Study Finds Career Pressure, Not Ideology, Drove Nazi and Authoritarian Perpetrators to Commit Atrocities

A new study by Christian Gläßel and Adam Scharpf at Berlin's Hertie School challenges the prevailing academic consensus about what motivated perpetrators of mass atrocities under authoritarian regimes. By analyzing promotion records of thousands of Argentine military officers and examining historical Nazi cases like that of opera singer-turned-killer Waldemar Klingelhöfer, the researchers found that career pressure and fear of dismissal—not ideological conviction—were primary drivers of participation in atrocities. Officers who underperformed in regular military roles were at greater risk of being discharged, making them more likely to join secret police forces where they could demonstrate loyalty through violence and torture. This interpretation aligns with Hannah Arendt's decades-old observation that Nazi bureaucrats like Adolf Eichmann were motivated by careerism rather than antisemitism, contradicting later scholars like Daniel Goldhagen who emphasized ideology. The research suggests that perpetrators of atrocities are often individuals rejected by conventional systems who resort to extreme measures to advance themselves.