Battalion 101 : Why did
they shoot?
An enquiry
Why did they shoot?
• Why did they behave in this way
• What is your response to this?
• How do your views compare to other
Historians?
By the end of today you’ll be able to:
• Suggest reasons why they behaved in this way
• Position your views within the main historical schools of
thought on the holocaust and use the reasons above to
justify this
© pending
When was this happening?
1933 – Nazis take over
Germany
1933
Persecution: The Nazis
try to force the Jews out
of Germany
1939 –
Outbreak of
WW2
1939
Ghettos: Jews forced to
live in separate areas
By 1943 1.5 million men
women and children had
already been killed
1941 –
German
invasion of
Russia
1941 – The Final Solution:
The Nazis decide to start
mass killings – at first
through shootings
(EINSATZGRUPPEN) then
death camps such as
Auschwitz.
1945
Where was this happening?
So why did ordinary people take
part in these terrible events?
Police Battalions
The SS
• Totally loyal to
Hitler
• Given the task
of making the
‘Final Solution’
happen in 1941
• Ordinary German
policemen
• Used for killings
because there weren’t
enough SS
Police Battalion 101
• Ordinary men from
Hamburg in Germany
• ‘Reserve’ policemen –
too old to join the
army
• Average age 39
• 25% were Nazi party
members
• Had been factory
workers, waiters,
tailors, teachers, truck
drivers
© pending
What did they do?
• Sent to Poland in July 1942
• Executed more than 38,000 Jews in 16
months
• Sent another 45,000 to death camps
• Their first ‘action’ was against 1800 Polish
Jews living in the village of Jozefow…
What happened at Jozefow?
© pending
Why did they do it?
Battalion 101
Why did they shoot?
The
greatest
Unlikely to have
been a major
influence
influence
Line of significance
New evidence 1
Before the massacre
At the beginning of the day the commander of Battalion 101,
Major Trapp, gave a short speech to his men.
With a choking voice and tears in his eyes he told his men
about the task they had to complete. He said he didn’t like
these orders, but that the villagers of Jozefow were helping
Germany’s enemies and that the only way to end the
war quickly was by following these orders. He
also reminded them that their homes in Hamburg
were being bombed – countless German
women and children were dying. This would only
end if they dealt firmly with Germany’s enemies.
New evidence 2
Major Trapp’s offer
Major Trapp ended his speech with an extraordinary offer to his
Battalion: if any of the men did not feel they could do
this task they could step out. Trapp paused, and after
some moments, one man stepped forward. His captain was
furious and began to swear at him, but Trapp told him to hold his
tongue. Then ten or twelve other men stepped forward as well.
They were told to hand over their rifles and report for other duties,
but were not punished.
However despite this the rest of Battalion 101 did not step
forward and went on to take part in the shootings for the rest of
the day.
New evidence 3
After the massacre - dusk
When the action was finally over at dusk, and around 1500
Jews lay dead, the men climbed into their trucks and
returned to their barracks. Extra rations of alcohol were
provided, and the men talked little, ate almost
nothing, but drank a great deal. That night one of
them awoke from a nightmare firing his gun into the
ceiling of the barracks.
New evidence 4
After the massacre – 25 years later
When questioned in the 1960s about why they decided to
shoot, the members of Battalion 101 gave different answers.
• Most claimed they had not heard Trapp’s offer or that they did
not remember it.
• Of the few who admitted to hearing, one said he was worried
that his comrades would think he was a coward. Another said ‘I
was cowardly’.
• A few others said it was impossible to explain why they did it
as the situation in 1942 was so different to the1960s.
• One man admitted that it was not until years later that he
began to consider what he had done was not right. He had not
given it a thought at the time.
What happened to the men of
Battalion 101?
• In 1947, two were sentenced to death in
Poland and two were imprisoned
• In 1967 14 more were put on trial in
Hamburg. Though most were found guilty,
only five received prison sentences (from
five to eight years) and these were later
reduced on appeal
• No other action was taken against the
remaining members of Battalion 101
What is your reaction to this?
They did this because they
were ordinary men. Like
most people they took the
easy option, doing what
everybody else did to
protect themselves. The
men of Battalion 101
weren’t evil, or even
Nazis for the most part.
They were victims of
an extraordinary
situation.
Christopher Browning
Rubbish! You can’t excuse
them by blaming the
circumstances they were in.
They knew what they
were doing and did it
willingly because at the
time they believed it was
right to kill Jews.
Daniel Goldhagen
Where do you stand?
(and can you justify your position…?)
They did this because
they were ordinary
men. Like most people
they took the easy
option, doing what
everybody else did
to protect themselves.
The men of Battalion
101 weren’t evil, or
even Nazis for the
most part. They were
victims of an
extraordinary
situation.
Christopher
Browning
Rubbish! You can’t
excuse them by
blaming the
circumstances they
were in. They
knew what they
were doing and
did it willingly
because at the time
they believed it
was right to kill
Jews.
Daniel
Goldhagen