This link will connect you to an interview between journalist Gitta Sereny and Franz Stangl, the commandant of the Nazi death camps Sobibor and Treblinka in Poland, who was arrested in Brazil in 1961 and was sent to Germany to be tried for the murder of 900,000 people during the Holocaust. In it, Stangl talks about how he dealt with the "liquidations" of Jews he oversaw and the affects his experiences had on him later on in his life. After you read the article, consider the following questions and post any thoughts, comments, or questions you might have.
- After reading this article, do you think it is fair to view people like Stangl - that is, men in positions of power within the Nazi death camps - as inhuman and evil? Do Stangl's responses change your opinion of the Nazi officers? If so, why?
- How did Stangl cope with his job at the death camps? In other words, how did he detach himself from what was really going on?
- Based on Stangl's responses, do you think he regrets what he did? Provide evidence to back up your opinion.
1. this makes me think of the nazis different not all of them were so bad they could never really get used to the horror in which they were seeing. and they were just following orders which makes a difference. They were probably just glad it was not them and their families so they started to believe in what they were told to do.
ReplyDelete2. to deal with what Stangl was seeing he drank alcohol to cope with it. he also set up jobs in the camps to keep the soldiers minds off what they were really doing.
3. Based on Stangl's responses i certainly believe that he regrets what he did because he said “Months. It was months before I could look one of them in the eye. I repressed it all by trying to create a special place: gardens, new barracks, new kitchens, new everything; barbers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters. There were hundreds of ways to take one’s mind off it; I used them all.”he also said “In the end, the only way to deal with it was to drink. I took a large glass of brandy to bed with me each night and I drank.”. this makes we think he just did not know how to cope and he felt bad
1.After reading this article, my view on the Nazis has changed, but not an immense amount. They were not all inhumane and amoral because they felt guilt about killing people in the beginning. Eventually, they got used to seeing the horrors of death after months and thought of people as mobs of cargo. Also, they were just following orders of higher authority, which many people do. According to the Milgram Experiment, it is part of human nature to follow orders. Still, I feel strongly about the killing of innocent people. Many young children were killed, and for what reason? Was it because of who they were? This, to me, is an inequity. People should not be treated badly for being "imperfect." I cannot forgive the Nazis for what they did, for killing millions of people in concentration camps. Although, not all of them were bad.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl detached himself from the horrors of death by drinking a glass of brandy every night, and he used his job as much of a distraction as he could. In addition, he repressed it by trying to create special places, such as gardens, new barracks, etc.
3.Based on Stangl's responses, I assure you that he laments what he did because he is human, and one can only bare so much guilt. His remorse is shown when he says, "When I was on a trip once, years later in Brazil my train stopped next to a slaughterhouse. The cattle in the pens, hearing the noise of the train, trotted up to the fence and stared at the train. They were very close to my window, one crowding the other, looking at me through that fence. I thought then, ‘Look at this; this reminds me of Poland; that’s just how the people looked, trustingly, just before they went into the tins...I couldn’t eat tinned meat after that. Those big eyes... which looked at me... not knowing that in no time at all they’d all be dead.” It is evident from Stangl's flashback that he regrets his actions because he could not handle seeing mobs of cattle about to die, just as he saw the mobs of people about to die.
1.) Prior to reading this article, I believed that every single Nazi and Nazi officer was an awful, inhumane, evil person. They killed millions of people for no reason at all. What they did cruel and wrong in so many ways. These people were heartless murders who showed no respect for human life. After reading this article, my opinion has changed slightly. My personal opinion of Stangl changes, but I cannot say that for every single Nazi and Nazi officer. Stangl felt regret for what he did and showed sympathy for those he killed. However, there are so many Nazis that greatly enjoyed killing the Jews and took pride in their jobs. But I do think that Stangl and a select few did not enjoy their duties and regret everything they ever did.
ReplyDelete2.) I agree with CJ and Savera when they said that, as a way to cope with his job at the death camps, Stangl would drink a bottle of brandy every night before he went to bed. He also would imagine a perfect, special place where he could send his mind during killings. Stangl would imagine new gardens where everything was calm and surreal to separate himself from what he was actually doing.
3.) Based on Stangl's responses, I do believe that he regrets what he did. As Stangl was answering the interviewers questions, his body motions showed his regret and sorrow. For example, "'Cargo,' He raised and dropped his hand in a gesture of despair. " From his actions, one can clearly tell how upset Stangl was as he reflected on his past. Also, as he was answering the questions that were presented to him, he took many times to pause as he was retelling a story. During these pauses, Stangl was reflecting on what had happened and really remembering just what he did.
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ReplyDelete1) after eading this i have a different perspective about the nazis but i still dont like what they did to the people.
