Ordinary Men

By Christopher R Browning.

This is something of a classic in the understandably modern field of holocaust studies. Browning’s book exploded onto the historical scene and caused all sorts of uproar which prompted a flurry of publications condemning it or rushing to its rescue. The cause of the controversy is in his underlying argument which states that the circumstances in which the perpetrators of the holocaust found themselves in were not as extreme as one might first believe and nor were the characters involved in any sense unique. People are not born killers, but rather society makes them into killers is what he is saying. But more than this. It is not just nazi society that can create killers, it is in essence any society. The mechanics of human communities inevitably relies on a natural desire to conform. It is this desire, at the very root of all human social organisation, that leads to situations in which ‘ordinary men’ can be made killers, despite any personal misgivings they might have. The desire to conform with ones peers is a deeply motivating one and overrides almost everything else. As Browning himself puts it:

“Within virtually every social collective, the peer group exerts tremendous pressures on behaviour and sets moral norms. If the [ordinary] men of Reserve Police Battalion 101 could become killers under such circumstances, what group of men cannot?”

I have to say that I agree.