Wwii 101 Police Bn Essay Research Paper free essay sample

( Wwii ) 101 Police Bn Essay, Research Paper The stunningly and powerful book Ordinary Men was written by Christopher R. Browning. Browning is a professor of History at the Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. He is a subscriber to Yad Vashem s official twenty-four-volume history of the Holocaust. Browning besides wrote many other books on this topic. His book Ordinary Men reveals the truth about how a unit of mean, middle-aged Germans became the inhuman liquidators of 10s of 1000s of Jews. Reich says, Browning Tells us how they were transformed psychologically from ordinary work forces to active participants in the most monstrous offense in history. In the wake of Germany s licking in World War I, a revolution broke out. The Order constabularies resulted from the 3rd effort in interwar Germany to make big Police formation with military preparation and equipment. As the ground forces dissolved, military officers and authorities functionaries who were afraid of being swept off by the revolution organized paramilitary units known as Freikorps. When the state of affairs became stable in 1919, the Freikorps work forces merged with regular constabulary into formation Stationss in barracks to battle farther revival. The Alliess demanded the disintegration of these constabularies units in 1920 as a misdemeanor of the clause of the Versailles Treaty that limited Germany s ground forces to 100,000 work forces. ( Remak 3 ) In 1933, after the constitution of the Nazi government a constabulary ground forces ( Armee der Landespolizei ) of 56,000 work forces was created. They were given full military preparation as portion of Germany s covert rearmament. In 1935, when Hitler openly defied the Versailles Treaty and reintroduced military muster, the constabulary ground forces was merged with the regular ground forces to supply commissioned and non-commissioned officers. As of 1942, 97 Generals in the German ground forces had served in the constabulary ground forces of 1933-35. ( Browning 4 ) Browning states the saving of big military formations within the constabulary had to expect the assignment of Heinrich Himmler, already caput of the SS as head of German constabulary in 1936, with legal power over all constabularies units in the Third Reich. The German constabulary where divided into two subdivisions, one being the Security Police ( Sicherheitspolizei ) with the Main Office of Reinhard Heydirch. Within the Security Police there was the Secret State Police ( Gestapo ) to battle political enemies and the Criminal Police ( Kripo ) which was a detective force. The 2nd subdivision was the Order Police with the Main Office under Kurt Daluege. Daluege besides commanded municipal constabulary ( Schupo ) and rural constabulary equivalent to county cavalryman ( Gendarmerie ) . By 1938 Daluege had over 62,000 work forces under his bid. The figure of police battalions expanded to 101 by mid 1940. The Order Police where rapidly an indispensable beginning of work force for keeping German-occupied Europe. ( Browning 6 ) Police Battalion 101 took over for Police Battalion 61 in the territory of Lublin. The Police Battalion s chief responsibility was to round up Polish and Russian Jewry. In September of 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Police Battalion 101 based in Hamburg was attached to a German Army group sent to Poland. In the Polish City of Kielce, they were involved in rounding up Polish soldiers and military equipment and guarding a captive of war cantonment. On December 17th 1939 they returned to Hamburg where a hundred or so Police work forces were transferred. To replace them, middle-aged reservist drafted in 1939 where brought in. In May of 1940 Battalion 101 was sent to Warthegau, Posen, and Lodz to transport out resettlement actions, a demographic strategy of Hitler and Himmler s to dwell them with racially pure Germans and extinguishing all Poles, Jews, and itinerants which were so called undesirables. The 101 Police Battalion evacuated 37 thousand people out of the targeted 58 1000. About 22 1000 escaped by flying. The Police Battalion rounded up all people without respect for whether or non they where old, ill, or kids. In many instances the old and ill were shot and killed at the aggregation point. At the discasing barracks the Order Police forced Jews to deprive bare, where they searched them for valuables. Browning says, In most exiles, the Jews were instructed to take a few personal properties with them, to give acceptance to the cover narrative of the relocation. ( Browning 39 ) After the strip hunt, the Jews were so allowed to set their underwears back on before they were marched to the train station. It was so, that they were packed into train autos like cowss. ( Browning 40 ) The Police Battalion so took them to labour cantonments and some were taken straight to gas Chamberss. In the labour camps the Judaic work forces worked long yearss for the Germans. Waking up hours before morning and traveling to bed hungry. These work forces were separated from their households, subsequently on happening out that their married woman and kids have been murdered. ( Langer 98 ) On July 11th 1942, Major Trapp of 101 Police Battalion received orders for their particular actions from SS and Police Leader Odilo Globocnik. They were to round 18,000 Jews in the metropolis of Jozefow. At this clip most of the male Jews of working age were to be sent to Globocnik s cantonment in Lubin. All of the adult females, kids, and elderly were to be executed. Major Trapp called up all the units stationed in nearby towns for support and assembled in Bilgoraj on July 12th. Major Trapp with his Company Commanders CPT. Hoffmann of Third Company, CPT. Wohlauf and Lt. Gnade of First and Second Company and gave them their orders for the following twenty-four hours. Major Trapp s helper 1st Lieutenant Hagen informed the staying battalion officers. Lt. Buchmann learned from Hagen about the inside informations of the pending particular action. At this clip Buchmann made it clear to Hagen, that as a Reserve Lieutenant He would in no instance take part in such an action, in which defenc eless adult females and kids are to be shot. ( Browning 56 ) He asked to be reassigned and Hagen arranged for him to escort the work Jews. Buchmann s Company CPT. Wohlauf was informed of Buchmann s reassignment, but was non told the ground for it. This was the first clip an officer of 101 modesty Police Battalion lost his military bearing. As the 101 Reserve Police Battalion laid in bed, they were non informed of what the following twenty-four hours actions would convey. Small did they know