Authoritarianism and social status of former members of the Waffen-SS and SS and of the Wehrmacht: An extension and reanalysis of the study publishedin 1970

This is an updated study of the research published in 1970 on authoritarian ism and its complexities with additional findings based on questionnaires. The respondents were 229 former members of the Waffen-SS and other formatio ns of the SS marched and compared with 202 former members of the German Arm ed Forces. The questionnaires returned between the years 1962 and 1966 have not been completely analyzed. The additionally evaluated items have now en hanced the sample of authoritarian personality traits (F-scale) and thus th eir understanding. The originally reported group differences were confounde d with socio-demographic characteristics such as schooling, occupational st anding and service rank. In the present analysis, such variables were contr olled by matching subjects. The earlier findings were confirmed. The method ological limitations of this post hoc investigation with its shortcomings a re obvious. However, the findings nevertheless make a significant contribut ion to a better understanding of the function of authoritarianism in the co ntext of differential psychological as well as situational conditions that promote unreflected obedience and its consequences. Last but not least, the findings also reflect a high correlation between authoritarianism and susc eptibility to absolutist ideology such as National Socialism.