Role of Ordinary Germans in the Holocaust
The role of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust is that of bystanders. The people of Germany watched on, without protest, as the Jewish people were murdered. Small and large jobs such as engineering and railway work contributed to the operation of the Holocaust and the murdering of Jews. The manipulation of the German people, through racist and anti-Semitic propaganda, speeches and polices from Hitler, meant that millions of Germans backed the plans to rid the nation of Jews. The idea that the Jews were responsible for economic, social and political issues was endorsed and it led to the idea that their banishment would lead Germany into a brighter future. Many people did not intend on aiding the Holocaust, but minor jobs that they did contributed to it significantly.
The participation of ordinary Germans in the holocaust was not limited to significant jobs; rather it included minor duties, tasks and jobs. Average Germans, working men and women who would not even think about murdering innocent people, still had to earn a living throughout the war. This meant continuing with their jobs that, although often accidental, assisted or minutely contributed to the murdering of Jews in the Holocaust. Factory owners would accept Jews as slaves, secretaries would write off people’s lives and railway employees watched thousands of Jews being driven to their deaths. An example of these ‘everyday’ jobs would be that of an engineer. Believe it or not, there were ordinary people who had to construct the gas chambers and crematoriums at German death camps, such as Auschwitz. A German Engineering company, Topf and Sohne, did this job and testimonies from three of their workers describe their duty. “Prufer was an expert. He designed and constructed these crematoriums … I personally lead the installation work in Auschwitz crematoriums and gas chambers” German engineer Karl Schultze identifies himself and a co-worker as engineers of the Auschwitz death camp. Schultze also claims to have
The participation of ordinary Germans in the holocaust was not limited to significant jobs; rather it included minor duties, tasks and jobs. Average Germans, working men and women who would not even think about murdering innocent people, still had to earn a living throughout the war. This meant continuing with their jobs that, although often accidental, assisted or minutely contributed to the murdering of Jews in the Holocaust. Factory owners would accept Jews as slaves, secretaries would write off people’s lives and railway employees watched thousands of Jews being driven to their deaths. An example of these ‘everyday’ jobs would be that of an engineer. Believe it or not, there were ordinary people who had to construct the gas chambers and crematoriums at German death camps, such as Auschwitz. A German Engineering company, Topf and Sohne, did this job and testimonies from three of their workers describe their duty. “Prufer was an expert. He designed and constructed these crematoriums … I personally lead the installation work in Auschwitz crematoriums and gas chambers” German engineer Karl Schultze identifies himself and a co-worker as engineers of the Auschwitz death camp. Schultze also claims to have
Bibliography: * "Ordinary Germans: Were Ordinary Germans Culpable for the Holocaust?" History in Dispute. Ed. Tandy McConnell. Vol. 11: The Holocaust, 1933-1945. Detroit: St. James Press, 2003. 183-190. World History In Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. * Topf Und Sohne, 2012 The Site and its History, viewd 20th Feb, 2012, http://www.topfundsoehne.de/cms-www/index.php?id=94&l=1 * UCSD.edu, 2012, Deposition of Walter Burmeister, viewed 20th Feb 2012, http://weber.ucsd.edu/~lzamosc/chelm04.htm * Topf Und Sohne, 2012 The Site and its History, viewd 20th Feb, 2012, http://www.topfundsoehne.de/cms-www/index.php?id=94&l=1 Germany, March 5, 1946 [Quoted from the interrogation transcripts by Prof