ReplyDelete2) i agree with CJ,Savera, and Lizzie when they said he drank and he had thoughts about the gardens.
on Stangl's responces i think he regrets what he said. For example when he said on “I think unconsciously that started me thinking of them as cargo," he was just upset and mad at himself
1. before reading this, i thought that every nazi was a cruel and evil person who did not care about the inferior races. after reading this, however, i saw that there was still some sympathy within the nazis, or at least in some of them. it was still gruesome, what they did and all, and my view of overall nazis has not changed because the could have rebelled if they really wanted to.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl sort of detached himself from what was actually happening, like what cj and savera said.
3. Based on his responses, i do believe Stangl regrets what he did. I thought that he was speaking with true honesty and sorrow. Like lizzie said, his body motions explained his true feelings of regret. He had to pause, as if looking back on a foolish idea, which makes me believe that he is being truthful.
1. after reading this i still do not agree with what the nazi's did at all. Even though Stangl regrets what he did, he knew what he was doing. i don't feel sorry for him because he knew that it was the wrong thing to do and did it anyways. i know that he probably felt like he had no choice but it's either your life, or millions. the millions would get killed anyways whether one stood up to the nazi's or not, but if one stood up and then another and then another...they might have been able to overpower the Nazis.
ReplyDelete2. to cope with his job at death camps, Stangl would drink a bottle of Brandy every night. Also, he would picture peaceful places such as gardens. like what Sean said, he was basically trying to detach himself from what was going on.
3. yes i believe Stangl regrets what he did. like hydro said, he used body language to show sorrow for what he did. i do believe he is remorseful for what he did but i still dont think that makes what happened okay
1. I agree most with Savera in thinking that Stangl seems more humane and on the better side of things than the Nazis themselves but that the Nazis truly did do a horrible thing in reality. I believe that at the time of the Nazi terror, the people were already so in need of just something to hold on to that when jobs as these liquidation officers came up, the need for dependence overcame the actual thought of killing people. It’s sort of like people’s experiences with war. They join the army knowing they’re going to experience war and they don’t imagine how overwhelming the effects are until afterward when the damage is already done and it’s too late to do anything. Similarly, the German peoples’ need for assurance from something drove them past the normal shock and realization of the horror they were doing. By the point that people can slip out of their panic for certainty, the damage is already done, they’re used to it and it’s too late to do anything.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl coped with the horrors involved in his job by doing several things. He states in his interview that he imagined special places in his mind. He distracted himself from what he actually had to do in real life. He also admits to drinking each night to save himself from the mental trauma but he says he ignored any thoughts about the wickedness of his work and focused on it as just being work. He’d concentrate on getting the job done not on what his job actually was. Stangl stated that after his first day at the camp when the overseer referred to the bodies as garbage, he started seeing the people as a whole not as individuals. It is apparent that after a while, people such as Stangl just got used to it.
3. In some ways, I feel that Stangl either regrets what he did even if it is just a little bit or that by a certain point, his mind was so warped and altered that he’s totally oblivious to what he did. It makes sense to say that a person that has to deal with the same thing everyday, even if it is killing a lot of innocent people, that with the right coping, that person can totally ignore and become accustomed to what they have to do. I’m sure that if Stangl was interviewed before he took the job knowing that his future contained doing the despicable he would definitely feel regret and guilt. I think when the real question is asked, it has a lot to do with psychology and how certain events and situations affect the way you think and feel. In all truth I can see how it would be easy for people like Stangl once they get past the point of suppressed shock and realization to never question the true horrors of the jobs ever again. Their mind has just adapted to not feeling anything and being numbed cold about any previous engraved social messages about killing like that. Stangl’s last words stick out at me and show that he doesn’t realize what other people would normally think an act of pure inhumanness.
1. After reading this article I do not think it is not fair for someone to judge the higher ranking Nazis. Before reading it I thought they were just cruel wicked people, but after reading I realized that they were just people doing their job. The interview did change my view of the Nazis. It made me see them as people who were just doing their job, but in doing so they were caught up in the horrors that other people created.
ReplyDelete2. According to his interview, Stangl said he was able to live with what he was doing by drinking at night. This way he would keep his mind off of what he was doing. He would also think of all of the beauties of life, like thinking of gardens and other places of tranquility. This way he would keep his mind away from all of the nightmares he was facing.
3. Based on the article, I do think he regretted what he did during the Holocaust. One reason why I believe this is because he was in despair when he realized what the prisoners in the concentration camps were to him. He said after being at the camps for a while the prisoners were like cargo to him. It specifically says in the article how he did not even try to hide his feelings about what he did, and how he was in great despair. Also in the article, he said how when he passed by cows that were at slaughterhouses, the looks in their eyes reminded him of how the prisoners looked right before they were to be killed. During this part of the interview, he said how he could not eat any meat from the cows for a while. This shows that he regretted what he did because when he thought about the cows, he felt guilty because the same treatment of the cows were similar to that of the Jewish people in the camps.
