On Cowardice

When we think of the Holocaust, we often think of the slaughter at the concentration camps. But many Jewish towns were attacked as well. In the case of Battalion 101,they were sent to kill all the women and children and capture the men in order to make them work. Now, in probably most cases, the men ordered to carry out such a task would be forced to do it without question. But in this particular case, their commanding officer, a Major Trapp, gave all the men the option to back out from such a task. Many would later on admit that they did not want to have anything to do with this, but surprisingly few men actually backed out with such an option put on the table. Why would men who were given such a choice choose the apparently more humane route? When asked, many admitted to what can only be described as cowardice. Some admit to simply not hearing the offer, but for those who admit to hearing it, they said they did it for reasons like not looking afraid in front of their comrades, to ruin their careers as military men, or admitting to just being a plain coward. Fear of their own well being could become compromised got the best of the men of Battalion 101. Although many didn't want to kill the men (which can be derived from a pitiful performance when executing their orders) they still went along with the killing. They must of felt some shame for killing these men, but the men were obviously too selfish to do anything about it.