One of the aspects of the activities of the famous German social psychologist H. Welzer is the study of the motivation of middle and lower level Nazi criminals. It is often believed that the killers in demand by the era allegedly had an anthropological predisposition to atrocities. But the author of the book turns primarily to social reasons - he explores a combination of historical, political, socio-psychological and other factors, which led to a change in the moral "background" in Germany and ultimately to the massive approval of the genocide committed by the Nazis.