On The Special Squad

It goes without saying that the Nazi Special Squads were the most horrifying example of idiocy and evil committed by Nazi Germany. With the aid of SS "psychologist" as Levi puts it, prisoners seen as weary and desperate from their journey over were placed in squads to do all the "dirty work" of the Germans. Dirty work may be putting lightly, for the Special Squad had to do all the horrible things like working the gas chambers and incinerators, shave woman's hair off, and retrieve and sort any valuables found on prisoners. It was a horrifying position to be in, for these prisoners really didn't have a choice in the matter other then accept death. The Nazi's having no upper limit on their power, would most likely kill anyone who refused. It is a situation where there is no real good choice in the matter: either die right now, or die later after committing a horrible array of crimes to your friends and families. And not only are the crimes bad, but the message Levi says it sends is horrifying: "We, the master race, are your destroyers, but you are no better than we are; if we so wish, and we do so wish, we can destroy not only your bodies but also your souls, just as we have destroyed ours" (53-54). It is a crime that is demoralizing, degrading, horrifying, and a long list of really nasty words. It's a crime for not only posing a decision that has no good outcome for a person regardless of what they choose, but for putting them in a demoralizing position, and in addition to do horrific things to men and women that are in just a bad position for the same reason of being Jewish.