Ordinary Men
Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo first 3 months
Buy Now for $31.46
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kevin Gallagher
-
Written by:
-
Christopher R. Browning
About this listen
“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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2017 Christopher R. Browning (P)2020 HarperAudioYou may also enjoy...
-
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Ignat Solzhenitsyn
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Nobel Prize winner’s towering masterpiece of world literature, the searing record of four decades of terror and oppression, in one abridged volume (authorized by the author). Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
-
-
Important context, narrator lacks flow
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-11-13
Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
-
Japan's Infamous Unit 731
- Firsthand Accounts of Japan's Wartime Human Experimentation Program
- Written by: Hal Gold, Yuma Totani - foreword
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some of the cruelest deeds of Japan's war in Asia did not occur on the battlefield, but in quiet, antiseptic medical wards in obscure parts of China. Far from front lines and prying eyes, Japanese doctors and their assistants subjected human guinea pigs to gruesome medical experiments in the name of science and Japan's wartime chemical and biological warfare research. Author Hal Gold draws upon a wealth of sources to construct a portrait of the Imperial Japanese Army's most notorious medical unit, giving an overview of its history and detailing its most shocking activities.
-
-
Reads like documentary
- By Vjaceslavs Rogozins on 2024-09-17
Written by: Hal Gold, and others
-
The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 1
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 25 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police that haunted Soviet society. Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
-
-
A must read for the budding western communists
- By Aaron C on 2021-12-31
Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
-
Beyond Good and Evil
- Written by: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Roy McMillan
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing where Thus Spoke Zarathustra left off, Nietzsche's controversial work Beyond Good and Evil is one of the most influential philosophical texts of the 19th century and one of the most controversial works of ideology ever written. Attacking the notion of morality as nothing more than institutionalised weakness, Nietzsche criticises past philosophers for their unquestioning acceptance of moral precepts. Nietzsche tried to formulate what he called "the philosophy of the future".
-
-
Spectacular
- By Anonymous User on 2021-05-19
Written by: Friedrich Nietzsche
-
Бесы [Demons]
- Written by: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Sergey Didok
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Бесы" - роман Федора Михайловича Достоевского, был написан им под впечатлением от ростков террористического и радикального движений в среде русских интеллигентов, разночинцев и прочих.
Written by: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
-
The Rape of Nanking
- Written by: Iris Chang
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December 1937, in the capital of China, one of the most brutal massacres in the long annals of wartime barbarity occurred. The Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking and within weeks not only looted and burned the defenseless city but systematically raped, tortured and murdered more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. Amazingly, the story of this atrocity- one of the worst in world history- continues to be denied by the Japanese government.
-
-
Eye opening
- By Kooky Canuck on 2019-08-02
Written by: Iris Chang
-
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Ignat Solzhenitsyn
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Nobel Prize winner’s towering masterpiece of world literature, the searing record of four decades of terror and oppression, in one abridged volume (authorized by the author). Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
-
-
Important context, narrator lacks flow
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-11-13
Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
-
Japan's Infamous Unit 731
- Firsthand Accounts of Japan's Wartime Human Experimentation Program
- Written by: Hal Gold, Yuma Totani - foreword
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some of the cruelest deeds of Japan's war in Asia did not occur on the battlefield, but in quiet, antiseptic medical wards in obscure parts of China. Far from front lines and prying eyes, Japanese doctors and their assistants subjected human guinea pigs to gruesome medical experiments in the name of science and Japan's wartime chemical and biological warfare research. Author Hal Gold draws upon a wealth of sources to construct a portrait of the Imperial Japanese Army's most notorious medical unit, giving an overview of its history and detailing its most shocking activities.
-
-
Reads like documentary
- By Vjaceslavs Rogozins on 2024-09-17
Written by: Hal Gold, and others
-
The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 1
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 25 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police that haunted Soviet society. Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
-
-
A must read for the budding western communists
- By Aaron C on 2021-12-31
Written by: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
-
Beyond Good and Evil
- Written by: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Roy McMillan
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Continuing where Thus Spoke Zarathustra left off, Nietzsche's controversial work Beyond Good and Evil is one of the most influential philosophical texts of the 19th century and one of the most controversial works of ideology ever written. Attacking the notion of morality as nothing more than institutionalised weakness, Nietzsche criticises past philosophers for their unquestioning acceptance of moral precepts. Nietzsche tried to formulate what he called "the philosophy of the future".
-
-
Spectacular
- By Anonymous User on 2021-05-19
Written by: Friedrich Nietzsche
-
Бесы [Demons]
- Written by: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Sergey Didok
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Бесы" - роман Федора Михайловича Достоевского, был написан им под впечатлением от ростков террористического и радикального движений в среде русских интеллигентов, разночинцев и прочих.
