RE GCSE - what are the moral issues affecting a nazi prison officer in the concentration camps?

Answer 1

The officers were still men with families. They were obedient to higher authority but they still had a conscience. They had to learn to accept what they were doing and rationalise it.
Was what they were doing morally right? To attempt to rid the country of Jews, blacks, gypsies, and any of non-standard ie Protestant faith.
Was it morally right to take the possessions of these outcasts?

Answer 2

I dont know about GCSE but after Schindlers list I wondered about this and read a few books, and I realised there were severe pressures on the Nazis involved, many of whom were no more evil than any british soldier who joined up because it was well paid, good food, nice uniform to pull the birds, chance of promotion, chance to do something for the Country etc.
When posted to a Concentration camp they could refuse orders, probably get shot, leaving their wife and kids etc destitute and homeless or just get on with it.
Sadly from my readings, few Nazis had a hands on role regarding inmates, most operatives supervising the death camp elements were inmates themselves, "Trustys" or similar doing all the herding and whipping, just a few germans manning watch towers etc. It was not the Germans I had moral qualm about but the Jews. Why did they not rebel, many would have died, but not all and all were destined to die. I just could not figure it at all.

Answer 3

To fully appreciate these issues one must first consider the times that the Nazi's instigated the camps, the reasons for them and the mood of the people at the time. It is necessary, therefore, to go back to when Hitler first came to power.

When Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30th 1933, it was at the head of a coalition government. It was very clear in his mind that it would not remain this way for long. By the end of March 1933, he had acquired much greater powers than the former leading politicians of the Weimar Republic could ever have foreseen when they supported his appointment as chancellor. The death of President Hindenburg in August 1934, allowed him to combine both chancellor's and president's positions into one when Hitler became the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor.

This gave Hitler absolute power and in a very short time he had eliminated all opposition.

Following World War I Germany had faced bankruptcy and hyper-inflation,. Times were very hard with high unemployment and poverty rife.

When Hitler came to power he did so on a tide of national euphoria. He had promised to rid Germany of it's enemies, the industrialists, the intellectuals, the communists, the homosexuals, the criminals and, most of all, the Jews. He promised full employment and an increase in 'lebensraum' (Living space) so that all Germans could live in prosperity. He claimed rights to the Sudetenland and other areas, Prussia, both East and West that had been seceded after WWI. He reduced unemployment at a stroke by conscripting a million strong army and commencing the building of the autobahn system and reintroduction of arms production. He promised everyone an affordable car and introduced the Volkswagen (People's car).

At the same time no other countries intervened in the army's growth and arms production, even thoufgh they contravened the Geneva Convention that limited Germany's arms capability, as they were not strong enough after WWI, so Hitler continued unchecked. He began the persecution of the ones he blamed for Germany's demise and introduced the Blackshirts and the Gestapo to ensure things went his way. He encouraged the persecution of Jews and instigated Kristalnacht (Crystal night) where many Jewish businesses were destroyed, the name coming from all the smashed windws that Jewish shops suffered. He arranged for the Reichstag (Parliament) Building to be burned down and blamed it on the Jews.

Thus he stoked the fuel that lit the fervour of Germany's feelings. The people thought he was marvellous. They were prosperous again and Hitler had 'saved' Germany. His troops had to swear a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler and followed him like sheep.

With such a background is it any wonder that the concentration camps were so zealously manned. Guards were carefully chosen and vetted before appointment.

So what were the moral issues?

Firstly the guards knew that inmates of the camps were being sent there to die, often in the most horrible ways, gas chambers, garroting, hanging and shooting. They were also systamatically beaten and starved.

Secondly they knew that all prisoners would have had all their belongings confiscated. being left with nothing.

Thirdly they knew that they were allowed to inflict any cruelty they desired on these people without recrimination. Jews were described as 'untermenschen' (underpeople) no better than animals.


Now then, picture that in contrast with a person's normal emotions of pity, kindness, understanding and sympathy. These guards had been so indoctrinated as to have had these emotions totally squashed and, again, were brainwashed into beleiving that the very prisoners they guarded were responsible for all the ills that had befallen Germany. With such a background is it any wonder that cruelty and inhumanity were totally accepted by these people?

The officers in particular were so hateful of the prisoners because they had all attended officer training camps which flattened any human feelings they might have had. So often after the War officers justified their actions by claiming that they had only followed orders, which they did implicitly and blindly with no thought of the consequences.

It is to be hoped that lessons have been learned from this but, sadly, such atrocities still happen in countries like Sudan, Tibet, North Korea and many others.

Answer 4

There are a few major issues.
One is obiedience to authority and the knowledge of moral wrongs. Most soldiers are obedient to whatever they are told, but the order which is clearly immoral, such as the order to gas innocent people. One psychology experiment, a famous one, done by Stanley Milgram showed that prfectly ordinary people stuck to the orders of authority even where the order given was clearly wrong (in the experiment they were asked to test a 'subject' on word pairs and shock them in incresing voltages for each worng answer).
Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Not all were totally evil but as they were hand picked most were ruthless, I can't think that they had many moral dilemmas as they didn't see the victims as people or human beings.

After all the atrocities that were discovered on the liberation of the concentration camps do you think they had remorse? Guilt? Did they stop to think all this is wrong? I personally don't think so.

Answer 6

I wasn't aware that Nazi prison officers had morals.

Answer 7

Looking like Herr Flick from the Gestapo

Answer 8

sorry i dont know