In another conversation, a soldier actually admitted accepting the invitation to take part in an execution. Surprisingly, the story related by Luftwaffe First Lieutenant Fried calls forth unmistakable uneasiness in his interlocutor, Infantry First Lieutenant Bentz:
BENTZ: When the Germans asked us if it was true about the atrocities in POLAND, we had to say that it was only a rumour. I am convinced that it’s all too true. It’s a shameful blot on our history.
FRIED: Yes, the persecution of the Jews.
BENTZ: In principle, I think we’ve adopted the wrong attitude to the whole of this racial question. It’s utter nonsense to say that the Jew has nothing but bad qualities.
FRIED: I once took part in it myself, and it left rather an impression of—towards on [
BENTZ: Were they only Jews?
FRIED: Only Jews and a few partisans.
BENTZ: They were driven past?
FRIED: Yes. When I think about it here—it wasn’t very “pleasant.”
BENTZ: What—you fired, too?
FRIED: Yes, I did. Some of the people who were inside there said: “Here come the swine,” and swore and threw stones and things at them. There were women and children there, too!
BENTZ: They were inside as well?
FRIED: They were there, too—there were whole families, some were screaming terribly and some were just stupid and apathetic.255
These two POWs talk past one another somewhat. Their basic outlooks differ considerably, and neither immediately registers that fact. Whereas Bentz rejects the mass murder of Jews and believes that Germany has “the wrong attitude to the whole of this racial question,” Fried says he accepted an invitation to execute Jews during Germany’s campaign against Poland. At first, Bentz failed to comprehend that Fried was among the executioners. Only when Fried adds that the experience was unpleasant, does Bentz realize whom he’s talking to. Fried, though, doesn’t let Bentz’s obvious dismay disrupt his story. He continues to relate how he shot not just Jews and partisans, but “women and children” as well. His laconic remark that this was not “pleasant” might have meant that he didn’t enjoy killing as much as he thought he would. Or it might simply reflect the fact that he notices his interlocutor is critical of Jewish persecution.
