Title: Ordinary Men
Subtitle: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
First published: 1998
Description: Christopher R. Browning’s shocking account of how a unit of average middle-aged Germans became the cold-blooded murderers of tens of thousands of Jews.

*Ordinary Men* is the true story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police, which was responsible for mass shootings as well as round-ups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942. Browning argues that most of the men of RPB 101 were not fanatical Nazis but, rather, ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities out of a mixture of motives, including the group dynamics of conformity, deference to authority, role adaptation, and the altering of moral norms to justify their actions. Very quickly three groups emerged within the battalion: a core of eager killers, a plurality who carried out their duties reliably but without initiative, and a small minority who evaded participation in the acts of killing without diminishing the murderous efficiency of the battalion whatsoever.

While this book discusses a specific Reserve Unit during WWII, the general argument Browning makes is that most people succumb to the pressures of a group setting and commit actions they would never do of their own volition.  

*Ordinary Men* is a powerful, chilling, and important work, with themes and arguments that continue to resonate today.
Subjects: Germany, Germany. Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon 101, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-partei. Reservepolizeibataillon, World War, 1939-1945, German Personal narratives, War criminals, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Reservepolizeibataillon 101, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), Atrocities, Genocide, World war, 1939-1945, poland, Jews, poland, Holocaust, Soldaten, Judenverfolgung, Judenvernichtung, Förintelsen, Andra världskriget 1939-1945, Personliga berättelser, tyska, Krigsförbrytelser, Grymheter, Holocaust, 1939-1945, Deutschland Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon, Deutschland, Pariser Friedenskonferenz 1919-1920 Paris Polish Delegation gnd, World war, 1939-1945, personal narratives, german, World war, 1939-1945, atrocities, Germany, armed forces, Personal narratives, German, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland, World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, German, War criminals -- Germany, World War, 1939-1945 -- Atrocities, New York Times reviewed, Juifs, Extermination (1941-1945), Guerre mondiale (1939-1945), Atrocités, Criminels de guerre allemands, Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945, Holocauste, 1939-1945, Criminels de guerre, Extermination (1939-1945), Génocide, Document, Juif, Allemagne. Ordnungspolizei, Allemagne, Deutschland / Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon <101>, HISTORY / Military / World War II, HISTORY / Europe / Poland, HISTORY / Holocaust, Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst00958866, World War (1939-1945) fast (OCoLC)fst01180924, Nationalsozialistische deutsche arbeiter-partei. reservepolizeibataillon 101., Holocaust, jewish (1939-1945)--poland, World war, 1939-1945--personal narratives, german, War criminals--germany, World war, 1939-1945--atrocities, D804.3 .b77 1992, 940.53/18, History
Places: Polen, Poland, Germany