Written by: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
-
The Rape of Nanking
- Written by: Iris Chang
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December 1937, in the capital of China, one of the most brutal massacres in the long annals of wartime barbarity occurred. The Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking and within weeks not only looted and burned the defenseless city but systematically raped, tortured and murdered more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. Amazingly, the story of this atrocity- one of the worst in world history- continues to be denied by the Japanese government.
-
-
Eye opening
- By Kooky Canuck on 2019-08-02
Written by: Iris Chang
-
Maps of Meaning
- The Architecture of Belief
- Written by: Jordan B. Peterson
- Narrated by: Jordan B. Peterson
- Length: 30 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos comes a provocative hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths, and religious stories have long narrated. A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meaning presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind.
-
-
Intense but worth it
- By Harry on 2018-07-08
Written by: Jordan B. Peterson
-
Empire of the Summer Moon
- Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History
- Written by: S. C. Gwynne
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son, Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
-
-
Story Told From Colonial Stand Point
- By jadeon rathgeber on 2020-09-13
Written by: S. C. Gwynne
-
We Who Wrestle with God
- Perceptions of the Divine
- Written by: Jordan B. Peterson
- Narrated by: Jordan B. Peterson
- Length: 25 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Peterson guides us through the ancient, foundational stories of the Western world. In riveting detail, he analyzes the Biblical accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering, and triumph that stabilize, inspire, and unite us culturally and psychologically. Adam and Eve and the eternal fall of mankind; the resentful and ultimately murderous war of Cain and Abel; the cataclysmic flood of Noah; the spectacular collapse of the Tower of Babel; Abraham’s terrible adventure; and the epic of Moses and the Israelites.
-
-
Very hard read
- By karlie on 2024-11-23
Written by: Jordan B. Peterson
-
Red Famine
- Stalin's War on Ukraine
- Written by: Anne Applebaum
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1929 Stalin launched his policy of agricultural collectivization - in effect a second Russian Revolution - which forced millions of peasants off their land and onto collective farms. The result was a catastrophic famine, the most lethal in European history. At least five million people died between 1931 and 1933 in the USSR. But instead of sending relief, the Soviet state made use of the catastrophe to rid itself of a political problem.
-
-
A must read
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-04-09
Written by: Anne Applebaum
-
The War on the West
- Written by: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Douglas Murray
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The War on the West, Douglas Murray shows how many well-meaning people have been fooled by hypocritical and inconsistent anti-West rhetoric. After all, if we must discard the ideas of Kant, Hume, and Mill for their opinions on race, shouldn’t we discard Marx, whose work is peppered with racial slurs and anti-Semitism? Embers of racism remain to be stamped out in America, but what about the raging racist inferno in the Middle East and Asia?
-
-
One of the best audiobooks I've ever purchased
- By Mark on 2022-05-13
Written by: Douglas Murray
-
Bloodlands
- Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bloodlands is a new kind of European history, presenting the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes as two aspects of a single history, in the time and place where they occurred: between Germany and Russia, when Hitler and Stalin both held power. Assiduously researched, deeply humane, and utterly definitive, Bloodlands will be required listening for anyone seeking to understand the central tragedy of modern history.
Written by: Timothy Snyder
-
The Anarchist Handbook
- Written by: Michael Malice
- Narrated by: Michael Malice
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anarchism has been both a vision of a peaceful, cooperative society — and an ideology of revolutionary terror. Since the term itself — anarchism — is a negation, there is a great deal of disagreement on what the positive alternative would look like. The black flag comes in many colors.
-
-
Good examples of Anarchists ideas
- By JL on 2022-12-17
Written by: Michael Malice
-
The Psychology of Totalitarianism
- Written by: Mattias Desmet
- Narrated by: Dan Crue
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Totalitarianism is not a coincidence and does not form in a vacuum. It arises from a collective psychosis that has followed a predictable script throughout history. In The Psychology of Totalitarianism, world-renowned Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet deconstructs the societal conditions that allow this collective psychosis to take hold. By looking at our current situation and identifying the phenomenon of “mass formation”—a type of collective hypnosis—he clearly illustrates how close we are to surrendering to totalitarian regimes.
-
-
Powerfully informative and inspiring of hope.
- By Pyper Weiss on 2022-10-10
Written by: Mattias Desmet
-
The Will to Power
- An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values
- Written by: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nietzsche never recovered from his mental breakdown in 1889 and therefore was unable to further any plans he had for the ‘magnum opus’ he had once intended, bringing together in a coherent whole his mature philosophy. It was left to his close friend Heinrich Köselitz and his sister Elizabeth Förster-Nietzsche to go through the remaining notebooks and unpublished writings, choosing sections of particular interest to produce The Will to Power, giving it the subtitle An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values.
