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 particular, Peters helps form shooting squads to execute Jews from Serokomla, placing him in close proximity to the violence. Peters’ continued presence at these actions indicates that he either never minded the violence or became habituated to it over time. As one of the handful of men from the battalion who are killed in action, Peters is never tried for his role in the mass executions of Polish Jews between 1942 and 1943.
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Lieutenant Oscar Peters Character Timeline in Ordinary Men
The timeline below shows where the character Lieutenant Oscar Peters appears in Ordinary Men. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5: Reserve Police Battalion 101
...of their education and career success as civilians: Hartwig Gnade, Paul Brand, Heinz Buchmann, Oscar Peters, Walter Hoppner, Hans Scheer, and Kurt Drucker. Five of them are Nazis, but none belong...
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Chapter 13: The Strange Health of Captain Hoffman
...and violence—the men had not been part of firing squads at Józefów and only Lieutenant Peters’ First Platoon had to take part in deportations or shootings because most of the company...
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Chapter 16: Aftermath
...during a judenjagd in 1943; in the final year of the war Gnade, Hoppner, and Peters die in action, and Drucker is injured and sent back to Germany. Trapp also returns...
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