Depicting “Ordinary Men”: Browning, Goldhagen, and the Historiographic Use of Perpetrator Photographs

The Rise of Operation Reinhard

“…A key commonality between both murder campaigns was an interactive relationship between top-down and bottom-up forces whereby, as Matthäus observes, "[n]ot only did those committing mass murder learn by doing, but their top commanders and those in planning positions learned as well." 238 The key distinguishing feature separating the murder campaigns was that Wirth's "one best way" of killing civilians was more successful than Jeckeln's largely because Wirth developed a more impersonal, less public, less labor intensive, and more industrial and organized means of mass extermination. Consequently, unlike the shooting squads who balked over killing certain types of victims, Wirth and his fellow ex-T4 gassing experts revealed an uncanny and unparalleled knack for killing without complaint any civilians sent their way: Gypsies, Reich Jews, the elderly, women, children, even babies.…”