Auschwitz: Rob Rinder Remembers (Part 4)

This book by Christopher R. Browning examines the actions of Reserve Police Battalion 101, a unit of the German Order Police, during World War II. The battalion was responsible for mass shootings and round-ups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942. Browning argues that the men of this unit were not fanatical Nazis but ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities due to group dynamics of conformity, deference to authority, role adaptation, and the altering of moral norms. The book is based on postwar interrogations of former members of the battalion and provides a detailed and chilling glimpse into how ordinary men were transformed into active participants in the Holocaust.

In 'The Nazi Mind', Laurence Rees delves into the motivations and mentalities of the Nazis and their supporters, using history and the latest psychological research. The book addresses perplexing questions about the Second World War and the Holocaust, such as how ordinary Germans tolerated the removal of Jews and why commandants of concentration camps oversaw mass murder. Rees traces the rise and fall of the Nazis through 'twelve warnings' and highlights signs to look out for in present-day leaders. The book includes previously unpublished testimony from former Nazis and in-depth psychological insights on obedience, authority, and the brain.