2. Like what CJ said, Stangl detached himself from the camp every night and drank before bed. he also thought of a normal world without all of the killing and death.
ReplyDelete3. i think that he does not regret what he did because he said that killing all of those children did not make him think of his children at all. He also said "I rarely saw them as individuals. It was always a huge mass".
1) I think if people believe that people like Stangl are inhuman and evil, that they should be able to have those views. Stangl's responses definitely do not change my beliefs on the Nazis.
ReplyDelete2) He drank heavily every night before going to bed in his barracks to detach himself from the happenings at camp.
3) I don't think he regrets one part of what he did since he said he rarely looked at the children as individuals, which is a bit weird if he thinks its normal. Kyle mentioned that killing the children didn't remind him of his children, but really : how do we know is telling the truth on anything?
1)after reading this article i have come to realize that not all Nazis were alike. Some Nazis did fully believe in Hitlers beliefs and were in humane. But others like Stangl who did not enjoy that part of their life. what made Stangl humane was that he could not fully cope with what he was doing. therefore i don't think it is fair to judge people like Stangl.
ReplyDelete2)The way Stangl coped with the camps is to start thinking of them as "cargo" instead of actual human beings. In addition, he would take a bottle of brandy and drink it each night to drink his problems away.
ReplyDelete3)based on his response i do think he regreted what he did. i think this because of the way the reporter said “Cargo,” he said tonelessly. “They were cargo.” He raised and dropped his hand in a gesture of despair. Both our voices had dropped. It was one of the few times in those weeks of talks that he made no effort to cloak his despair, and his hopeless grief allowed a moment of sympathy." this quote means he felt sorry for the people in those camps.i know this because of the word despair which is hopelessness. He felt hopelessness because there is no way for him to take back what he did.
1) I agree with Lizzie and Sean because before reading this article, I thought that all Nazis were terrible, evil people. What they did was beyond awful and you would truly have to be a evil person to ever do something like that. My opinion on the Nazis has not changed at all because what they did is still and will always be tragic but after reading this article it was interesting to learn that not all Nazis were completely inhumane. There were some that felt much sympathy and regret for what they were doing to so many innocent people.
ReplyDelete2) Like Cj and Lizzie said, Stangl would drink every night to cope and would just escape in his mind to a happier time and place whenever he would kill.
3) Based on his response, I believe that he truly regrets what he did. Throughout the interview he is very open in his emotions and doesn't even try to hide how he is feeling. "It was one of the few times in those weeks of talks that he made no effort to cloak his despair." Like Taylor said, he was hopeless now, unable to take back anything he did.
Much like Sara and Lizzie, until I read this article i thought all of the Nazis were evil. However, after reading this interview, I realized that most of the Nazis were just numbed. Deep down they knew what they were doing was inhumane, but that was the way things went. They didn't dare challenge that.
ReplyDeleteTo cope with his job, Stangl drank brandy every night and avoided having thoughts regarding all of the people he was killing.
I, like most of the other people who have posted, think that Stangl truly regrets what he did at those camps. During the interview he was showing his emotions and seemed very vulnerable. He felt immense lament for what he had done.
1. As sean said before reading this i thought that all nazis had no soles, and did not care about what they were doing to the prisoners. Now i really see that the nazis did not really have a choice to say no to killing the prisoners. It was more of a kill or be killed type of situation. I think that it is fair to view Nazis as cruel people but i now do have a little more sympathy for them, because they had to see all of the haunting things they did to people in their memories throughout the rest of their lives.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl's way of getting away from it all was to drink it off. He did not want to think about the things that he has done, so he tried to do other tasks that got his mind off of it. He built new buildings, and planted garens, and like i said when there was no more to do he would drink himself to sleep.
3.Yes, i do think he regrets the decisions that he made. The way that he responded to the questions with pauses, and when his voice dropped hints to his regret of what he did at the camps.
1.) In my opinion, the men might not have been inhumane or evil to begin with but when they were on duty they had to be in order to stay collected and alive. As Edj and Sami have said, they had killed millions and they can never be forgiven for that. They were murdering Jews and they knew it, they just were unable to do anything about it. I believe some of them may have been humane and Stangl may have been one of the few. The problem is that the men with the most power were extremely evil and inhumane. The people of lesser power were unable to do anything and eventually became immune to the events. This mad them seem evil also but in fact they were just putting on their poker face. This is somewhat similar to “The Bear That Wasn’t”. In that story, people with lots of power tell him who to be and he gives in to them. The Nazis were being told ,even from a young age, how to act and how to behave by people with power and they behaved that way.
