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. Although relatively little is shared about Probst’s own involvement (or noninvolvement) in the violence, his perspective on these events is useful because he tends to be more honest than others. For instance, he doesn’t just discuss how Poles would help the battalions track down Jews hiding in the forests during the judenjagd in order to be rewarded; he also relays that some Poles who tried to hide Jewish friends and neighbors would be executed, a fact that most of the other men did not address, since it made their own actions look worse. Probst’s statements about violence used against non-Jews (namely the Poles) highlight how willing most of the men in the battalion were to use violence once they became habituated to it after Józefów.
Get the entire Ordinary Men LitChart as a printable PDF.
Bruno Probst Character Timeline in Ordinary Men
The timeline below shows where the character Bruno Probst appears in Ordinary Men. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5: Reserve Police Battalion 101
...managed to evacuate 36,972 out of the desired 58,628 people. In his postwar interrogation, Bruno Probst, a drafted reservist in the battalion, recounts that these actions were his first experience with...
(full context)
...out or gets too close to the fence, which the men obey. In his file, Probst remembers watching guards on the ghetto’s main thoroughfare who would set their watches ahead, using...
(full context)
...on these transports was desirable because it meant getting to travel. During one deportation transport, Probst notes that the Jews believe that their belongings are going to follow them to their...
(full context)
Chapter 17: Germans, Poles, and Jews
...not to be violent towards Jews. Others try to portray German-Polish relations as downright friendly. Probst contradicts this by highlighting how willing the policemen were to shoot Poles for inadequate reasons...
(full context)
...many of the “hunts” were instigated by Poles with tips about hidden Jews, according to Probst. Probst is also the only man who confesses that Polish families who helped hide Jews...
(full context)
