8. In Chapter 2, “Special Detail . . .,” (7-9) one of Campbell’s guards encourages Campbell to write a about the
Sonderkommando, those
Auschwitz prisoners who volunteered “to shepherd condemned persons into gas chambers and then lug their bodies out,” (knowing that when the job was done, they too would be killed). Why does the behavior of the
Sonderkommando seem so puzzling? What, if anything, does their behavior tell us about human nature? Why might reasonable people disagree about whether or not volunteering for the Sonderkommando was a shameful thing to do?
The Sonderkommando is a controversial job to many people. Volunteering to lead "lambs to the slaughter" isn't something most people would volunteer to do. This was a common job in the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Any human would agree that volunteering for the Sonderkommando was a shameful thing to do because it entails leading your own people to their death and then being killed yourself.
ReplyDeleteIt is human nature to look out for one’s self. This means doing what you can to survive. In the case of the Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz, it meant volunteering for the Sonderkommando.
My conclusion to the puzzling choice to volunteer for the Sonderkommando is that it was the quickest way to escape the prison they called life. The choice of living in the concentration camp or choosing to do a job that, when finished, ended their life was a choice that many prisoners were eager to make.
I think that volunteering for this job reflects the human characteristic of giving up. I would say that a majority of people do give up and quit when the going gets tough. Obstacles and situations in this life can get challenging and most of the time our natural reaction is: we lose the desire to keep going so we stop. Comparing this back to the Sonderkommando, I think that these men/women that volunteered had lost their desire to keep fighting and to keep living. Like Nik says, those that volunteered wanted the quickest way out, the quickest way to stop. As for this job being shameful, I think that I see it both ways. It's shameful in the sense that these people you are leading to death are your neighbors, friends, and family. This act of "leading" is not very noble or honorable. But I also understand the other point of view. The view that "I don't want to live this life of misery anymore; if volunteering for this unhonorable job gives me an escape then I'm going to take it." Normally I wouldn't be in favor of giving up (especially by death!), but I cannot even begin to imagine how awful Auschwitz was or what kind of life they had. That is what makes the Sonderkommando so confusing. We know it is wrong, yet we are sympathetic to the Jewish people and the entire situation.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to speculate on what was going through their minds since it was such a unique and disastrous situation. When treated as bad as they were, death may have seemed welcoming and, as others have said, the simplest way out. Leading others to their deaths could have been irrelevant to the individual if there was no will to live; it was just part of the process to put an end to the suffering. Personally I would not expect many people to walk so obediently to their death, but once again there are circumstances that can change people drastically.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading more on the Sonderkommando their behavior isn’t as confusing as it was at first. Most Sonderkommando were actually recruited upon entering the concentration camps, although there was the occasional volunteer. The “special unit” was reportedly treated moderately better than the other inmates of the camp, which I imagine would be a compelling reason to volunteer in those ghastly conditions, and were killed due to uselessness or the Nazi’s eagerness to rid themselves of witnesses. Regarding human nature, this shows (as Nik initially mentioned) our tendency to look out for our self.
ReplyDeleteVolunteering to be a Sonderkommando was likely shameful (especially to those few who lived through it) because they were aiding in the extermination of their own people and later looked down upon by most survivors. It could have also been shameful to those who were forced into it because they chose to comply rather than to die. One might insist it isn’t shameful because most would do the same if they were given the opportunity.
I agree with the above comments that volunteering for the Sonderkommando reveals human nature to be selfish and ready to look out for one’s self. I also think that it shows humans to be weak. As Kendall Dobbs said it showed the human characteristic of “giving up.” Humans on their own power and will are weak-minded and ready to not only serve their enemy, but kill their own neighbors, friends, and family. Campbell’s guard says he never wants to speak of him volunteering for the Sonderkommando again. Why? Because he doesn’t want to think of his weaknesses or even the evil in his heart. I believe this chapter proved human nature to be, when desperate, more animalistic than “human.” I cannot fathom the conditions the Aushwitz prisoners experienced and do not condemn or condone the decision of volunteering for the Sonderkommando.
