Ch2- In their boots

One thing that stuck with me  from this chapter was the actions of the  German soldiers. I by no means believe that they did was okay but I think it is interesting to place ourselves in their situation. I think we all would like to assume we could never be convinced to commit such horrendous acts, but if we were honestly in that situation it might easily be a different story. It is very easy to criminalize the Nazi soldiers but you have to keep in mind not only were their lives in danger if they did not comply but their families back home. During this time the German economy was very low and inflation was high. Military service was one of the few jobs available.  The loss of this income could easily mean starvation for a soldier's family. Having read memoirs from the other side I know that some of the soldiers were horrified with the acts they were ordered to commit but afraid to step out of line. However, by no means did they have to be the level of harsh that they often were, such as immediately beating the Jews in the car to push them out rather than simply ordering them out.