Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Roles During the Holocaust

I think it is easy to say that the victims of the Holocaust are the groups that were sent to the concentration camps or forced into hiding to prevent such things from happening. While these groups are the obvious victims of the Holocaust, I wonder if it is possible to look at the preceived persecutors, the Nazi soldiers, as victims as well. Although I feel like it is never a simple excuse to say that you are just following orders, I can imagine that there was a large sense that the Nazi soldiers had no other choice than to do what they did to Jews or face severe consequences and some did take that chance. Additionally, I cannot imagine what kind of a double life you would have to play. Killer by day, family man by night. Additionally after the war was over the soldiers were deemed the persecutors and therefore some were punished for their actions and, I would assume, some were unable to fully function in society again. Therefore their lives were forever changed. Also I can't comprehend what kind of mental trauma you would suffer from the knowledge of the harm you created for so long. While I am in no way defending what happened in the Holocaust, I think it is interesting to look at the human condition of what happens when someone has so much power that they are able to have so many people carrying out their evil deeds. Therefore is it correct to say that an everyday soldier, whose hands are tied and has little control over the situation, is also a victim to the atrocities of war and genocide? It is interesting to think about.

1 comment:

  1. Very interesting to think about Lyndsi. There is a book called "Ordinary Men" by Christopher Browning and it poses the question of whether the Nazi soldiers were 'ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances or whether they were extraordinary men during ordinary circumstances'? It is a very interesting commentary on part of what you address in your posting.
    Be sure to proof read prior to posting! Thanks!!

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