It was ordinary men who became extraordinary monsters

The Holocaust was the systematic state-sponsored persecution and execution of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and collaborators.¹

The Nazi regime accused the Jews — as well as other minority groups — of causing Germany’s social, economic, political and cultural ailments. The instability of the Weimar Republic, the fear of communism and the economic hardships of the Great Depression made many Germans susceptible to the totalitarian Nazi ideology.

In mid-March 1942 some 75 to 80 percent of all victims of the Holocaust were still alive, while 20 to 25 percent had perished.

A mere eleven months later, in mid-February 1943, the percentages were exactly the reverse.

— Ordinary Men, Browning, C. (1992) [Preface xiii.]²

Why was the Nazi regime so successful with its mass murder campaign?

Storm Troopers with boycott signs "Germans! Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews!" (1933) [National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD]

Ordinary Men is book written by American historian Christopher Browning detailing the true story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police. The battalion was responsible for mass shootings and round-ups of Jewish people who were deported to Polish Nazi death camps in 1942.

Browning claims these atrocities were not carried out by fanatical zealots, but rather by ordinary working-class men. He claims there were a mixture of motives including:

1. Social conformity.
   The psychological tendency to follow and accept social behaviours.

2. Deference to authority.
   Decision making delegated to individuals with titles.

3. Role adaptation.
   “Just doing their job.”

4. Change of moral norms.
   Moral relativism and the circumstantial perception of right and wrong.

He further describes the emergence of three groups within the battalion:

• Eager killers.

• A majority who completed their duty without initiative.

• A minority who evaded the killings, but did not affect the battalion’s efficacy.

“These were ordinary men, as the title suggests. Yet they participated in absolutely brutal slaughter of completely innocent people. This wasn’t even in the context of organized war.”

— Gwen Adshead, Medical Scientist³

The Milgram Experiment showed that anyone could be a monster [Yale University Manuscripts and Archives]

The Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram⁴ came to a similar conclusion through the Milgram Experiment in 1961, which discovered that 66% of participants were willing to kill someone if directed by an authority.

“Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?"⁵

— Stanley Milgram

Scientific experiments of social conformity

The results of the Milgram Experiment included:

1. Subjects displayed varying degrees of mental stress during the experiment.

2. 14 out of 40 subjects displayed nervous laughing or smiling.

3. Every participant paused the experiment at least once to question it.

4. Most continued after being reassured by the Experimenter.

5. An average of 66% of subjects would administer a fatal voltage to the Learner.

Social and behavioural psychology can be weaponized within a climate of fear.

Fear is a powerful motivator, of which there are four variations.

1. Fear of death.

2. Fear of illness.

3. Fear of poverty.

4. Fear of social isolation.

Think back to 2020 through 2022. What motivated irrational behaviour? Each of those fears were used in mass media campaigns. It was even weaponized as anger against the unvaccinated, and satisfied a standard definition of prejudice.

“In this study, we have documented that individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 express negative attitudes against unvaccinated individuals in the form of antipathy, stereotypes, support for exclusion from family relationships and support for removal of political rights.

In total, these four forms of discriminatory attitudes are consistent with the observation of prejudice according to standard definitions in social psychology.”

— Discriminatory Attitudes Against the Unvaccinated During a Global Pandemic

Peer reviewed evidence of systemic discrimination against the unvaccinated

No one should face discrimination based on medical condition or medical choices.

Why bother discussing the ordinary men of 1933 to 1945?

And what happens to the people who don’t pay fines? Imprisonment? Deportation?

“The essential lesson of Ordinary Men is that genocide is not the exclusive preserve of fanatics, racist thugs and homicidal maniacs. It is part of the human condition, especially of humans living in society.”

— Norman Naimark, Historian⁶

The ordinary citizen is capable of the worst crimes, and we are currently living through a nightmare perpetuated by silence, conformity, deferment to authority, a head down “just doing my job” mentality, and a change in moral norms.

Look at the current conditions:

• Vaccinations that do not work and cause demonstrable harm.

• Persecution, debanking and firing of those who would dare ask questions and say no.

• Deadly medical protocols through financial incentive programs.

• Suicide promotion in the youth, poor and disabled.

We are closer to the horror than many care to admit (as close as a 1 financial crisis some might say). We even have the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric of a demagogue!

“They are extremists who don’t believe in science, they’re often misogynists, also often racists. It’s a small group that muscles in, and we have to make a choice in terms of leaders, in terms of the country.

Do we tolerate these people?

Or do we say, hey, most of the Quebecois people – 80% – are vaccinated. We want to come back to things we like doing. It’s not those people who are blocking us.” 

— Justin Trudeau⁷

Coming to terms is difficult for most.
No one wants to look in the mirror and see a monster.

Many become upset and unnerved with modern comparisons to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The hallmark of that regime was not men, white supremacy or racism, but individual psychological and moral erosion in a climate of fear and terror.

Waiting to compare atrocities is foolish. The most horrific outcomes are executed in a sweeping motion over a short period of time.

In short, the German attack on the Jews of Poland was not a gradual or incremental program stretched over a long period of time, but a veritable blitzkrieg, a massive offensive requiring the mobilization of large numbers of shock troops.

— Ordinary Men, Browning, C. (1992) [Preface xiii.]

Instead, we must recognize the inherent weakness and darkness that lives within us all. Our friends, our family and our neighbours. We must not give into fear, anger, gratification or our fragile egos. Lying to ourselves is what enables the big lie.

Do not fret about the direction of the masses, because they will follow the strongest leader — as they always have. You must find the strength buried deep within, and discover the courage necessary to challenge the giant.

Become that strength that others yearn to follow.

1. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2023). Introduction to the Holocaust. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust

2. Browning, C. (1993). Ordinary Men. HarperPerennial.

3. Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist.

4. Stanley Milgram (Aug. 15, 1933 – Dec. 20, 1984) was an American social psychologist, best known for his controversial experiments on obedience.

5. Stanley Milgram, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View (New York: Harper & Row, 1974) p. 123

6. Norman Naimark is an American historian and author who specializes in modern Eastern European history, genocide and ethnic cleansing.

7. Justin Trudeau (born Dec. 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician serving as the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada since 2015.