First Sergeant Peter Ostmann Character Analysis in Ordinary Men

A member of Reserve Police Battalion 101’s Second Company under Lieutenant Gnade, First Sergeant Peter Ostmann (an alias) reportedly brings deliveries of alcohol to the rest of the men before the mass murder of women and children who could not fit on the deportation trains. Ostmann urges the men to drink because they must shoot, although there’s no reason to believe he would have forced any man to shoot if he didn’t want to. However, he does pressure the men who are known as “nonshooters” to at least try to take part in the killings, and sometimes he succeeds. In this way, Ostmann really does turn at least some of his men into killers.

First Sergeant Peter Ostmann Character Timeline in Ordinary Men

The timeline below shows where the character First Sergeant Peter Ostmann appears in Ordinary Men. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...of train cars, so Gnade orders Drucker to shoot the 150 Jews that won’t fit. First Sergeant Ostmann brings the shooters some vodka and jokes with at least one of the men who... (full context)