Victoria Rule

Profs. Wertz-Orbaugh
UWRT 1103-011
8 Jan. 2016

What role did guards play in the treatment of prisoners in concentration camps?

My inquiry proposal will be focused on the treatment of prisoners the in camps, specifically
the role of the guards in the treatment. I chose this topic because I have heard some survivor
testimonies and read books about what life was like in the camps and it sparked an ongoing
interest in really figuring out what it was like to go through such hell and how someone could
inflict such pain on others. I am interested in the guards because they were untouched during it
all and seemed to blindly follow someone who was powerful enough to convince them to ruin
peoples lives.

I have very basic and minimal knowledge of the Holocaust camps and hardly none on
the guards. I know that there was a camp called Auschwitz and Treblinka and that camps were
classified based on what went on (forced labor, executions, etc.) I know that treatment in the
camps was brutal and unfair but I would like to know more about the guards and their role in the
prisoners treatment and whether any of them were capable of showing mercy to the
undesirables. When it comes down to it, the guards were responsible for choosing who lived
and I feel like many people abused that privilege to satisfy some need within themselves. The
Holocaust just seems like one big power struggle and I want to find out what it was like to be
involved in it.

I can think of many questions regarding my topic and the guards. My initial question is
how Hitler was able to recruit individuals to become guards at the concentration camps and
whether or not the people knew what they were getting themselves into. Did the people he
recruit know what was going on or did they just need a job or someone to follow? I would like to
know whether or not the guards hated the Jews like Hitler did or just took the job because they
were scared to say no to Hitler? Humans can do unbelievable things especially when they are
afraid of something or someone. Did any of the guards feel remorse for what they had done or
talk about what it was like to be one of Hitlers followers? Lastly, I would like to know whether or
not anyone ever tried to impersonate a guard in order to save a prisoners life. I feel like these
questions will lead me down various roads and deeper into finding out what life was really like
during the Holocaust.
I have thought of two different angles that I could use to approach my topic. The first
angle I could use would be to try and find testimonies from guards and see what they had to say
about their experiences during the Holocaust. I think hearing what it was like from the guards
point of view will offer a lot of insight into things that nobody else knows about. My second
approach would be to review survivor testimonies that focused on the treatment in the camps so
that I could get a closer look at the roles that the guards played in the prisoner's treatment.
My hope is that with this inquiry, I will figure out whether or not the Nazis ever felt
remorse for what they had done during the Holocaust and whether or not any of them tried to
stop what was happening. I will use this topic to dig deeper into what the Holocaust was really
like and I hope to discover some truths that some may not know about the guards or the Nazi
party.

Peer Response Reflection

While reviewing Ronis paper, I made sure to follow the guidelines listed on the paper
that we were given as a reference. I outlined each section and answered each question one by
one after reading the peer response once. I gave as much constructive criticism as I could but
also made sure to focus on the positive aspects of her paper. I noted that I liked how she
included Hitlers psychological process of speech because that was something I did not know
about prior to reading her paper. I appreciated that she seemed to do a little bit of research
before writing her inquiry proposal because it educated me on her topic which I had no prior
knowledge about. I loved the opportunity to do the peer response because I was able to see
how my peers were responding to the assignment and whether or not I was on track with what I
had written so far. Overall, I tried my best to look at her paper from more than just a teachers
point of view, I looked at content more than anything and I think that my unbiased feedback will
help her make some improvements to her inquiry proposal.