the following yearss a ctions would stay in their memory everlastingly. At 0200 hours they departed from Bilgoraj in trucks and arrived in Jozefow at dawn. Browning explains, Major Trapp assembled his work forces in a half-circle and so explained the Battalion s homicidal assignment and made his extraordinary offer: any of the older work forces who did non experience they could execute this undertaking could step out. A sum of 12 work forces stepped forward and turned in their rifles and anticipated future assignment. The assignments were ; two platoons were to environ the small town and changeable anyone who tried to get away. All the staying work forces were to round up the Jews and take them to the market place in the centre of town. The ill, the old, every bit good as babies and anyone seeking to get away were to be killed on the topographic point. ( Browning 57 ) Then the Jews were to be loaded on trucks and taken from the market topographic point to the wood to be killed. After doing the assignments Maj. Trap spent the remainder of the twenty-four hours in town non including himself in the assignment. As the unit of ammunition up was completed, first company was withdrawn. They were instructed by the company doctor on how to hit to do immediate decease. They were to repair their bayonets and put the point at the shoulders and utilize it as an taking usher. As the particular actions took topographic point a interruption down of coherence and loss military bearing took topographic point. Because of this executings went on until sun down. The violent death in Jozefow, Poland was the first and largest mass murdering committed by the Reserve 101 Police Battalion. The 101 Police Battalion subsequently were sent to many other different ghettos to execute aggregations and execute cultural cleaning. The 101 Police Battalion killed of 1000s of Jews. The ground why I choose this book is because of the present twenty-four hours state of affairs in Kosovo with the Serbs killing the cultural Albanians. The state of affairs in Kosovo reminds me of the German war against the Jews in WWII. This book shows how a group normal difficult working work forces of spiritual background, can slay anguish and kill off incapacitated people. The 101 Reserve Police Battalion can be compared to the National Guard or Army Reserve because they originally were non Active Duty soldiers. Before 1939 the work forces who served in Police Battalion had occupations outside military such as business communities, instructors, bankers, and merchandisers. After 1939 they were drafted and became apart of the military. These work forces were non career soldiers. This was apparent during the dislocation of coherence in their first major actions, during the extinction against the Jews in Europe. As clip went on went on and on, the 101 Police Battalion became callus. I think at first they had sympathy for the Jews, so they began to detest their occupation. They were forced to make things and see things they did non desire to. As the war dragged on work force became short and supplies became scarce ; being excused from this responsibility was no longer an option. The 101 Police Battalion had to pass yearss on the trains without nutrient and had to bare the same conditions as the hopeless souls the were guarding. These conditions both physically and mentally drained away the humanity of the 101 Police Battalion. In my sentiment, this is merely one of the many grounds where Hitler went incorrectly. First off, Hitler thought he was a military mastermind when he was non. I think he did non cognize how to run an ground forces. Hitler was more interested in personal glorification and opportunism, so be aftering out military triumphs. He had the best Generals and best trained soldiers. Hitler besides had some of the best scientific heads in the universe working for him. The Battle of Britain was perfect illustration of Hitler s deficiency of military focal point. At first he concentrated his air onslaughts on military marks, such as landing fields, radio detection and ranging sites, and munntion sites. Although his forces paid a heavy monetary value, the strangle clasp placed on England by the encirclement of U-boat Wolfpacks would hold brought England to its articulatio genuss by the terminal of the twelvemonth. But in revenge to English bombardment in German metropoliss, Hitler turned his attend ing off from military marks to English metropoliss. This giving the Royal Airforce clip to reorganize and reconstruct. ( Ryan 79 ) From a military point of position, Hitler wasted so much manpower, money, and clip killing off all the Jews around Europe. Hitler about had Europe on her articulatio genuss, but Hitler s errors caused him to free the war. Looking at the Holocaust from my ain eyes, I see it as one of the greatest losingss the universe has of all time known. Thousands of Jews died. They tried to get away and conceal in the wood, in cells, barns, and anyplace they could squash their organic structures into. Riech says, they were defenseless, bare, keeping on to their kids, stuffed into cattle autos, and shooting in firing lines. By the center of March in 1942, 25 per centum of the victims of the Holocaust had perished, prior to the 101 Police Battalions reaching in Jozefow, Poland. Merely six months subsequently, that figure had reached 80 per centum, go forthing less than a one-fourth alive. ( Reich 2 ) . By March 1942, despite two and a half old ages of persecution and want, every major Jewish community was still integral. Eleven months subsequently, merely the leftovers survived in few ghettos and labour cantonments. The German onslaught on the Jews in Poland was carried out in a monolithic Blitzkrieg offense. The violative came when the German war attempt in Russia hung in the balance. If the military offense was a failure, the Blitzkrieg particularly in Poland against the Jews was non. The Jews they killed are human existences like you and I. I believe we are all equal and those who kill because of different faith colour, or race is cold. Hitler thought killing all the Jews in Europe would be the concluding solution, Hitler was incorrect. Plants Cited Browning, Christopher R. Orindary Men. New York: Harpists Collins Publisher, 1992. Langer, Lawerence L. Holocaust Testimonies. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991. Reich, Walter. The Men Who Pulled The Triggers. New York Timess Book Review. 12 Apr. 1992: 7p. Remack, Joachim. The Origins of the Second World War. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1976. Roth, Berenbaum, Michael. Holocaust. New York: Paragon House, 1989. Ryan, Bailey. Hitler v. Roosevelt. New York: The Free Press, 1979.