ReplyDelete2.) As many have posted before me, Stangl drank to cope with the horrors that he witnessed. At night he would go to bed taking along a large glass of brandy. Also, as Lizzie said, Stangl distracted himself to take his mind of off what he was doing. When he did start to think about it, Stangl blocked it out.
3.)I do not know if Stangl regrets what he did, during the interview he seems to feel for the prisoners and at other times he does not. At one point Stangl says “This reminds me of Poland; that’s just how the people looked, trustingly, just before they went into the tins… not knowing that in no time at all they’d be dead”.
This quote shows that Stangl feels for them, he knows their fate and feels bad. Then again, Stangl says that he saw them as nothing but cargo or as a large mass. This makes it seem like he doesn’t care for them at all.
1. I agree with Kayleigh, Sara and Lizzie in the fact that I view the Nazis as not all horrible people after reading the article. Although there were many officers, and Nazis unlike Stangl, who truly did enjoy killing the Jews, there were some people who did not like there job. These people did not like hurting many innocent people, and I think that only because of peer pressure, people continued to do the inhumane things. I also believe after reading this article that although Stangl realized that killing many people was wrong that he did not speak up because of fear. Although I still view the Nazis as evil, I do understand their fear of higher authority, and therefore understand why they did not/ could not stand up for what they believed for, as they too might get killed.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl detached himself from the reality that he killed people each and every day in a couple of different ways. The article states, “I repressed it all by trying to create a special place: gardens, new barracks, new kitchens, new everything; barbers, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters.” This quote really shows that Stangl imagined a better life, and really did not like thinking about his job. The article also says, “’ In the end, the only way to deal with it was to drink.” This quote also shows that Stangl tries to escape the horrible parts of his job with letting loose, and relaxing.
3. Based on the responses given by Stangl I think he somewhat regrets what he did. On one hand he does, as stated in the article, “and his hopeless grief allowed a moment of sympathy.” This was the body motion of Stangl after answering a tough question about the horrible things he did. I think after thinking about how he killed many people Stangl begins to feel bad and depressed. On the other hand I do not think Stangl regretted it as seen a couple times in the article. “I enjoyed it. It fulfilled me.” This quote shows that looking back at his job Stangl enjoyed killing others, and therefore did not see many things wrong with the actions he took.
1. My view on Nazi officers has changed, but not to the extent where I forget that they took part in the most infamous genocide in the world. I do not think it is fair to judge Nazi officers as being evil. These officers were convinced by others who worked either above or on the same level of them that the job they did was for the better. Also, they were given orders that, in their minds, could not be denied. They believed that if they did not do as they were told, they would receive severe punishment or a death sentence. This does not make them inhumane, but instead it makes them like any other human who does not wish to face death. However, this does not change the fact that they took part in the killing of six million innocent lives.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl was able to cope with his job by drinking brandy every night and trying to become completely absorbed in his work. He also was able to detach himself from reality by imagining special places, such as gardens, in an effort to escape.
3. I think that Stangl does regret what he did. When Gitta Sereny describes his expressions and reactions to questions, they all seem to be sad or remorseful. Even his answers show that he wishes he could change what he did. For example, when Stangl describes a time when he sees a bunch of cows next to a slaughterhouse, he says, “I thought then, ‘Look at this; this reminds me of Poland; that’s just how the people looked, trustingly, just before they went into the tins.’…I couldn’t eat tinned meat after that. Those big eyes... which looked at me... not knowing that in no time at all they’d all be dead.” Stangl claims that he could not eat tinned meat after seeing the cattle and remembering what it was like at the death camps, since the cattle were just like the victims of the brutal killings. This shows that he does regret what he did because he could not stand to remember what it was like at the camps since the memories of people dying were too strong, so he tries to push away anything-in Stangl’s case, tinned meat-that will remind him of the death camps.
1. After reading this interview my opinion of the Nazi soldiers has changed slightly but not an immense amount. Some of them could not understand what was going on, but they had to follow orders for fear of what might happen if they did not. However, they still killed millions of innocent people and they did nothing to try and stop it. It does not matter how confused or scared they were, they still did awful things to human beings and my opinion of that will never change.
ReplyDelete2. Stangel detached himself from the horror of the concentration camps by distracting himself with other things. He tried many different activities and hobbies to keep his mind off of what was really happening. Stangel also mentioned that he thought of the Jews as a mass of people and never really took the time to look at them as individuals. He only saw groups of dead bodies and groups of people being whipped that he did not know how the individual people felt and how they were being affected.
3. Based on the interview I think that it took time for Stengel to regret what he did but I don't think it happened right away. He mentioned riding on a train in Brazil and it stopped in front of a slaughter house. The cattle in the field heard the train and came over. Stengel looked into their eyes and saw this innocence and confusion, and at that moment, I think he realized that that was what the Jews were feeling. They had that same look of confusion and pain in their eyes and Stengel knew that he regretted what he had been a part of.
