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 his interrogation files, Keller seems somewhat blasé when describing the violence and suffering around him. He describes how badly the men wanted to earn a spot as a guard on the trains used to transport Jews from cities to ghettos or concentration camps because it meant they’d be able to travel, and how he and another policeman would complain about their commander, Captain Wohlauf, while they watched a mass execution. If Keller expresses any shame, regret, or anger over the orders he received to kill unarmed civilians, Browning doesn’t describe it. This leads to the implication that Keller was part of the majority of policemen who grew to accept their orders and actions as simply part of the job.
Get the entire Ordinary Men LitChart as a printable PDF.
Sergeant Hans Keller Character Timeline in Ordinary Men
The timeline below shows where the character Sergeant Hans Keller appears in Ordinary Men. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5: Reserve Police Battalion 101
...retraining. The men remember very little from this time beyond helping deport Jews from Hamburg. Hans Keller states that securing a spot as a guard on these transports was desirable because it...
(full context)
Chapter 11: Late-September Shootings
...to collect the Jews. Wohlauf doesn’t initially explain the true nature of their orders, but Sergeant Keller states that it is obvious that the Jews will be killed.
(full context)
