Ordinary Men Characters

Christopher R. Browning is the author, researcher, and narrator of Ordinary Men. Browning is a history professor whose area of specialization is World War II, particularly the war in Europe and Adolf Hitler’s… read analysis of Christopher R. Browning

Major Wilhelm Trapp is the 53-year-old commander of Reserve Police Battalion 101. Many of the men affectionately call him Papa Trapp. Trapp is an Alte Kämpfer (which contributed to his assignment to command a battalion)… read analysis of Major Wilhelm Trapp

Lieutenant Hartwick Gnade is the commander of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s Second Company. Gnade joined the Nazi party in 1937 and is 48 years old in 1942 when Major Trapp starts giving orders for the… read analysis of Lieutenant Hartwick Gnade

Captain Julius Wohlauf is the commander of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s First Company. Wohlauf is also a member of the SS and has a lot of contempt for Major Trapp, who Wohlauf believes is… read analysis of Captain Julius Wohlauf

First Lieutenant Hagen is Major Trapp’s adjutant. “Hagen” is actually an alias and very little is known about him other than that he was killed in 1943. Before the executions in Józefów begin, Hagen… read analysis of First Lieutenant Hagen

As the SS and Police Leader for the Polish district of Lublin, Odilo Globocnik hands down the orders for numerous deportations, ghetto clearings, the judenjagd, and mass executions. Globocnik has a reputation for being… read analysis of Odilo Globocnik

Christopher Browning uses “Sergeant Heinrich Steinmetz” as an alias for the commander of the Third Platoon of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s Second Company. Virtually nothing about Steinmetz’s personal life is known, either during or after… read analysis of Sergeant Heinrich Steinmetz

Christopher Browning uses the alias Lieutenant Kurt Drucker for the commander of the Second Platoon of Police Reserve Battalion 101’s Second Company. At 33 years old, Drucker is one of the youngest commanders in the… read analysis of Lieutenant Kurt Drucker

Lieutenant Heinz Buchmann is an alias for the commander of the First Platoon of the First Company of Reserve Police Battalion 101. Before the war, Buchmann owned and ran a family lumber business and intended… read analysis of Lieutenant Heinz Buchmann

The notorious head of the SS and chief of the German police, Heinrich Himmler is one of Adolf Hitler’s closest advisors and one of the masterminds of the infamous Final Solution. To this… read analysis of Heinrich Himmler

Kurt Daluege is the head of a special branch of the German police called the Order Police, which includes city or municipal police, rural police, and community police. Daluege’s main office is in Berlin, which… read analysis of Kurt Daluege

The commander of the special Security Police branch of the German police, Reinhard Heydrich has command of the infamous Gestapo and the Criminal Police (which dealt largely with nonpolitical crimes). Heydrich plays an active role… read analysis of Reinhard Heydrich

Adolf Hitler is the chancellor of Germany during World War II. During the time that Ordinary Men describes, Hitler develops and begins to implement the Final Solution, a plan to eliminate the Jewish population… read analysis of Adolf Hitler

Christopher Browning uses “Bruno Probst” as an alias for a policeman in Reserve Police Battalion 101. The book makes heavy use of Probst’s interrogation records to describe events and actions the battalion took part in… read analysis of Bruno Probst

Christopher Browning uses the alias “Hans Keller” for a sergeant of Reserve Police Battalion 101 whose interrogation files are useful in describing what the men thought and felt about their orders and their superiors. In… read analysis of Sergeant Hans Keller

The name Otto-Julius Schimke is an alias for the one man who immediately accepted Major Wilhelm Trapp’s offer to be excused from Reserve Police Battalion 101’s first ordered mass execution in Józefów. Schimke risks… read analysis of Otto-Julius Schimke

Browning uses “Kammer” as an alias for a First Sergeant in Reserve Police Battalion 101’s First Company. Kammer is an important leader in the executions at Józefów—he has the rather unsavory task of leading the… read analysis of First Sergeant Kammer

Browning uses the name “Ernst Hergert” as an alias for a sergeant of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s First Platoon of Second Company. Sergeant Hergert is notable for coming up with a process of rounding up… read analysis of Sergeant Ernst Hergert

Sergeant Toni Bentheim (an alias) is part of Lieutenant Gnade’s Second Company of Reserve Police Battalion 101. He takes part in both the Józefów and Łomazy massacres. Like most battalion leaders, Bentheim has no… read analysis of Sergeant Anton “Toni” Bentheim

Lieutenant Paul Brand (an alias) is the leader of one of the platoons in Reserve Police Battalion 101’s First Company. As such, Brand comes into close contact with the executions at Józefów, but virtually nothing… read analysis of Lieutenant Paul Brand

As the commander of the First Platoon of Third Company of Reserve Police Battalion 101, Lieutenant Oscar Peters (an alias) has to lead his men in violent actions in Poland between 1942 and 1943. In… read analysis of Lieutenant Oscar Peters

As Lieutenant Buchmann’s deputy, Sergeant Rudolf Grund (an alias) plays an important role in helping Buchmann evade having to be present during violent actions against the Jews. Grund does this by asking Buchmann if… read analysis of Sergeant Rudolf Grund

A member of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s Second Company under Lieutenant Gnade, First Sergeant Peter Ostmann (an alias) reportedly brings deliveries of alcohol to the rest of the men before the mass murder of… read analysis of First Sergeant Peter Ostmann

First Lieutenant Messmann (an alias) replaces Captain Hoffman as commander of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s Third Company after Major Trapp removes Hoffmann from the position during his mysterious illness. Messmann is initially the leader of… read analysis of First Lieutenant Messmann

Lieutenant Walter Hoppner (an alias) is an Alte Kämpfer and the commander of the Second Platoon in the Third Company (under Captain Hoffmann) of Reserve Police Battalion 101. Hoppner is one of the few… read analysis of Lieutenant Walter Hoppner