It seems that the one learning from Nazi Germany, namely that bad things like these can happen anywhere, is already forgotten. This is no good.
As for many Germans working for the killing of others, their jobs were designed in a way making it easy for them to think they are not responsible. Take concentration camps: some Germans just drive the train to that camp, others just open the door of the trains, then someone decides which person goes into which queue, then someone tells them to get naked, and so on. And then someone just turn a wheel, which for him could be for water in the garden of the Camp Boss or whatever. Everyone just does their job, no one directly kills anyone, but in the end all are killed. Yet no single person is to be blamed.
But the more important part, of course, is being brought to see other humans as inferior. Similar things happen today in many countries, where foreigners are seen as vermin etc.
And of course: everyone benefitted from it, actually. There were reportedly about 2.500 trains of furniture by former Dutch Jews which came to Germany and were shared or sold or used. People moved into the flats of former jewish inhabitants, inhabiting their pictures, clothes, pianos, diamond rings and whatnot. People also took over the jobs of the deported.
Thanks for reading and leaving a thoughtful comment. I think you are outlining a good case for situationism in your second paragraph, but I also think someone like Richard J Evans would say we can and should assign blame for ideological leaders and people who set up the framework of violence, direct actors, collaborators, etc.
Sure! That was not meant to excuse them. It just made them think they do nothing bad at all.
As for the argument in paragraph 2, I think I remember it from that Jonathan Littel novel about the nazis, The Kindly ones, but I might be mistaken. In any case, after all I have read about Nazis, from biogrpahies from every side and angle to journal collections (for instance by Nina Segal) and nonfiction and whatnot, altogether maybe 150 books, I can say Littells novel is the ultimate culmination of plot, setzings, language and even: ending. I can only recommend it.
It seems that the one learning from Nazi Germany, namely that bad things like these can happen anywhere, is already forgotten. This is no good.
As for many Germans working for the killing of others, their jobs were designed in a way making it easy for them to think they are not responsible. Take concentration camps: some Germans just drive the train to that camp, others just open the door of the trains, then someone decides which person goes into which queue, then someone tells them to get naked, and so on. And then someone just turn a wheel, which for him could be for water in the garden of the Camp Boss or whatever. Everyone just does their job, no one directly kills anyone, but in the end all are killed. Yet no single person is to be blamed.
But the more important part, of course, is being brought to see other humans as inferior. Similar things happen today in many countries, where foreigners are seen as vermin etc.
And of course: everyone benefitted from it, actually. There were reportedly about 2.500 trains of furniture by former Dutch Jews which came to Germany and were shared or sold or used. People moved into the flats of former jewish inhabitants, inhabiting their pictures, clothes, pianos, diamond rings and whatnot. People also took over the jobs of the deported.
Thanks for reading and leaving a thoughtful comment. I think you are outlining a good case for situationism in your second paragraph, but I also think someone like Richard J Evans would say we can and should assign blame for ideological leaders and people who set up the framework of violence, direct actors, collaborators, etc.
Sure! That was not meant to excuse them. It just made them think they do nothing bad at all.
As for the argument in paragraph 2, I think I remember it from that Jonathan Littel novel about the nazis, The Kindly ones, but I might be mistaken. In any case, after all I have read about Nazis, from biogrpahies from every side and angle to journal collections (for instance by Nina Segal) and nonfiction and whatnot, altogether maybe 150 books, I can say Littells novel is the ultimate culmination of plot, setzings, language and even: ending. I can only recommend it.
I’ll check it out, thanks for the recommendation!