1) After reading this article, I have realized that not all Nazis are inhuman. Stangl tried everything in his power to be a better person after the Holocaust had ended. He did not realize what was going on until after it was over and regrets the decisions made during that period of time. My opinion does change for the Nazis officers though. They are evil and direct other Nazis in what to do without even thinking of the results. Even though my opinion is different Stangl, it does not change what took place during the Holocaust.
ReplyDelete2) Stangl coped with what was going on at the death camps by drinking during the nights to forget about what had happened during the day. He always felt he needed to detach himself from what was going on each day.
3) I agree with Nicole. I think that it took time for Stangl to regret what he did. He finally realized that everything happening in the Holocaust was wrong when he saw a group of cattle outside a slaughter house. The cattle were waiting to be killed and reminded him of the Jewish people in the death camps. He saw innocence and confusion in their eyes and finally realized that what was happening in the death camps was wrong and Stangl has immediatley regretted everything he had been a part of.
1) I do not think it was fair to view the men as inhuman and evil. They were people just like us, faced with problems in their country. After seeing their country fall so hard at the end of WWII, it makes sense for them to want to support their leader. They were also lacking for jobs, so for many of them, being a Nazi soldier may have been the only source of income they had. Also, based on Stangl’s responses, you can tell that they didn’t enjoy what they did. It doesn’t change my opinion, because my opinion was always that.
ReplyDelete2) To cope with his job at the death camps, Stangl would drink alcohol.
3) I think he did regret it. I think he regretted what he was doing the whole time he was doing it. In the article, Stangl constantly says that he would keep himself thinking it was work. That shows that he didn’t want to think of the reality of it, which was that he thought what he was doing was absolutely horrible.
1. It is not fair to view people like Stangl as inhuman because they had to follow their leader's orders. If they didn't do as they were told, they would lose everything that they had worked for.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl would drink alcohol and dehumanize the people he executed.
3. I believe that Stangl did regret what he had done because he alwayst tried to avoid talking about what he saw and what he had to do, he would stop mid-sentence grieving.
1) It's not really fair to view Nazis like Stangl as inhuman. I think this because they were just doing what they were told. They didn't necessary like what they were doing but they still did it and that's what makes them bad in my opinion. They could have decided to stop doing what they were doing and it might have created a chain reaction. If this happened millions of innocent people could have been saved.
ReplyDelete2) In order to detach himself from what he was doing, Stangl would drink to try to forget about what he was doing. Stangl also though of things other than the concentration camps to forget what he was doing.
3) Based on Stangl's responses, I think he did regret what he did. He says that the cows in the slaughter house were like the people at the camps. He felt bad for the cows, and this means he also felt bad for the people. He feels extremely guilty for what he did. I think when he saw the cattle at the slaughter house is when it hit him, that what he did really was wrong.
1. Before reading this article, I thought that all Nazi’s were terrible, sick people who wanted to murder Jewish people, but after reading this, I can see that’s not really true. Even though Stangl had power in the death camps, he was not an evil person; he was just doing his job. On the other hand, I don’t believe that Stangl was a very good person because he did murder many innocent people; he could have stepped up and tried to stop the killings or have chosen another job that didn’t involve executing people.
ReplyDelete2. In the article, Stangl said that he coped with his job in the death camps by drinking. He said, “I took a large glass of brandy to bed with me each night and I drank”. Drinking was his way of dealing with all of the pain and stress of his job and it’s actually kind of sad that his job drove him to do this.
3. Based on Strangl’s responses, I think he felt a little bit regretful and embarrassed of what he did, but he still believes that he was just doing his job and following orders.
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ReplyDelete1. Like Savera said, this article made me change my thoughts of the Nazi officers, but not very much. I do not think that they were right at all for what they did, but they said that they felt guilty and sad at first when they killed people, and then after a while, it did not bother them so much. Also, it is wrong to view all of the Nazi officers as terrible people, because they were really just doing what they were told. I still think that they were wrong for even thinking about doing what they did, but I know that they are not heartless, and they show some sympathy for the ones that they have killed. But again, I am completely against the Nazi officers for what they did, because they killed 900,000 people for doing nothing at all, but being Jewish.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl coped with his job at the death camps by drinking. For example, the text states, “In the end, the only way to deal with it was to drink. I took a large glass of brandy to bed with me each night and I drank.” He used drinking to make himself forget about what he did and cope with it.