-
-
Well read
- By T on 2020-03-21
Written by: Friedrich Nietzsche
-
Modern Man in Search of a Soul
- Written by: Carl Jung
- Narrated by: Christopher Prince
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Modern Man in Search of a Soul is the classic introduction to the thought of Carl Jung. Along with Freud and Adler, Jung was one of the chief founders of modern psychiatry. In this book, Jung examines some of the most contested and crucial areas in the field of analytical psychology: dream analysis, the primitive unconscious, and the relationship between psychology and religion.
-
-
This is a dry listen - be prepared to focus
- By Andy on 2019-01-15
Written by: Carl Jung
-
The Real Anthony Fauci
- Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health
- Written by: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Narrated by: Bruce Wagner
- Length: 27 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Real Anthony Fauci details how Fauci, Gates, and their cohorts use their control of media outlets, scientific journals, key government and quasi-governmental agencies, global intelligence agencies, and influential scientists and physicians to flood the public with fearful propaganda about COVID-19 virulence and pathogenesis, and to muzzle debate and ruthlessly censor dissent.
-
-
An eye opening look into the corruption of the scientific community
- By Amazon Customer on 2022-01-12
Written by: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
Chaos
- Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties
- Written by: Tom O'Neill, Dan Piepenbring
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then eight months pregnant. With no mercy and seemingly no motive, the Manson Family followed their leader's every order. Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O'Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the "official" story, including police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents.
-
-
Fascinating and Compelling Listen
- By Andrew P Bird on 2020-05-15
Written by: Tom O'Neill, and others
What listeners say about Ordinary Men
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- aero_costas
- 2022-05-30
chilling
I debated giving this 4 stars because of its foreword which i found at times to be a bit off putting but had to think back to the time it was written and that i guess there was debate of his work so he is just I guess convincing and making you understand his conclusion which in the end is useful. plus this content just comes charged with emotions. it's difficult to listen to and even understand how this could all happen and most shockingly so easy! hug your family. love your neighbors and always question the government and these ideological leaders.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vjaceslavs Rogozins
- 2024-09-17
understanding human capacity for evil
Gives you a great president on what conditions should be met to degrade individual social values. And makes me understand that as long as something is socially acceptable because of manipulation and propaganda their is no limit to human cruelty. I don't recall mention of Germans wanting to exile Jews to Poland or Britain. It is only after Germany recieved answer that no other country would expect Jews that they wanted to deport thay started the genocide. Would be nice to have mention as for the reason why Jewish community was treated the way they ware treated.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LaDonna M Harris
- 2021-03-25
everyone should read this book
it's a hard to hear what normal people can do to each other but good to understand . this book shows you that very few people are above being a killer under the right conditions
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nick
- 2022-12-06
The Horror
Difficult to keep reading the chapters describing the number of Jews rounded up and murdered by the German Police. But good summary and analysis in the final two chapters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Schvenn
- 2023-12-30
An interesting look at the psychology
An interesting look at the psychology behind participation in the holocaust, utilizing a uniquely atypical militarized unit of police during the war. The first three quarters of the book deals directly with the details of the war and the unit. The last quarter, which includes a massive afterword, soon after publication in which the authour repudiates claims by another researcher who was very critical of this authour's efforts; and then a follow-up twenty five years later, after which much more research and information has come to light. None of the new information disproves the original assertions made by this authour, but it definitely gets very, very deep into the "psycho-babble", which will likely be off-putting for many readers. It's still a very worthy read, even for people like me, who are not remotely qualified as even armchair psychologists.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joel Giesbrecht
- 2021-07-22
Eerily Relevant
This book should be read in schools. It's hard to hear the horror stories of the holocaust but digging into why these ordinary men performed these atrocious acts will make you think about our society today.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Heather
- 2022-03-02
More academia than audiobook
As a scholarly text, this work is compelling and important. As an audiobook, it's a bit of a slog.
The bulk of the chapters are relentless misery in recounting the atrocities of the Holocaust, with a focus on the facts and little analysis. The last chapter is an hour and a half long, and contains what I was looking to read - the analysis that aims to answer the question of how 'ordinary men' came to commit these evil acts. This structure is well-suited to an academic paper, but it makes for difficult listening, especially given the horrific subject matter. The afterword amounts a to flame war with the author's academic rival, and does not add much if one has not read the rival's work (which few everyday readers likely have), though the '25 years later' addendum and accompanying pdf photographs are interesting.
Overall the book is a worthwhile read if you're really into the topic, but it's definitely better suited to a print format.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Telecom tech
- 2020-07-12
Important read
To understand the present, one should look to the past - so as to not repeat what has been forgotten. This book does this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert
- 2021-09-25
Extraordinary account
This is almost a text book, not a simple story telling.
A very difficult subject, tastefully handled.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pres
- 2022-02-01
incredibly told. powerful
Read this and Rape of Nanking and compare them. This material should be taught in every high school world wide. It is powerful but it damned well should be and it is done tastefully, where possible.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!