Time of the killers

The twentieth century was an era of technical progress, cultural flourishing and unprecedented scientific discoveries that propelled humanity from the age of steam into the era of space exploration, nuclear energy and global connectivity. During this time, man largely freed himself from disease and hunger – yet it was also a century in which the dark sides of human nature were expressed in the most destructive way. Never before had ideology gained such power over the individual; never before had millions of people been exterminated with such machine-like systematicity in concentration camps, gulags and on battlefields around the world. This paradox – that a century of enlightenment and humanity also brought genocide and mass extermination – remains one of the most painful features of modern history. But history is not just a collection of dates and facts. It is also the stories of people who lived, made decisions and bore the consequences of their actions. The context of the time led some to heroism, while it allowed others to fully express their depravity. This book is an attempt at an anatomy not only of evil, but also of hope. It tries to understand those who became instruments of totalitarian crimes, and those who defied them. This is not a book about leaders, ideologies or political systems, but about ordinary people – like those who closed the doors of the gas chambers, signed death sentences, shot prisoners in the back of the head – and returned to their families in the evening. And also about those who risked everything to save others, about those who refused to just stand by and remain silent, and managed not to lose their humanity in an inhuman time. To understand the psychology and motivations of these people – both the one and the other – is to understand not only the mechanisms of evil, but also the sources of quiet courage, empathy and compassion that even evil could not extinguish. Perhaps it is precisely in this thin line between darkness and light that true knowledge of man – and of ourselves – is hidden. Read by an AI voice, directed by Luboš Moravec.