3. Based on Stangl’s responses, I definitely think that he regrets what he did. He does not say it, but you can tell. Besides, I do not think that anybody, could kill that many people, and be completely okay with it. Also, I think he regrets it because the text states, “ ‘...I couldn’t eat tinned meat after that. Those big eyes... which looked at me... not knowing that in no time at all they’d all be dead.’ He paused. His face was drawn. At this moment he looked old and worn and real.” This quote proves that he regrets what he did, because he could not even eat tinned meat after seeing cattle die. He said that the “cargo” reminded him of the people killed in Poland, which shows that he felt bad for the cattle; as much as he felt bad for the people he killed.
1.) After reading this article my opinions of Nazi officers did not change. I believe that Stangl still could have refused to kill people. If he truly believed that what he was doing was wrong, then he should not have done it.
ReplyDelete2.) Stangl said in the article that to cope with his job he drank a large glass of brandy every night.
3.) Based on the article, I do believe that Stangl regrets what he did, however I still believe he could have refused the orders to kill others. Like Kelly said, in the article he feels embarrassed and ashamed of himself because of his doings in the death camps.
1. This makes me rethink my opinion on the Nazis. Now I know that not all Nazis are bad people, their people that were influenced by the wrong people. I think that if people knew all the pain some of the Nazis had went through they too would feel differently. Many of the people started to believe that what they were doing was considered right. So many of them didn’t question what they were doing.
ReplyDelete2. Stangl would keep himself busy by doing different jobs throughout the camps. He also drank a lot of alcohol to keep his mind off having to kill many innocent people.
3. In a way I believe what he was saying was true because like CJ said he couldn’t look the people in the camps in the eyes for months because he didn’t want to feel regret. Also when he referred to them as cargo he lowered his head as in shame that he would refer to them as such.
1) I can barely think or even absorb of what went on at the the concentration camps and how thousands of men, women, and children suffered so horribly and were killed. I can not even think of how anyone could harm someone else,let alone what happened there. Throughout reading the article, I kept thinking of how evil these "men of power" in the Nazi camps were. Stangl's responses do not change my opinions of the Nazi officers. When I think of the definitions of "evil" and "inhuman", I think of Stangl and all the others that had the power to do something good and human yet chose to do evil and inhumane acts on others.
ReplyDelete2)Stangl detached himself and repressed his thinking about what was really going on by keeping himself very busy by creating new and special places like gardens, barbers, tailors and many more distractions to keep him from thinking of what was really going on. He concentrated on work. In a way, he was trying to create something beautiful to see because in his "soulless" heart he saw death every day. Stangl would also drink a heavy amount of alcohol to help him try to forget and ignore what he and others were doing to these poor, innocent people.
3)Based on Stangl's responses, I do think that deep down inside he did regret his wrong doings and what he was part of. He was able to bury his thoughts of wrong doing in his mind and was able to reason and justify with himself that he was just following orders and it was a job to do. When Gitta Sereny made the comment to Stangl, "So you didn't feel they were human beings?", and his response was "they were cargo". He was referencing that when he was on a train ride in Brazil, the train had stopped next to a slaughter house and that he saw the cattle in pens. He stated that they trotted up to the fence, and were very close to his window and were looking at him. At that point, it reminded him of Poland, of how people looked, trustingly, just before they went into the tins to die. Because of this experience, he could no longer eat tinned meat. It reminded him of the killings he took part in and his other wrong doings.
1.) I do believe that Officer Stangl had strong regret for the brutal things that he did to the Jewish families because of the fact that they were brainwashed by Adolf Hitler, however I still do not believe the things he did were right. These officers were told that themselves and their family members would have to suffer the consequences if they did not obey Hitler's rule, so in some way I do understand how these people went along with Hitler, even though the acts were very horrific.
ReplyDelete2.) In order to cope with his job at the concentration camps, Stangel would drink a large glass of brandy to mask the effects of the brutal actions of all the Nazi officers. This helped him get his mind off of the things that he did to the innocent Jewish families everyday. The other thing that Stangel did to help cope with his job was imagine that the innocent families were not humans.
3.) Yes, I think that Stangel did have regrets over his actions based on the way he responded to the questions being asked. Stangel stated that he was ashamed and embarrassed of the actions that he portrayed during the difficult time of working at the concentration camps. Like what Kelly said, I believe that Stangel, himself, felt very guilty and regretful for all of his bad and evil actions that he portrayed and did towards the innocent Jewish families at the concentration camps.
1.)After reading this article, i still dont agree with what the Nazis did. they knew what they were doing and still did it. I do not feel bad for Stangel. He does regret it but that doesnt mean it was right.
ReplyDelete2.)One this Stangel did to cope was to pretend that the poeple he was killing were not human, so that maybe it wouldnt be as bad. another thing he did was he drank to get his mind of it.
3.) I agree with Anna that he did regret what he did because he answered all his questions with complete honesty. he was ashamed of what he did but he took owenership.
