police Battalion 101 under Major Wilhelm Trapp’s orders in 1942. Browning aimed to raise the question of how these “Ordinary Men” ended up killing 1,500 Jews in the varnishes village of Jozefow? (Browning 2). On raising this question, Browning takes us through the aftermath that occurred between the World War I and early World War II and how the Police Battalion grew with additional German volunteers who were either dodging the draft and frontline service while others with expectations of postwar promotions in the Police. The police battalion worked under certain orders that aimed at ruthlessly eliminating any anti-German. For instance, there was the “commissar order” that called for the instant execution of any suspected anti-German Communist and the “Barbarossa decree,” that supported the on-the-spot killing of any Russian Civilian (Browning 11).
Participation in the Final Solution
In 1942, Police Battalion 101 was ordered to kill Jews from a more significant part of Jewry after Globocnik, Lublin’s Police Leader was notified of the inadequacy of means of transportation meant to take the Jews to extermination camps planned for Poland. (Browning 49), Hitler had ordered the execution of Jews of the General Government as part of his Final Solution which resulted in the arrival of the Battalion 101 in Lublin in June that was initially meant to provide labor. Further, the author takes the readers through the various mass murders the Battalion 101 took part in as an articulation of the Final Solution in Poland (Browning 71). It should be clear that the Police were not forced to participate in the massacre. (Browning 98) Mentions of Major Trapp excusing some members who disapproved such ruthless actions and for the few who left were never punished. According to Browning, Major Trapp himself didn’t approve of the orders directed to him on the July action at Jozefow that involved mass murder of women and children and senior men while the healthy men were to be sent to Lublin Labor Camp (Browning 110).
Testimonies and Motivations
According to the testimonies recorded in the German legal investigations, various Battalion 101 members gave different responses to their experiences in the Holocaust. There are those who made excuses to avoid taking part in the killings, others with time became anesthetized but did not approve their actions while a few become desensitize to an extent they claimed to have enjoyed their efforts. The author further tells of how the Battalion 101 took part in clearing all the Jews in the entire Lublin district and later executing all the men that were deported as laborers with the fear of any possible uprising in the future. Browning finalizes his book by analyzing the Police Battalion 101’s testimonies and motivations and later responds to Daniel Goldhagen’s criticisms who argued that the roots behind Germans brutality was deeply rooted in their anti-Semitic culture.
Peer Pressure and Group Influence
According to Browning, the Police Battalion 101 were involved in the holocaust because of peer pressure since they all belonged from the same hometown and tended to motivate each other to keep on with the brutal actions. The testimonies showed that these members suffered from psychological distress caused by the horrors they witnessed. They talked of how innocent Jews were killed while the wounded were buried arrive and how they cursed them. Hence, browning profoundly disagreed of perceiving the Battalion 101 as being brutal and ruthless and instead states that “brutalization was not the cause but the effect of these men’s behavior (Browning 161).
Conclusion
Browning’s use of the Police Battalion 101 for his case study challenged various theories on what motivated the assassins to participate in the Holocaust. For instance, it disagreed with the argument that claimed Hitler’s murderers were primarily driven by their firm belief in anti-Semitic propaganda. Further, from the testimonies recorded, the author mentions of the Battalion not being forced to participate in the mass killings which is evident in Major Trapp’s speech whereby he allowed older members of the Battalion to excuse themselves if there didn’t approve of their actions (Browning 55). For those who left the Battalion were not punished which is a clear indication that those who kept on taking part were not under any spell or physical compulsion to continue. The freedom given to the unit showed that it was out of self-will and self-motivation. Browning’s use of “Ordinary Men” plays a significant role in his book as it represents the Battalion used for his research study that included a group of “ordinary men” who ended up committing the most brutal actions known to man. It acts as the central theme of the story and also applies in his conclusions.
The Capacity for Monstrous Actions
Therefore, it’s clear that any “ordinary man” is capable of committing the most monstrous actions in the name of following orders. The gap between civilization and genocide is the respect and protection of human rights with the core right being the right to live. Further, the power of peer pressure and group setting dramatically influences individuals’ behavior in a manner that an individual can comfortably commit monstrous actions while in a group but cannot while alone. I totally agree with Browning’s conclusions, that everyone has a source of evil in his or her habit and that anyone is capable of committing such brutal action under certain circumstances. What the Battalion 101 did was ruthless and brutal but they should not be crucified for it. Rather, we need to learn from their testimonies and look for evil sources in us and try our best to control them at an early stage.
Work cited
Browning, Christopher R. Ordinary men. New York: Harper Collins, 1993.
