Reference no: EM132187295

Questions on the readings

Chapter 8

What common qualities does Mann find among the perpetrators of the Holocaust?

What professional groups were particularly involved? What qualities of these professional groups made them respond to the Nazi policies?

What does Mann's sample of 1581 Nazi perpetrators tell us about their family background and psychology?

Who are these people in terms of their places of birth?

Who were these people in terms of their religious affiliation (Catholics vs. Protestants)?

Who were these people in terms of their social origin?

Who were these people in terms of their prior relation to the Nazi movement?

Chapter 9

Was the Holocaust the product of instrumental rationality or value rationality?

Who were the people whom Mann calls "elite desk killers"? What common qualities do the members of this group display?

Who were the personnel of the concentration camps in terms of their place of birth, social origins, prior professional experience and prior relations with the Nazi Party?

What were the backgrounds and motivations of the medical doctors involved in the Nazi genocides?

What kind of people commanded the Einsatzgruppen in terms of their prior careers? What about the lower-level officers and NCO of the Ensatzgruppen?

What made the members of Police Battalion 101 execute the orders that resulted in the killing of 38 000 Polish Jews? What kind of killers were they according to the classification of perpetrators that Mann offers in his introductory chapter?

What was the role of the Germany army (Wehrmacht) in the Holocaust? What was the role of commanders, mid-level officers and soldiers and what were their motivations?