1. This does not change my idea on Nazi's because like Lizzie, I thought that all Nazi's were inhumane and did not feel anything that they were doing. I still do feel this way about most Nazi's in the fact that Stangl did not think of his family when he was killing children and destroying families. I still think that Nazi's were inhumane people that did not think of the consequences they would receive for doing the things they did.
ReplyDelete2.Stangl did things like drink a bottle of brandy every night and think of things like beautiful gardens to take his mind off of his job and dispatch himself from the killings going on in the camp,
3. I do believe that Stangl regretted most of what he did because of when he lowered his head in shame when he spoke of the bodies being cargo and when he took time think before he answered his questions. This allows me to know that he was ashamed of what he did and that what he was answering was sincere and thoughtful.
1. Yes, I believe that it is fair to view people like Stanglas in human and evil because those thing reflect him actions. He did inhuman and evil things to other human. And no what he said does not change what i think about it because even though he know what he was doing was wrong he still continued to kill those innocent human beings.
ReplyDelete2. Inorder to get away from what was going on in the death camps Stangl would often drink and think of special places such as a garden or new kitchen.
3.Based off of Stangl i do think he regrets what he did because of the way he beats around the questions which makes me feel that he is almost ashamed and embarrassed of what he did.
1. I agree with Willow, just because someone feels bad after doing something doesn’t make it right. For example when kids do something bad and soon after regret doing it, they still get grounded. Even though kids feel bad after the fact that still doesn’t make it right to do it again. I bet that when he was murdering thousands of people he wasn’t thinking about cattle and how he feels bad that they were hurt. Just like all Nazi they followed Hitler because they believed that what he was doing was right. And when he was following Hitler he thought that he was doing good and didn’t really care how the people he was murdering felt. Strangle just feels bad now because he was caught, like kids are after they commit a household crime.
ReplyDelete2. Like Sara said he would detach himself from the murdering of the death camps by drinking, he would drink a bottle of brandy every night before bed and after he killed. He would also he would block out any memories that he had during the day. He would picture a better world.
3. Like ben smith said, I think that he does regret the choices he made. Based on the way he responds to the questions. He adds a pause after almost every answer. You could almost hear the denial in his speech. And since he drank and wished of a better world whenever he killed shows that he did regret it because he wished he didn’t have to do the killings and hurt other people.
1) This article made me realize that the Nazi officers were neither inhuman nor evil, but they were simply following orders. They had a really hard time coping with the horrible things they did. One thing Stangl did in order to cope was make the death camps more pleasant in his mind. The fact that he had to do things in order to handle the thought of killing shows that he himself was not inhuman. He did feel guilt for what he did, but he just couldn't stop because he would be killed if he did, or at least that was his mindset. Was he being selfish? Yes he was. However, don't we all have to be a little selfish if it means survival?
ReplyDelete2) To cope with the death camps and his job at them, as my fellow classmates said, he would drink and imagine peaceful things. He also tried to imagine that things weren't as bad as they actually were. By doing things like thinking of the inmates as cargo and cattle, it made it easier for him to kill them. Killing cattle and dumping cargo or garbage are lesser crimes than murdering hundreds of thousands of people. In other words, he pretended that he was doing lesser crimes than the ones he was actually committing in order to be able to sleep at night with the knowledge of what he had just done that day.
3) After reading this article, I feel that Stangl feels guilty for what he did, but he knows that he couldn't do anything about it. Because he felt that he had no choice but to be a murderer, I feel that he does not regret what he did. How can you regret something you feel you have no control over? You can't. You can only feel guilty. I agree with Molly that the part of the article she stated does show the guilt that Stangl feels. The text shows that Stangl feels that he could not have done anything differently when it says, "'Could you not have changed that?' I asked. 'In your position, could you not have stopped the nakedness, the whips, the horror of the cattle pens?'
A. 'No, no, no. This was the system. Wirth had invented it. It worked. And because it worked, it was irreversible'". He felt guilt, but no regret.
1) I have always thought that the Nazi's were awful people that didn't have any feelings and were just pure evil. After reading this, I realize that they were just following orders. Stangl mentions that it was his job, and he just got used to it. Stangl, and probably most other Nazi officers, tried to just block what they were doing out of their mind. In the article he says "I made myself concentrate on work..." Basically, I think that the Nazi officers were human, they needed a job, and that was that. They tried not to think about what they were doing, and just blocked it out or turned to other things.
ReplyDelete2) Stangl turned to drinking. When there were nights when he couldn't help but think about it, he would just drink to get his mind away. He also tried to think about other things, like he said he would just tell himself the people were cattle, garbage, or cargo.
