Back in the early 80’s I went to Europe to visit distant relatives.
In Germany I met cousin who fought in WW2. He basically said “We had no choice.” He ended up in an American POW camp and said he was treated better there than in the German army.
How do we know, after all this time, if this guy had a choice?
This seems kinda silly.
> How do we know, after all this time, if this guy had a choice? <
Just after WW II - in the late 1940s - there was a flurry of war-crimes trials. The most famous one, of course, was at Nuremberg. Those Nazis who were condemned to death were quickly executed. Most of the rest got long sentences, like 25 years or more.
Now here’s the interesting thing. Most of the imprisoned top Nazis did NOT serve out their full sentences. They were released early for “ill health” or some such nonsense. Admiral Erich Raeder is just one example of that.
So here’s my point. The top command of the Third Reich deserved to be punished severely. Many of them caught a break instead. (That always bothered me, by the way.) So I think it’s a fair question: if the top generals and admirals were cut a break, why not an old guard?
I’m assuming here that the old guard was just a guard, and not an active, willing murderer. If he was an active, willing murderer, throw him in jail regardless of his age.
“How do we know, after all this time, if this guy had a choice?”
You have a good point. They are trying to compare WWII German service to our standards. It cannot be done. Some of the documentaries I’ve watch shows them hanging soldiers that disobeyed orders in the final days. They probably did it all along.
This German guy was working under the fear of death. If he were truly a bad person (considering the era), he would have been tried for crimes decades ago.
You are right, it’s silly.
It is easy to see the parallels, how totalitarian regimes build.
There are plenty of Americans right now who “go along to get along”, who dare not speak out against outrageous abuses, who want to keep their job, remain safe for promotion, to maintain the approval of friends and colleagues. “Political Correctness” is a nazi/communist invention, after all.
I used to wonder how all those horrible things could happened over there, in a highly civilised, cultured and technical society. Not any more.