“Those Who Said ‘No!’: Germans Who Refused to Execute Civilians during World War II”, 1988-05 ():
Could a German refuse to participate in the roundup and murder of Jews…?…We may never learn the full answer to this, the ultimate question for all those placed in such a quandary, because we lack adequate documentation in many cases to determine the full circumstances and consequences of such a hazardous risk. There are, however, over 100 cases of individuals whose moral scruples were weighed in the balance and not found wanting. These individuals made the choice to refuse participation in the shooting of unarmed civilians or POWs and none of them paid the ultimate penalty, death! Furthermore, very few suffered any other serious consequence!
…These records are stored in the archives of the Zentrale Stelle in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, or in the archives of the cities or states where trials were held in the postwar years. Research in many of these records has enabled the author to document at least 85 instances in which one or more individuals refused involvement in the Nazi execution of unarmed human beings during World War II.
…The author’s research thus far has turned up in the Ludwigsburg Central Office archives at least 85 separate cases of one or more individuals who refused to become involved in the murder of civilians or Russian POWs. These range from Generals in the Army and Police as well as officers in the Waffen-SS, SD, and in the Einsatzgruppen (the true execution units) to enlisted men in all these branches of service and Party officials. Most often, they were refusing participation for themselves only, but there were at least 12 cases in which officers also refused to allow their units to participate in these murders.
Table 3: Consequences for Those Refusing Orders to Carry Out Executions Consequences n % No negative consequences at all 49 57.6 Sent to concentration camps 1 1.2 Sent to combat units as punishment 3 3.5 House arrest/investigations, later dropped 5 5.9 Reprimands/threats to send to front, concentration camps, or put on report—not done 15 17.6 Units broken up after officers refused 2 2.4 Transfer to another unit or back to Germany 14 16.5 Demotion or lack of further promotion 7 8.2 Drive officers to executions, dig pits, guard detail sealing off area 4 4.7 Resigned or removed from position 3 3.5 …Consequences: What consequences were there for those who refused? The author’s study of these 85 cases finds there is no proof that anyone lost their life for refusal to kill civilians and prisoners. 49 (57.6%) reported no negative consequences at all. Several were even promoted after their refusal.
The most serious consequence was that of Hornig (see Case VII above) who was arrested for refusal to carry out orders to kill Soviet POWs. The most serious charge against him was that of undermining the fighting ability of his troops by teaching them about military and police codes of criminal law, rather than refusal to obey orders. In two trials, he received no final sentence and was sent to Buchenwald as an inmate, but retained his rank and officer’s pay. He was under investigative arrest.
3 others were sent to the frontline, where one was killed in action. This was surely not an extraordinary consequence for many of Germany’s men during the war.
All cases of men under house arrest or investigation for possible court-martials led to these being dropped. Over 1⁄6th of all cases involved threats to the refusers to put them on report, send them to the front, or to a concentration camp. Most of these threats were not carried out. Two officers had their units dissolved after their refusal.
Transfer, often back to Germany—hardly a punishment—or to another unit occurred in 1⁄6th of all cases. Such transfers sometimes resulted in demotions with lower salary, as in the case of a nurse who refused to participate in the euthanasia program. Transfers could also open up the possibility of subsequent promotion.
Several cases of demotion or lack of promotion after refusals were noted. Only 4 cases resulted in the refusers having a mild form of participation forced on them, such as having to drive officers to the execution site, dig the execution pit, or help with the guard detail sealing off the execution area from outside eyes. 3 refusers ended their careers by resigning or were removed from their positions.
These results are very consistent with those of the Herbert Jäger study [Verbrechen unter totalitärer Herrschaft: Studien zur nationalsozialistischen Gewaltkriminalität] made 20 years ago and published only in German.
See Also:
Rebel, Remain, or Resign? Military Elites’ Decision-Making at the Onset of the American Civil War
To Purge or Not to Purge? An Individual-Level Quantitative Analysis of Elite Purges in Dictatorships
Libraries in Hell: Cultural Activities in Soviet Prisons and Labor 1930s–1950s
Credibility and Incredulity in Milgram’s Obedience Experiments: A Reanalysis of an Unpublished Test
The Voluntariness of Voluntary Consent: Consent Searches and the Psychology of Compliance