Since this is the last blog of the semester I thought I'd talk about something that unified many of the events we've discussed in the course. For the last 65 years in West Germany and the last 20 in East Germany has been a modern, peaceful, and prosperous nation. This stands in sharp contrast to the majority of the time we've discussed in the course. From the time of Bismarck through World War II, Germany was defined by war and issues of hte causes and blame for its aggression have been the focal point for much discussion on German history. However in the success of modern Germany I feel imporatant lessons can be learned.
After World War II the allies did not punsish the German people and rebuilt it along with otehr allied nations who had been decimated by the conflict. This stood in sharp contrast to the punitives measures of Versailles, and the reparations the Germans had imposed on the French after the Franco-Prussian War. Each war had led to another, and each conflict had led to even greater tension in Europe. However this last time it was different. Traditional enemies were able to reconcile their differences, and Germany was able to rebuild its economy with help. The victors had offered an olive branch and it was taken.
I feel this is an important lesson and not an unprecented one in history either. A similar event happened in the Concert of Europe after Napoleon's defeat which also led to a long period of peace after a time of great turbulence. Sometimes blame doesn't work. So as we continue to assess who was responsible for the rise of the Nazis, who caused World War I, or what about Germany made it possible for the Holocaust to occur, let us ask ourselves if that is really what is important. There will always be war and there will always be conflict. Nations will always have enemies as well. Maybe the lesson we should really look to is what caused the lasting peace and prosperity which has occured in Europe in recent times. If you look at European history the 65 years of peace the European powers have enjoyed really is unprecedented.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Actions of Ordinary Men
The slaughters of the Holocaust were perhaps the most brutal event in modern history. Some of the actions were so cold and calculated that it is nearly impossible to conceive of such actions being commited by normal human beings. However in reality those who commited the attrocities in Poland were in fact representative of a large nation. The men of Police Batallion 101 were not a bunch of sadistic psychopaths. In fact many of them had normal lives with jobs and families prior to 1941.
It is clear from the readings that the men were given an opportunity to back out before the first massacre and could certainly lay out in most cases even without being officially excused. Most still chose to participate but many did seem disturbed emotionally by the events which occured. Trapp himself seems to have been disturbed deeply by having to give the order. Goldhagen would have us believe that this could simply be attributed to this being their first time doing somethign like this and that they were not genuinely concerned for those who they were slaughtering. However Goldhagen does not seem receptive to any explanation other than willful decisions primarily taken because of anti-semitism. Something I did learn about Goldhagen from reading biographical information is that Goldhagen's own father was a holocaust survivor and that he has always been quick to hold everyone strictly accountable for their actions.
To me it seems far more likely that a series of societal and psychological factors unique to being part of a military environment in Nazi Germany caused these men to commit the acts described. Police Batallion 101 was comprised of ordinary Germans. It's highly unlikely that they would have acted this way left to their own devices without being incouraged by the military command structure and a sort of pack mentality. While it would appear taht they did become more comfortable with the slaughters and more eager to participate, it is highly doubtful that any of them would have come to the conclusion this needed to be done and then carry it out without it coming down the chain of command.
The pack mentality in the military cannot be overstated either. When you have a large group of people in a command type structure reinforcing each other dissent is an exceptional not a normal action. It is highly likely that their first reaction was to obey orders and that they simply reinforced each other and they were able to defer responsiblity both to command and each other. It's only natural to look for evil men, and to think that they were somehow unique, but they were not. As an "ordinary man" I can't imagine doing something like this and I'd like to think I'd resist despite what those around me were doing and I was being told to do. However reading about the events of Nazi Germany I can also be grateful that I live in a sane society where it is nearly universally acknowledged that such brutality is wrong and that I will likely never be in such a position..
It is clear from the readings that the men were given an opportunity to back out before the first massacre and could certainly lay out in most cases even without being officially excused. Most still chose to participate but many did seem disturbed emotionally by the events which occured. Trapp himself seems to have been disturbed deeply by having to give the order. Goldhagen would have us believe that this could simply be attributed to this being their first time doing somethign like this and that they were not genuinely concerned for those who they were slaughtering. However Goldhagen does not seem receptive to any explanation other than willful decisions primarily taken because of anti-semitism. Something I did learn about Goldhagen from reading biographical information is that Goldhagen's own father was a holocaust survivor and that he has always been quick to hold everyone strictly accountable for their actions.
To me it seems far more likely that a series of societal and psychological factors unique to being part of a military environment in Nazi Germany caused these men to commit the acts described. Police Batallion 101 was comprised of ordinary Germans. It's highly unlikely that they would have acted this way left to their own devices without being incouraged by the military command structure and a sort of pack mentality. While it would appear taht they did become more comfortable with the slaughters and more eager to participate, it is highly doubtful that any of them would have come to the conclusion this needed to be done and then carry it out without it coming down the chain of command.
The pack mentality in the military cannot be overstated either. When you have a large group of people in a command type structure reinforcing each other dissent is an exceptional not a normal action. It is highly likely that their first reaction was to obey orders and that they simply reinforced each other and they were able to defer responsiblity both to command and each other. It's only natural to look for evil men, and to think that they were somehow unique, but they were not. As an "ordinary man" I can't imagine doing something like this and I'd like to think I'd resist despite what those around me were doing and I was being told to do. However reading about the events of Nazi Germany I can also be grateful that I live in a sane society where it is nearly universally acknowledged that such brutality is wrong and that I will likely never be in such a position..
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