Täter : wie aus ganz normalen Menschen Massenmörder werden

On the basis of research in social psychology, proposes explanations for the ease with which normal men could become mass murderers. They came from a society which had, step by step, assimilated Nazi morality and accepted the necessity of eliminating the Jewish "danger". This they did, not necessarily out of ideological conviction but because it was the reality in which they lived and which gave them psychological and material advantages. Analyzes the reactions of men in the Einsatzkommandos, and especially in Police Battalion 45. The first massacre in which they were ordered to participate required a decision to obey, but this was a group decision for which they did not need to feel personal responsibility. Subsequent massacres no longer required a decision. Argues that the men did not become brutalized; rather, killing became a normality, an unpleasant but doable job like any other. Their attention was fixed on improving the technical efficiency with which it was done, rather than on the moral aspects. When they returned to civilian life, they felt no pangs of conscience. Analyzes similarities and differences between Nazi mass murder and other genocides. Includes bibliographical references (pages 308-317) and indexes. 323 pages ; 21 cm