In summary, a number of elements shaped the Germans’ perspective: (1) needs and motives arising from difficult life conditions, shaped by cultural preconditions including anti-Semitism and obedience to authority; (2) Nazi ideology and propaganda; (3) intolerance for dissent and lack of voices to remind them of the immorality of their actions; (4) learning by participation; and (5) giving themselves over to a group or system in which many of these elements were dominant. Enjoyment of the good life and admiration of Hitler also contributed. Most Germans, exposed to these influences, evolved a perspective in which the killing of the Jews was acceptable, for many even desirable.c In all of this the system was tremendously significant. Being part of a system shapes views, rewards adherence to dominant views, and makes deviation psychologically demanding and difficult. This will be further discussed in connection with the SS.
a In my discussion with the older group of Germans I had the impression that they thought people would have had reason to fear deviation, but for most of them, including members of their families, the issue never came up, because they did not intend to deviate. Like most Germans, they did not even contemplate ways one might limit cooperation with the Nazis.
b The latest and most extensive study did not report that marginality was a significant characteristic of the rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe.9 The difference is partly definitional. The researchers stressed connection and reported the primary motive of many (52 percent) as “normocentric,” the desire to fulfill the norms of a significant group they identified with, such as a religious group, a resistance group, family, or friends. However, such groups themselves could be marginal; and once they began to help Jews and thus oppose the Nazis, they distanced themselves from the larger society, which not only in Germany but also elsewhere (e.g., Poland, Hungary) accepted if not supported Nazi persecution of the Jews.
c Late in my discussion at Trier with the group of sixty- to seventy-five-year-old Germans, I asked them whether they thought the German people had come to support the actions of Hitler and the Nazis against Jews – not the extermination, but what preceded it. After some silence two women expressed their belief that this was the case. The group then went on to other topics. As with a couple other points that raised important questions about the conduct not of the Nazis, but of the German people, after a while someone challenged this view. But several people believed that the German people had accepted the persecution of the Jews and even regarded it as desirable.
10 The SS and the psychology of perpetrators
The SS (Schutzstaffel, security echelon) was the organization that had the major responsibility for the Nazi genocide. SS men were the direct perpetrators. They also operated the bureaucracy that selected, assembled, and transported victims, activities in which many other people were also involved.1 They were self-selected or selected by the authorities and trained for obedience, violence, and brutality. In its final form, the SS was not only the creation of a larger system but had become a system itself, and it served the purposes of both.
When the proper conditions exist, some human beings become capable of killing others as naturally as if they were animals to be slaughtered, without questioning the act. Some killers may even enjoy it, as they would not enjoy killing animals, because they exercise power over other people or are aware of the victim’s suffering, which fulfills their desire to hurt. Even those who willingly kill may feel distress arising from the sight, sound, and smell of dead or dying people, but this does not necessarily make them question the act. Their perspective determines how people perceive and experience what they do and what conclusions they draw from their own emotional upheaval as they commit murder. They may search for “better” methods of killing or convince themselves they are making “sacrifices” for a “higher ideal.”2
The creation, evolution, and the role of the SS
The SS was created in the winter of 1922-23 as an elite bodyguard for Hitler at political meetings and in street confrontations with the Left. Himmler became the leader of the SS in 1929 when it had 280 members, and he increased their numbers to 30,000 by 1932. By 1942 the SS had 250,000 members. It also commanded about 200,000 auxiliaries, who were members of dissident ethnic groups in Russia (who at least initially saw Germans as their liberators and who were also highly anti-Semitic). They were put to work on the mass killing of Jews.3
Himmler elaborated a special code for the SS. The primary criterion for membership was “racial purity": height and physical appearance had to correspond to the Germanic ideal. These criteria were discarded in 1944, when the SS was so desperate for manpower that it tried to attract Europeans from occupied countries and also forcibly inducted Germans and others.
Medieval concepts of loyalty and honor were part of Himmler’s code: the SS motto was “My honor is my loyalty.” Having been tested by various means, the new member took a ceremonial oath of loyalty: “I swear to you, Adolf Hitler, as Leader and Chancellor of the Reich, loyalty and bravery. I pledge to you and the superiors appointed by you, obedience unto death. So help me God.”a Himmler designed other rituals, to create a romantic and mystical atmosphere. The rules demanded complete subordination to the organization. Members had to ask permission for any major decision, including the choice of a wife.
All members of the SS received special training. Haussner, the general in charge of the officer training program that began in 1935, believed in a tough Prussian tradition and a superior aristocracy. The training combined iron-hard discipline and a romantic mystique, including
.. .exercises in total obedience, compulsive attention
