Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland by Christopher Robert Browning is a book based on the true events of the Second World War. Considered to be one of the essential books of Holocaust literature, it relates the story of a single Reserve Police Battalion 101 stationed in Poland and tasked with the transportation and execution of Jewish prisoners. Throughout the book, Browning raises the question of how ordinary men selected for the battalion solely on the basis of their age could commit heinous war crimes against fellow humans. Moreover, it begs us to consider how ordinary the men of the battalion actually were.
The single Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police was formed in Hamburg in 1940. In the June of 1942, the battalion had 11 officers and 486 non-commissioned officers and operated under the command of World War I veteran Major Wilhelm Trapp (Browning, 2010). According to Browning (2010), the battalion consisted primarily of middle-aged married men from working and lower-middle-class socioeconomic backgrounds. The regiment comprised dock workers, seamen, builders, truck drivers, office workers, salespersons, and even teachers (Browning, 2010). These men had no military experience and were unfamiliar with the methods of the Order Police and the Army (Browning, 2010). Therefore, they were not drafted for active duty as they were considered too old and inexperienced to face the enemy in the trenches (Browning, 2010). Instead, they served the army of the Nazi regime by working in non-active war zones, collecting weaponry, rounding up, and transporting enemy soldiers and persons of Jewish origin. Their final task included the execution of Jewish prisoners of war. Nevertheless, the men of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 can be considered quite ordinary.
Although the classification of the battalion officers, particularly non-commissioned ones, as “ordinary” may seem non-sensical because they committed atrocious acts and killed unarmed prisoners. Nonetheless, the fact remains that the battalion was formed from men of unremarkable backgrounds. Browning (2010) argues that the recruited soldiers agreed to participate in executions due to the shock and unexpectedness of the request. Meanwhile, later participation is attributed to wartime brutalization and routinization of the mission (Browning, 2010). It should be noted that most of the battalion’s men experienced depression and immense guilt following the first execution (Browning, 2010). However, with the killings of prisoners becoming more frequent, the adverse emotional reaction of the men lessened proportionately.
Considering the story of the Reserve Police Battalion 101, it can be argued that many ordinary men and women can commit similar crimes. Wartime is an extraordinary circumstance that can change one’s sense of normality and morality. Even the most atrocious acts can be considered normal when they become routine. Browning (2010) notes that brutalities of war, ideological indoctrination, conformity common in the armed forces, and forcibly cultivated obedience and respect for authority contribute to the change in one’s state of mind. In addition, in the army, the needs of the collective are valued more than those of an individual, fostering an unhealthy manifestation of peer pressure and people succumbing to it in order to survive the experience. Thus, the conditions that the men of the battalion were exposed to can render most ordinary people war criminals.
In summary, it can be argued that the majority of the men conscripted to join the Reserve Police Battalion 101 were, in fact, exceedingly ordinary. However, they were put in extraordinary circumstances that impacted their mental state and moral norms, leading to some of the most heinous acts against humanity being committed. The experience of these men should be carefully examined to prevent future generations of ordinary men and women from suffering the same fate.
Reference
Browning, C. R. (2010). Ordinary men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland. Penguin Books.