> We look at their motive. You know, what would the motive be? Were they antisemitic? Were they trying to do this for money? And then opportunity. Were they even in town?
I think this is insufficient to describe possible motivations at that time. Many people that betrayed others did so under duress. In poorer families it was still common to house where you work so many people lived together in larger communities. These were often infested by Nazi spies that reported anything suspicious to official bodies. People didn't necessarily knew who did the reporting in their communities and this atmosphere of fear was used to get people to talk.
If someone harbored antisemitic beliefs, they would probably be forthcoming of course. But the real terror of the Nazi regime is that friends betrayed each other out of fear. Jews themselves were questioned if they knew about others and some did answer because they had a glimpse of hope that they might be spared. They weren't of course.
Still interesting article and interested in what they will reveal.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 18.2 ms ] threadI think this is insufficient to describe possible motivations at that time. Many people that betrayed others did so under duress. In poorer families it was still common to house where you work so many people lived together in larger communities. These were often infested by Nazi spies that reported anything suspicious to official bodies. People didn't necessarily knew who did the reporting in their communities and this atmosphere of fear was used to get people to talk.
If someone harbored antisemitic beliefs, they would probably be forthcoming of course. But the real terror of the Nazi regime is that friends betrayed each other out of fear. Jews themselves were questioned if they knew about others and some did answer because they had a glimpse of hope that they might be spared. They weren't of course.
Still interesting article and interested in what they will reveal.