Hitler's Death Squads The Logic of Mass Murder by Helmut Langerbein

Hitler's Death Squads The Logic of Mass Murder by Helmut Langerbein deals with the issue of the SS-Einsatzgruppen differently than Masters of Death The SS-Einsatzgruppen and the Invention of the Holocaust by Richard Rhodes which I reviewed earlier today. This book is more interested in the trials of the members which were performed by the West German government in the 1960s. The author touches upon the same major historical debate but argues that peer pressure and group dynamics were directly responsible for the actions of many of the soldiers. Due to the privacy laws in Germany some of the witnesses and defendants [who were acquitted] cannot be named which is aggravating from a historical perspective but understandable. Both are highly critical of the judicial response to the actions of the SS. Certainly they are important works.




For more Holocaust book reviews, take a look at My Holocaust bookshelf.