Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Visit

[Guest FrankyG]

I'm just back from a short trip to Berlin. While I was there I took a day trip to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, which was a rather surreal experience. Although actually being there packs a bit of an emotional punch - it's still impossible to get one's head around what actually happened there (and other camps). To describe the level of brutality, acts of cruelty and fiendishness which were perpetrated by the Nazi's is literally beyond words.

Which got me thinking. What were the reasons behind the acts of brutality, and more fundamentally - how could the individual commit such atrocities and justify it to himself? I'm coming from the assumption that the vast majority of humans would be repulsed by the idea of inflicting pain, suffering and tortures on a fellow human being. While I believe that statement to be generally true, it's also true that given the correct 'incentive', there are many who WILL inflict pain, suffering and even death to another. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment for some background. The experiment can also be seen on youtube also.

What would you have done? at what point would you have stopped administering shocks, or would you have continued to the end? Statistically, most of us would have administered a lethal shock. "Not me!" you are saying...? How can you be sure of what your reaction would have been? What I find quite disturbing is that in the experiment there was no threat of punishment if the teacher decided to walk out or stop the experiment - yet most continued despite hearing shrieks of pain from the next room! In the case of the Nazi's, an individual could realistically expect to be punished, even executed, for refusal to carry out an order of a superior officer. Even if that order was to kill an innocent person. The consequence of listening to one's own conscience, of being guided by your own moral compass would have been extremely risky, to say the least.

So how do you *think* you would react in a kill or be killed scenario? For the purposes of the poll lets assume that the 'accused' is not military, nor have they been found guilty of any crime. If you select 'Other', what would you have done?

Many people say that another Holocaust could never happen again, I truly believe that it could given the right circumstances. After all, does human nature really change with the passing of time? What do you think?

Regards,

FrankyG

[Guest FrankyG]

I'm just back from a short trip to Berlin. While I was there I took a day trip to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, which was a rather surreal experience. Although actually being there packs a bit of an emotional punch - it's still impossible to get one's head around what actually happened there (and other camps). To describe the level of brutality, acts of cruelty and fiendishness which were perpetrated by the Nazi's is literally beyond words.

Which got me thinking. What were the reasons behind the acts of brutality, and more fundamentally - how could the individual commit such atrocities and justify it to himself? I'm coming from the assumption that the vast majority of humans would be repulsed by the idea of inflicting pain, suffering and tortures on a fellow human being. While I believe that statement to be generally true, it's also true that given the correct 'incentive', there are many who WILL inflict pain, suffering and even death to another. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment for some background. The experiment can also be seen on youtube also.

What would you have done? at what point would you have stopped administering shocks, or would you have continued to the end? Statistically, most of us would have administered a lethal shock. "Not me!" you are saying...? How can you be sure of what your reaction would have been? What I find quite disturbing is that in the experiment there was no threat of punishment if the teacher decided to walk out or stop the experiment - yet most continued despite hearing shrieks of pain from the next room! In the case of the Nazi's, an individual could realistically expect to be punished, even executed, for refusal to carry out an order of a superior officer. Even if that order was to kill an innocent person. The consequence of listening to one's own conscience, of being guided by your own moral compass would have been extremely risky, to say the least.

So how do you *think* you would react in a kill or be killed scenario? For the purposes of the poll lets assume that the 'accused' is not military, nor have they been found guilty of any crime. If you select 'Other', what would you have done?

Many people say that another Holocaust could never happen again, I truly believe that it could given the right circumstances. After all, does human nature really change with the passing of time? What do you think?

Regards,

FrankyG

^^ Too heavy for everyone I guess.....^^

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

The milgram experiment is pretty interesting ;)

Doesn't that show people's answers in the poll would not necessarily reflect the reality should the scenario arise?

P