Human Shields and Choice

[Dani]

The very same grandfathers who elected NSDAP. The very same mothers who educated their children to become good Nazis. All those "innocent" German civilians that made WW2 and the Holocaust possible, motivated by their Nationalist Antisemitic ideology.

First of all, I don't think, that any attrocities done by your opposition legitimizes attrocities done by yourself. So basically talk about the guilt or innocense of the German civilians should not even be relevant.

As for the nazi-quotient of the German population. We don't have very reliable sources to estimate it. It is likely, that once the nazis got into power, people went with the flow for fear as much as any support. Also the (most) civilians weren't aware of how far the nazi attrocities went. Finally, IIRC in the last (legit) elections, the nsdap got less than 40% of the vote, thus further invalidating your laying of blame/guilt unto the entire German civilian population.

WW2 is erroneusly considered largely to be the last "good war". Yes the cause was good, but there are stains of such deep shame also in the western allied camp, that one would hope such consideration would finally come to an end.