Monsters in Uniform

 

Now that you mention it, the Japanese seemed to have used the exact opposite approach.  Maybe the pre-war Japanese culture of total obedience allowed them to use ordianry units for atrocities where as the Germans and Soviets encountered problems?

 

For example, ordinary Japanese sodliers were orderd to particiapte in the mass bayoneting of prisoners or the shooting of civilians as a means to "blood them".   Murder with a bayonet especially desensitized them for the next "action".  Ordinary German combat units rarely participated in directly in mass killings.

 

Ordinary Japanese combat units also conducted the horrific Kill All, Burn All, Loot All anti guerilla campaigns. In adition to "official murders", individual Japanese soldiers with sadistic tendencies were permitted / encouraged to act at random during these campaigns.  In contrast, the Germans used specialized units for mass murder,  round ups of victims from Ghettos and horrific anti partisan sweeps.  Sadistic actions by individuals was usually not permitted and seen as bad for discipline.

 

Pre War Soviet atrocities (1945 Vengenace atrocites were different) of mass murder, round ups for  deporations etc. were also conducted by specialized units (ideologically driven "Shock Worker" militias would supplement special NKVD units and move about the country side to new assignments).  As with the Germans, sadistic actions by individuals was rarely tolerated.

 

 

Originally posted by Nick1986 I think he's a German or Austrian as he's wearing a WWI medal.

Good eyes and good knowledge

 

Originally posted by red clay Perhaps because of his age he was in the "Volksturm"?  That's not a standard Uniform he's wearing.

 Good points, but he is wearing the deaths head emblem which strongly suggests concentration camp / ghetto duties.  The Volkstrum were mobilized 1944-45 for last ditch combat and were not used as camp guards to my knowledge. 

 

Hmm... I am thinking Volksdeutch, probably from Poland.   That could explain his age, the German / Austrian WWI medal and his non standard uniform (older Volksdeutch volunteers more likely to be accepted early in the war as ghetto guards etc. and would be more likely to be issued improvised uniforms than German units from Germany).

His worst crimes were in Warsaw, where his unit (consisting of a large number of visciously anti polish ukrainians) committed atrocities that even the German SS thought were excessive.  These unauthorized atrocities, coupled with unauthorized looting and fears that his unit was spiraling totally out of control (potentially leading to even more headaches for the Germans) led to his execution at the hands of the SS.  As a trivia side note, I believe that Kaminski self identified as Belorussian, and not Russian.