Wehrmacht opposition to SS Eastern policies
Example: Colonel-General Blaskowitz: compiled reports of SS crimes in Poland, sent to Hitler November 1939
Hitler derided Blaskowitz' "childish ideas" but did not relieve him of command
Transferred to Western front
Example: Army chaplain's complaint about atrocities to the general in Russia. General's reply:
What do you propose that I should do? You have too great an estimate of my authority. . . I cannot give orders to the SS squads, which are not under my command, to suspend their criminal acts. I cannot wage a private war against commands which originate at the highest source. -- Gordon, 281
Could the Army as a whole have resisted SS policies?
Yes: --Only armed group who presented a counterweight to the SS
--Could have refused to turn over prisoners to SS
No: Hitler demanded loyalty from Army officers
--Most of Hitler's senior officers were dismissed for disloyalty
--every commander-in-chief, 11 of 18 field marshals, 21 of 37 colonel-generals
Gordon's conclusions: Had all leading army officers been well-disposed towards protecting Jews, sympathy alone would have been insufficient to effect this goal. Even mass resignations would have achieved little, as Hitler would simply have replaced his officer corps.