General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: STARLING ORDER - Reply from Axel Niestle
Posted by:
cate
()
Date: August 18, 2002 07:16AM
<HTML>I only have a couple of very tentative observations on this interesting thread. Bit waffly I'm afraid.
Firstly, Its asking a lot of men to dispassionately separate out feelings of personal animosity from duties of combat. Activating their capacity for hatred and projecting it onto the enemy is part of the process of desensitisation necessary to make war effectively. Quite simply it's easier to psych yourself up to kill a man you don't know if you can feel personal hatred for him. Those feelings are not then easy to switch off. 'Excesses' will inevitably happen.
Individuals will vary in terms of their natural propensity/reluctance in regard to these acts as they do in regard to other characteristics. Men like Walker, perhaps of questionable mental stability or at possibly a mild personality disorder , may well find superiors inclined to look the other way and rationalise unacceptable conduct if they are delivering results, rather than rein them in. War is not conducted as an exercise in far play ; the stakes are too high.
Second, in open societies the fall out of couse has to be managed when hostilities cease, but such justice will never be pure, anymore than people are. It is implemented to serve ulterior political purposes, satisfy a cultural need for closure and self justification, as well as for its own sake. Partial, often inconsistent and unevenly imposed, it is rightly called victors justice. Whether you get called to account for your actions must inevitably depend on circumstances unconnected with your deeds.
At its best perhaps it at least demonstrates we do aspire to standards that are more civilised and humane than the ones we often manage to live up to. Discovering and facing up to the 'truth' of these incidents is a proper task for historians, journalists and the rest of us. It needs to be done with a cool eye as well as compassion, an understanding of the context, and our own responsibility for the role we ask men to take on in time of war.
Can anyone recommend a good book/ biography on Walker for me please?
Cate</HTML>
Firstly, Its asking a lot of men to dispassionately separate out feelings of personal animosity from duties of combat. Activating their capacity for hatred and projecting it onto the enemy is part of the process of desensitisation necessary to make war effectively. Quite simply it's easier to psych yourself up to kill a man you don't know if you can feel personal hatred for him. Those feelings are not then easy to switch off. 'Excesses' will inevitably happen.
Individuals will vary in terms of their natural propensity/reluctance in regard to these acts as they do in regard to other characteristics. Men like Walker, perhaps of questionable mental stability or at possibly a mild personality disorder , may well find superiors inclined to look the other way and rationalise unacceptable conduct if they are delivering results, rather than rein them in. War is not conducted as an exercise in far play ; the stakes are too high.
Second, in open societies the fall out of couse has to be managed when hostilities cease, but such justice will never be pure, anymore than people are. It is implemented to serve ulterior political purposes, satisfy a cultural need for closure and self justification, as well as for its own sake. Partial, often inconsistent and unevenly imposed, it is rightly called victors justice. Whether you get called to account for your actions must inevitably depend on circumstances unconnected with your deeds.
At its best perhaps it at least demonstrates we do aspire to standards that are more civilised and humane than the ones we often manage to live up to. Discovering and facing up to the 'truth' of these incidents is a proper task for historians, journalists and the rest of us. It needs to be done with a cool eye as well as compassion, an understanding of the context, and our own responsibility for the role we ask men to take on in time of war.
Can anyone recommend a good book/ biography on Walker for me please?
Cate</HTML>
