“A remarkable—and singularly chilling—glimpse of human behavior. . .This meticulously researched book...represents a major contribution to the literature of the Holocaust.""—Newsweek
Now available in audio for the first time, 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—now with a new afterword and additional photographs.
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.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
© 2020 HarperAudio (Lydbog): 9780062981486
Release date
Lydbog: 7. april 2020
“A remarkable—and singularly chilling—glimpse of human behavior. . .This meticulously researched book...represents a major contribution to the literature of the Holocaust.""—Newsweek
Now available in audio for the first time, 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—now with a new afterword and additional photographs.
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.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
© 2020 HarperAudio (Lydbog): 9780062981486
Release date
Lydbog: 7. april 2020
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Leif
3. feb. 2022
Fem stjerner for den grundige, logiske, velunderbyggede diskussion af hvordan almindelige tyske mænd kunne blive massemordere. 80% i btaljonen endte med at blive dræbere. Årsagerne er komplekse og forfatteren vender det fint. Hold ud når gennemgangen af episoder bliver lidt for detaljeret - der er en mening med det.
Bjarke
15. jan. 2023
Utroligt hvad mennesker kan slippe afsted med og gøre imod hinanden…men bogen giver et godt billede af at mennesker kan sættes til og gøre frygtelige ting imod hinanden, selv “normale” mennesker ….anbefaler den 📣
Ole
30. jun. 2020
It is very well written! Nevertheless it’s a very tough read because of the subject matter.
Peter
26. maj 2022
Et uhyggeligt indblik i almindelige menneskers moralske skred under voldsomme omstændigheder.
Ulrick
15. aug. 2022
Giver stof til eftertanke og refleksioner om de nuværende strømninger i vores samtid.
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