Ordinary Organizations

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Ordinary Organizations: Why Normal Men Carried Out the Holocaust is a sociology book by Stefan Kühl. It was first published in 2014 in German, under the title Ganz normale Organisationen. Zur Soziologie des Holocaust. An English edition translated by Jessica Spengler appeared in 2016.

What it’s about:
The book asks why ordinary people participated in the Holocaust. Kühl argues that when people work in large organizations with formal rules, routines, and a clear chain of command, they can end up taking part in horrific actions. The book shows how everyday processes in institutions—how work is divided, how decisions are made, and how authority is accepted—can push individuals to act in ways they might not choose on their own. In short, normal-looking organizations can enable evil acts through bureaucratic habits and obedience, not just through obvious “villains.”

Why it matters:
The work helps readers understand how normal people can be involved in mass violence. It contributes to debates about the sociology of the Holocaust and the idea that extraordinary crimes can arise from ordinary organizational life.

Reception:
The book has sparked discussion in academia and was reviewed in journals such as The American Historical Review and Shofar, among others. These reviews discuss Kühl’s arguments about the role of ordinary organizational life in enabling genocide and how this changes how we think about responsibility and evil.

Further reading:
An English edition is listed and published by Wiley (2016). The work is a notable contribution to sociology and Holocaust studies.