Ordinary Men
Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
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Ordinary Men
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Gallagher
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Written by:
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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 HarperAudioWhat listeners say about Ordinary Men
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- L 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
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- 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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- 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.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- 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.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Devin Posie
- 2022-01-06
Good reminder
Good reminder of set and setting can do for one and their country... ordinary people hearing and propagating what they listen to. #covid19
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- 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.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Robert
- 2021-09-25
Extraordinary account
This is almost a text book, not a simple story telling.
A very difficult subject, tastefully handled.
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