> 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.
I still don’t understand how Albert Speer didn’t hang with the rest of them. He pulled off the biggest snow job in history.