re: #40 Targetpractice

Did a basic look into the way the camps were handled by the Reich during WWII. And one thing of note was that they were actually fairly high-turnover, particularly because the guards assigned to any duties involving executions tended to burn out quickly from emotional stress. The SS actually had to constantly monitor camp morale and pull men off guard duty if they felt it was getting too much for them. Surprisingly, they also tried to monitor for the exact opposite, namely guards who took too much pleasure in wanton cruelty and murder, removing them largely because most prisoners were viewed as vital wartime labor and unnecessary injury or execution was a drain on resources.

Once the Nazis committed to their labor/death camps, they went about it in a very German way - systematically, to maximize results. I’ve always thought this was one of the most horrifying things about the Third Reich, that they were not insane. They weren’t just ravening out-of-control murderers. Everything they did was rational, planned, even scientific.