Just finished Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland

A profoundly disturbing book, nuanced and very educational as to the sociology of killing and genocide.

For those working in conflict prevention and stabilisation I would highly recommend this book as it gives very good pointers as to the ingredients required for mass murder in terms of sociology (dehumanisation, legitimisation are key) as well as the impact on individuals and the mechanics of sustainable genocide.

For commanders and especially junior commanders it would be a good book to challenge their self-belief that they and their men would never knowingly do wrong. It is very easy to say that we are the good guys and would never do such things, but history is littered with examples of ordinary men doing unspeakable things. The mechanics of how Reserve Police Battalion 101 was co-opted into genocide, the break down of the unit into Active, Participatory and Inactive members, their increasing brutalisation and the impact of the leadership element is both sobering and informative.