There was an interesting test carried out by an American scientist named Stanley Milgram in the late 1960s. He got a group of ordinary Americans, and devised an experiment where the subject thought he/she was administering a series of electrical shocks to another person whenever they made an incorrect answer. 65% of the test subjects repeatedly administered a voltage that resulted in the "victim" screaming in agony and thrashing around audibly.
The percentage was even higher if the subject could observe other people apparently participating in the experiment and administering the same high voltages to other "victims".
Given the same situation as your average concentration camp guard in Germany, let alone a more honourable service such as the Luftwaffe, most people would have done the same.
|
08-02-2009, 10:24 PM
Threaded Mode