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Christopher R. Browning’s shocking account of how a unit of average middle-aged Germans became the cold-blooded murderers of tens of thousands of Jews.
Ordinary Men is the true story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police, which was responsible for mass shootings as well as round-ups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942. Browning argues that most of the men of RPB 101 were not fanatical Nazis but, rather, ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities out of a mixture of motives, including the group dynamics of conformity, deference to authority, role adaptation, and the altering of moral norms to justify their actions. Very quickly three groups emerged within the battalion: a core of eager killers, a plurality who carried out their duties reliably but without initiative, and a small minority who evaded participation in the acts of killing without diminishing the murderous efficiency of the battalion whatsoever.
While this book discusses a specific Reserve Unit during WWII, the general argument Browning makes is that most people succumb to the pressures of a group setting and commit actions they would never do of their own volition.
Ordinary Men is a powerful, chilling, and important work, with themes and arguments that continue to resonate today.
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Subjects
Germany, Germany. Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon 101, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-partei. Reservepolizeibataillon, World War, 1939-1945, German Personal narratives, War criminals, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Reservepolizeibataillon 101, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), Atrocities, Genocide, World war, 1939-1945, poland, Jews, poland, Holocaust, Soldaten, Judenverfolgung, Judenvernichtung, Förintelsen, Andra världskriget 1939-1945, Personliga berättelser, tyska, Krigsförbrytelser, Grymheter, Holocaust, 1939-1945, Deutschland Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon, Deutschland, Pariser Friedenskonferenz 1919-1920 Paris Polish Delegation gnd, World war, 1939-1945, personal narratives, german, World war, 1939-1945, atrocities, Germany, armed forces, Personal narratives, German, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland, World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, German, War criminals -- Germany, World War, 1939-1945 -- Atrocities, New York Times reviewed, Juifs, Extermination (1941-1945), Guerre mondiale (1939-1945), Atrocités, Criminels de guerre allemands, Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945, Holocauste, 1939-1945, Criminels de guerre, Extermination (1939-1945), Génocide, Document, Juif, Allemagne. Ordnungspolizei, Allemagne, Deutschland / Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon <101>, HISTORY / Military / World War II, HISTORY / Europe / Poland, HISTORY / Holocaust, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst00958866, World War (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst01180924, Nationalsozialistische deutsche arbeiter-partei. reservepolizeibataillon 101., Holocaust, jewish (1939-1945), Holocaust, jewish (1939-1945)--poland, World war, 1939-1945--personal narratives, german, War criminals--germany, World war, 1939-1945--atrocities, D804.3 .b77 1992, 940.53/18Showing 3 featured editions. View all 19 editions?
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Ordinary men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland
1998, HarperPerennial
in English
- 1st HarperPerennial ed., Reissued [with a new afterword by the author]
0060995068 9780060995065
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Ordinary men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland
1992, HarperCollins
in English
- 1st ed.
0060190132 9780060190132
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Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-218) and index.
"Aaron Asher books."
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