Question about S.S. Guards

I have a question in reagards to the S.S. Guards at the P.O.W. camps...Were the guards forced in to duty at being a guard at those camps? I just read on MNBC where a former SS prison guard who was given a life sentence has died. If they were forced to be a guard at these camps, why should they be tried and convicted and ultimately given sentences. I am not condoning the horrible atrocities that happened at these camps. But if they were there just as a guard, aren't they the same as any other German soldeir who fought at the front. The officers and command staff who orchestrated or ordered the killings or the abuse definately should have been held accountable. Thanks for your input!

Randy

 

AFAIK the SS armed formations were all volunteers, although they wouldn't necessarily have had choice of postings of course.

 

They aren't POW camps, they are Concentration/work/death-camps.

Just as Spartan said, they volunteered for the SS.

 

Just being an SS Guard at one of the camps isn't criteria for being sent to prison; though, it is criteria for greater scrutiny.

Many of the guards were never tried those that were, like Klaus Barbie, assumed their rolls with exuberance and have been directly implicated in the criminal actions of the various camps.

 

Not all of the guards were volunteered, I don't know about conscriptions but they would transfer people from the front including the Waffen S.S. and Wehrmacht among others.

The reason why many did not object to roles within such camps was because there was a "stigma" of sorts attached to doing so. Many had assumed if they had rejected they could have been imprisoned or killed for defying orders, deserting, etc. Most stayed with varying forms of conduct.

In reality, those who requested transfers were quickly and quietly given one. The reason for this had to do with laws in Nazi Germany. Technically, what was happening in many of these camps were not legal under German law and as such, actions could not be taken against those guards who rejected this line of work since it could lead to more trouble down the line for the Nazi's.

I don't know much about the trials, I think only the worst case offenders were tried or given priority? Not the best source on this though. I don't know what happened to those who were transfered at Nuremberg either. I'd assume such details would have been logged to a certain extent which would work in a soldiers favor to a certain extent if they claimed innocence and actually were.

I recommend reading To The Death's Head True: Story of the S.S. if you can find a copy, it does a great job at detailing the S.S. including concentration/death camps, their evolution, laws (to a certain extent), etc.