ReplyDeleteThe behavior of Sonderkommando is so puzzling to us because knowingly agreeing to die is not human nature. Sonderkommando is suicide because these people knew what awaited them after volunteering for this unfathomable job. Suicide is nowhere close to human nature, which is why any event of someone killing them self is so tragic and almost impossible to understand. But as Kendall said before, these people could have lost their will to live. The horrific conditions at Auschwitz not only physically killed the people there, but also killed the people's senses, leading to not wanting to go on any longer. By Sonderkommando volunteering to shepherd people to their deaths then carry the bodies out, they had accepted death and escorted themselves to their own fate. Whether volunteering for this job was shameful or not depends on who the volunteer was. Some may think it was not, but those who volunteered and survived and don't want to think or talk about it do believe it was shameful. Shame could just be the extent to which those people could still feel emotionally.
ReplyDeleteI believe the volunteering for the Sonderkommando represents the desire to be remembered as more than a statistic. The men who volunteered probably felt hopeless and knew that they were going to die anyways so, like many heroes today, they chose to go out "with a bang." The fact that they had to lead in and out their own people was definitely a downfall to the job but I would imagine they were treated better than the average prisoner. It also ties into having a fulfilled life, many feel that it is dishonorable to sit back and wait for death to come to them so these prisoners decided to take it into their own hands and not only decide the time of their death but also get a "prestigious" job while they did it. Of course those who did this were probably alone, without family, and desperate to escape the life they were living in Auschwitz.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading about the Sonderkommando and their jobs, the first thought is "Why on earth would anyone ever volunteer for something like that?" Volunteering to assist in the countless deaths of fellow countrymen and perhaps even family members is beyond shameful, it's positively horrid to even suggest. You have to wonder what all would be expected of the individuals in a daily routine. Being worked like slaves, eating bread made mainly of sawdust, dealing with frostbite and who knows what other sicknesses, and watching people die day after day. When all this is combined into a dangerous recipe with a prolonged amount of time added in, the volunteering takes on a new light. I still find it absolutely appalling, but after a great deal of thought and imagining the situation, I sadly do see how it could happen. I agree with Allie that human beings are very weak, and also with everyone else who talked about how selfish humans are. It's so saddening that these people were to carry out corpses, knowing they were to be next, and still volunteer.
ReplyDeleteThis is Cerina Stiles.
ReplyDeleteThere behavior seems puzzling because they know that by volunteering for this they will not only kill other prisoners but ultimately cause there own deaths as well and most people just can’t fathom killing themselves. There behavior tells us that in desperate time’s people will do anything. I don’t really know whether other people would agree or disagree that this was a shameful thing to do but I disagree. I don’t believe it was shameful. They were living in Hell and they needed a way to be freed from it so by doing those awful things they were paid with the freedom of death.
The behavior of the Sonderkommando seems so puzzling because in society the idea of lugging dead bodies out of a gas chamber is appalling. If that weren't enough, they were sometimes the dead bodies of friends or relatives. Who in their right mind would volunteer for such a thing? The easy answer to that would be nobody. But we weren't in that situation. No one truly knows what they would do if they were in the same situation. Would you actually stand up against it, or would you try to stay alive for just a little bit longer by volunteering?
ReplyDeleteThis situation shows us that self-preservation is a part of human nature. I don't think it specifically said in the book, but I took a Holocaust Studies class last year and my teacher said that the Sonderkommando would usually stay around and do their jobs for a few weeks, then they would be killed. It's not like that lugged the bodies out once and were killed right away. They saw it as an opportunity to stay alive as long as possible. It was one of the few decisions they were allowed to make.
Reasonable people would see it as a shameful decision to join the Sonderkommando because they gave into the Nazi's game. Deciding not to join was a form of resistance. Also, a person would have to become numb in order to perform that job. It would almost seem as if the Sonderkommando were no longer human themselves. That could also be seen as shameful.
Some might say that being a Sonderkommando is shameful but i don't think that is a shameful thing to do despite the act being horrible and twisted but if i was asked to do it, i will not. The reason why i said that i understand why people would go on being a Sonderkommando and that its not shame is because i think that its only "survival of the fittest" and its only human nature to just prolong death or evade it as much as we can. The people that were in there had to make a difficult and hard choice because it was a dilemma and more than that they had to feel like they betrayed their own kind but they did what they had to do to survive longer.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Sonnderkommando was the ultimate desensitizer. Although, Gutman couldn’t explain why he volunteered for such a dreadful task, but like Campbell, I understand why I would’ve volunteered, also. I would want to get the whole process over with. They became desensitized with their surroundings, making it easier to kill knowing they, too, were going to die. (Though, Gutman is still alive).
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