"Ordinary Men"

Book Review # 116295

Holocaust Studies
Psychology

"Ordinary Men"

A review and discussion of Christopher Browning's book, "Ordinary Men".

1,521 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper reviews Christopher Browning's book, "Ordinary Men", that examines the reasons why supposedly ordinary men would, in time of war, commit atrocities on their fellow humans. The paper discusses the Milgram experiment that illustrated man's herd mentality and the willingness to obey orders. The paper focuses on Browning's analysis of Police Battalion 101 who were involved in the roundup, transportation and eventual extermination of the Polish Jews. Browning's ideas on the context of war and the influence the war had on these ordinary men is also explained.

From the Paper:

"Christopher Browning's book, Ordinary Men, is a cold examination of the reasons why supposedly ordinary men would, in time of war, let slip that thin veneer of civilization, which separates us from animals, and commit atrocities on their fellow humans. The book is meticulously documented and has the testimony of a majority of the actual participants in the crimes. However, his thesis is predicated on what may indeed be petitio principii, for it must be accepted as a given that these men were, in fact, ordinary. He does not appear to take into account the years of National Socialist propaganda and indoctrination. He does not mention the Nuremberg rally and hundreds like it, where thousands stood held in rapt thralldom as the Party told them what to believe. He fails to mention which of these participants were former members of Hitler Youth. To complete this assignment, however, for the sake of argument, it is assumed that Browning is correct and these 500 men were actually ordinary."

Sample of Sources Used:

Browning, C. Ordinary Men New York Harper Collins 1998
Spectacle.org Ordinary Men, Band of Brothers, Natural Born Killers no date Retrieved 12-8-2005 from:http://www.spectacle.org/295/ordinary.html
Wikipedia.org Milgram Experiment no date Retrieved 12-8-2006 from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment