Review: Ordinary Men
Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
Christopher R. Browning's harrowing look at how "ordinary" men committed some of history's worst atrocities during World War II.
During World War II, an ordinary battalion of German soldiers "cleansed" Poland as part of the Final Solution. How could the average, ordinary man, one who wasn't an ardent Nazis, be capable of such horrors?
The conclusion Christopher R. Browning reaches in his book, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, is disturbing on more than one level. His closing sentence is chilling: "If the men of Reserve Police Battalion 101 could become killers under such circumstances, what group of men cannot?" (p. 189). But Browning's intent is to unearth the reasons why average individuals could descend to such revolting depths.
Tracing the path of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 from their first orders at Jozefow, Poland, to the Erntefest massacres, Browning reveals with stark detail the transformation of these average men into cold-blooded killers. Most of the policemen were middle-aged family men from working-class backgrounds in Hamburg, Germany. To understand these men, Browning relied heavily on their judicial interrogations of the 1960's. But he warns of the different perspectives and memories these types of sources portray. Nevertheless, Browning reconstructs the actions of the police battalion with a discerning and objective eye.
The Order Police's main duties in Poland included ghetto clearing and the deportation of Jews. But this also involved mass execution. Their first mass execution duty at Jozefow, Poland, became the tactical blueprint for subsequent massacres. But because it was the first, it differed significantly because of its shock value. Battalion commander Major Wilhelm Trap shed tears and offered a reprieve to those who felt unable to complete the task. But few took advantage of his offer. Unfortunately, Trapp, who did not even witness these first executions, quickly lost his sentiment. But the men carried the orders out regardless of their commanding officer's presence. Perhaps the most chilling detail Browning notes is that the men were paired off "face to face" with their victims. Not surprisingly, after the executions ceased and the men returned to their barracks, "they were depressed, angered, embittered, and shaken" (p. 69). The commanders made sure alcohol awaited them, and the men took advantage of it. But Browning offers evidence that some policemen asked to be relieved of their duty after the killings commenced, while others deliberately shot wide. This led Browning to conclude that the battalion's first massacre exhibited signs of unwilingness.
But this unwilingness changed to ruthlessness. "Spared direct participation in the killing, the men...seemed scarcelyy to have been disturbed" (p. 90) by the Parczew Jews being sent to their deaths in Treblinka. It seemed the old adage "out of sight, out of mind" came into play on more than one occasion.
The battalion participated in more organized bloodbaths during the "cleansing" of Poland. The subsequent massacres followed the blueprint of Jozefow. Jews marched to the forest, lay down, and received the "neck shot." Browning believe that the routine act of killing Jews desensitized the battalion. But, as Browning points out, there were a few men who tried to bow out of the orders as often as possible. On the other end of the spectrum were the men who readily volunteered.
However, the "Jew hunts" differed from the deportations and organized massacres. Here, "each individual policeman once again had a considerable degree of choice" (p. 27). The "Jew hunts" turned the killings into a more personal affair since the policemen saw their victims face to face. Some men were more eager than others to participate. The wife of a Lieutenant Brand recorded a shocking exchange when a policeman approached the couple at breakfast and "stood stiffly at attention and declared, 'Herr Leutenant, I have not yet had breakfast.' When my husband looked at him quizically, he declared further, 'I have not yet killed any Jews.'" (p. 127)
In the final chapter, Browning addresses the difficult question of how "ordinary men" could commit such atrocities. He cites several theories and directly challenges some. For example, the theory of war leading to brutalization through combat doesn't explain Reserve Battalion 101 since they didn't experience action before Jozefow. Browning mentions ideology, indoctrination, following orders, and conformity to help bridge the gap of understanding. But in the end, Browning concludes, "Human responsibility is ultimately an individual matter." (p. 188)
Ordinary Men hides nothing in its portrayal of the grisly life of Reserve Police Battalion 101. The details, while graphic, portray an objective view of this segment of Hitler's war. Written clearly and concisely, the value of Ordinary Men lies in its chilling realization that in the end, the men of Reserve Police Battalion 101 were just "ordinary."
