They knew that they had to remove the 'sub-human threat' and they did not hesitate to do everything in their power in order to be successful.
Browning described how the individuals in the Reserve Police Battalion 101 were not necessarily indifferent to death, as they felt that it was their job to contribute in some way. If they failed to do so they apparently "risked isolation, rejection, and ostracism -- a very uncomfortable prospect within the framework of a tight-knit unit stationed abroad among a hostile population, so that the individual had virtually nowhere else to turn for support and social contact." (Browning 185) Regardless of whether these people were pressured or not, it is important to look at them from an objective perspective and understand that they were, to a certain degree, similar to their victims. These individuals were caught in a conflict that they did not believe in and they experienced a dehumanizing process that enabled them to get involved in mass-killings without actually feeling any regret as a consequence of their actions.
Both Levi and Browning focus on providing evidence that mass-murders committed during the Holocaust tend to draw the public's attention from other crimes. The Nazi system performed a complex dehumanizing process involving both prisoners and their captors. These people came to be indifferent toward what was happening all around them, as employing such an attitude would guarantee their survival and would enable them to be able to continue their lives without becoming direct victims themselves. Nazi leaders most probably considered that they first needed to destroy people in order for their system to be as effective as it could possibly be.
Although most people would believe that Levi's suffering is not even comparable to what individuals in death units experienced, the reality is that these people also went through horrible events...
Having to kill innocent individuals or simply watching them being killed leaves irreparable damage and trauma. While people in concentration camps were both physically and mentally destroyed, persons in death units were primarily destroyed on a mental level, as they had to return to their families knowing that they took part in the killing of innocent men, women, and children.
Levi's suffering lasted throughout the Holocaust and most certainly took its toll consequent to the event. Individuals in the Reserve Police Battalion 101 went through a similar episode as they tried to recover from what they have seen and experienced as they were completing their missions. Levi's description of his time in the camp perfectly emphasizes the gravity of conditions there. "Every now and again someone in front of us stumbles and falls in the black mud, and one has to be careful to avoid him and keep one's place in the column." (Levi 131) People did not have the time or the resources to express any interest in others during the Holocaust. Individuals in concentration camps and in death groups needed to focus on surviving and they could not feel empathy toward others. Being unwilling to kill innocent as a member of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 meant that one had to bring on reasons other than morality in order to get others to support him.
All things considered, the Nazi system succeeded in destroying many people's minds in spite of the fact that it did not destroy their bodies. Being left alive was not necessarily a privilege during the era, as one would be left with horrible memories and as he would have to relive them throughout his or her life free.
Works cited:
Browning, Christopher R., "Ordinary Men," (HarperCollins, 16.04.2013)
Levi, Primo, "Survival in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity," Collier Books, New York, 1961