3) I do think that Stangl feels guilty what he did.He mentions when he was in Brazil, he saw the cattle and it reminded him of Poland. I think he even felt guilty what he was doing while he was doing it. The fact that he had to turn to drinking, and think about other things makes me think that he constantly felt guilty. Like Erica said, I do not think that he regretted it. It was his job, and he mentions in the article that it was his work. "That was my profession; I enjoyed it. It fulfilled me. And yes, I was ambitious about that; I won't deny that." He does not regret having a job and doing what he had to for his job, but I do think that he feels guilty about what he did in the big picture of the Holocaust and that he saw these people as cargo. Basically, he doesn't regret what he did, and would not go back and change it...but does in a way feel bad. If that makes sense?
1.) I never thought that all Nazis were completely evil creatures with no mind. They were still ordinary people like you and me. After reading this, my thoughts made more sense to me. Like Stephanie and Lucy said, they were just following orders. Stangl was doing what he thought was the best was to survive. He didn't think about the effect it would have on the Jews, he looked at it as if that were another world. He does his job, and that was that. He blocked it out of his mind. I think it is fair to say that he was, for the most part, evil; but, we all are. I am in no way supporting him or his decisions, I simply can see how being in his shoes must have felt, and how difficult some of the things he did must have been. He could have stopped,rebelled, or done anything to prevent this, but instead he went along with it. It was one of those "better them than me" sort of situations. This happens every day, just of course not as extreme as this. Its easy to melt in with the crowd and not really think about what you are doing.
ReplyDelete2.) To help block out the reality of what he was, Stangl drank. He is only human, and all humans feel regret and remorse. He did not want to feel; it would be harder to do his job that way. He would also imagine himself in other places, happier places that had nothing to do with Nazis or Jews, so he could escape and detach himself from what he was doing.
3.) I know that Stangl regretted what he did. Yes, he was obeying orders and did nothing to stop it, but no matter what he knew that every part of it was inhumane and wrong on every level. Like Savera said, one can only bear so much guilt.
1) Before reading this article I knew that all Nazi people were not awful people. (like Stangl) I believed that most of them had absolutely no right to do this awful thing but some just felt they had to follow. After reading this article, it shows that proved that they were not all awful. Some of them just felt they had to join because of the fear of the Stangl's group. Just like what had happened to the non-members of The Wave who had joined late after hearing the stories that had happened to the people not joining.
ReplyDelete2) Stangl used drinking to block out reality. We all know that just drinking is bad to do but when you are doing it to forget about something it is twice as bad. He tried to believe that he was not a part of this awful thing that was happening to him. He did this so that it was much easier to do with himself.
3) He defiantly regrets what he had done but he knows that he is going to have to live with it forever. Throughout the whole thing he was regretting what he was doing. But he did not stop he just drank and thought that he was not doing this crazy thing. This shows that throughout the whole time he know that he was going crazy he just did not know what to do about it.
1.) Sometimes I forget that not all Nazis were naturally horrible people. There were just too many of them for that to be true. Nazis are people too, and they have feelings just like everyone else. However, Stangl's responses did surprise me a little. He must have felt so powerless and sad, that there must have been no way to survive through the guilt unless they found some sort of joy over it. However cruel that may sound, it uncovers one of the motives of the Nazis for acting so relentlessly cruel.
ReplyDelete2.) He drank a lot, every night before bed. He tried not to make eye contact with the prisoners, and he imagined them as cargo, or one giant mass of bodies, instead of individuals. It's not the best way to cope, but it was the best he had.
3.) I definitely think he regrets everything he did. He had to drink every night just to cope with the burden he was carrying. At one point, he broke down in tears, filled with regret. It was just so horrible, I couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like.
1.)Like Lizzie said before, before i read this i thought all Nazis were cruel and hateful human beings that did there job because they enjoyed it.Stagnls response surprised me because of the all the guilt he felt because of what he watched and did. He has changed my views of Nazi officers to a more sympathetic way and to not assume they are all evil.
ReplyDelete2.)To cope with his job he became an alcoholic and drank every night. He used his job as much as a distraction as he could and created places like gardens and barracks to keep his mind off of things.
3.)I think that Stangl regrets what he did and knows that he will have to live with it for the rest of his life.At one point he even states, "his hopeless grief allowed a moment of sympathy" in the the interview he had. He must of had regret for letting countless people die and not doing anything about it.
1.)After reading the article I was also kind of surprised that a Nazi solider would feel this way about Jews. I thought that most of the Nazis were bad people and felt nonthing towards the Jews but I guess I was wrong. Stangl's response does change a little bit of how I see the Nazi soliders because it shows me that not all of them are bad and evil.2.)Stangl detached himself from what was really going on by letting what the other soliders and leaders said about the Jews be true. He decided to see the dead bodies as trash like others had said.3.)Based on what Stangl said in the article I think he does regret what he did because he remembered what he had done to the dead bodies and felt bad that they would never be able to see something or do anything else in their lives ever again.
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