The terrible aspect of these photos (and you have to strain to keep it in mind) is how ordinary these SS-Germans appear. In a movie about Auschwitz, none of them could have played his own part to dramatic effect (unlike Audie Murphy).
I tried to look into the eyes of those in the photos and think, “those eyes witnessed mass murder daily, and their owners took part in mass murder”. Drew a blank.
Whoever coined the expression “the banality of evil” to describe those who carried out the daily wicked work of the Holocaust, is proven right by these images alone.
If only some of those faces had long fangs dripping blood.
The sad truth is, even normal people can be whipped up into a hate-filled frenzy by certain types of regimes.
"The great evils in history were were not executed by fanatics or sociopaths but rather by ordinary people who accepted the premises of their state and therefore participated with the view that their actions were normal."
It is incomprehensible to me how seemingly “normal” human beings can become so inured in such excruciating and unspeakable cruelty.
IMHO, they look very much like every socialist Democrat I've ever observed and some conservatives, who simply are doing what they consider right in their own eyes. Corruption of the thinking processes (the soul) does this to people.
For example, look at Dan Rather, Al Gore, and OJ all who sincerely have convinced themselves of falsehoods appear even more miserable than people like Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Soros, etc. who have scarred themselves into believing they are righteous in their own eyes, all independent of faith in Christ.
As an interesting sidenote, one consequence of thinking separate from what God has provided us in salvation, will ultimately result in similar results which are all simply burnt up in the end.