Why ordinary Germans killed Jewish people during WWII? That’s the question which disturbed the whole planet after the war. Former SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann went on trial in 1961. Eichmann was one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. In the court, he claimed that he only followed orders of his superiors. The psychologist at Yale University, Stanley Milgram, conducted a study of obedience. Would ordinary people harm others if it was ordered?
Milgram chose 40 male participants aged between 20 and 50. They were told that they were recruited for an experiment on learning and punishment. Two groups were created - «learners» and «teachers». And each of them formed a pair. During the whole process, the experimenter in a white lab coat was near the teacher. The students had to learn a list of word pairs and then undergo a test. After every incorrect answer, the teacher had to punish the learner with an electric shock. The level of the electric shock had to be increased by the teacher after every mistake. The minimum ley only simulated level was 15 volts (a slight shock). The maximum level was claimed dangerous - 450 volts(!).
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