[niknik]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

It's very difficult to put ourselves in the mind of a 1940's German and to understand the social norms of that time. Today the whole Nazi philosophy seems completely retarded and crazy, but to a 1940's era person (who was possibly born anywhere from 1900 to 1920) the racist and ethnic aspects of the National Socialists would not have seemed very far out of line. As a 30 year career police officer/detective I can understand what happened and why it happened...I don't condone it, but I get it. I can't honestly say what I would have done, put in the same career in 1940. I'd like to say I would have refused to participate in rounding up the Jews, Gypsies, etc., but I honestly can't say. Given the nature of civil service and law enforcement in general, I'm not real sure I wouldn't have done what I was told/ordered to do. I am of Germanic heritage and grew up with many real Germans (most of which were card carrying Nazi Youth and WWII German army/navy veterans). Without a doubt and without exception...when asked about their war experiences, they would deny any love for the Nazi Party and say they were forced to participate. In fact, it became a running joke within my family, that every German was in fact a "partisian" and was totally against the war and subsequent genocide. Today, I still have no idea who voted for Hitler, because I've never met a German that did...apparently he was appointed as German Chancellor by God himself...we all know someone voted for him.

I agree. My post stating what I would do if confronted with that circumstance was obviously what I would do today.
But from my readings. Himmler is taped saying that those working the camps have a very difficult duty. And any man who wanted to opt out could do so. It's also my understanding that German citizens want us to believe they were mostly in the dark. And want us to believe that many who participated only did so under threat of their own lives. When the truth is there was no shortage of volunteers to kill jews.

[subhuman]

They should be giving this guy a fucking medal.

[30564U]

What a hoot..."Karl the Nazi"! That is a really great story. I bet he didn't do much time after the war. They usually spent from one to three years and the rest of the time was commuted. I can just picture this guy standing in your driveway and when you approached him he came to attention, clicked his heels, and bent to kiss your hand, kinda like Dr. Strange love, "Mien Fuhrer!"

His service, even though he was considered a "war criminal" and did custody time...should still be nothing to be ashamed of...he served his country. It's kind of odd how WWII German veterans always feel ashamed of their service...no matter what their service was during the war. It's been 70 years...they served their country and they thought they were doing the correct thing by serving. Most have nothing to be ashamed of or feel bad about.

[GG57]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

What a hoot..."Karl the Nazi"! That is a really great story. I bet he didn't do much time after the war. They usually spent from one to three years and the rest of the time was commuted.

His sentence was a joke. He was sentenced, get this, to sweeping sidewalks for a certain amount of time. Sweeping fucking sidewalks! He really was an asshole and my husband witnessed a lot of his horrid behavior when, in the 1960s, he worked in Karl the Nazi's store during school breaks. He was a serial cheater on his wife and would always manage to cheat customers he didn't like in some way or another. His mother (K the N's) also worked in the store and my husband said you could tell where the evilness came from.

[PlinyTheYounger]

If he's 93 now, I doubt he gives a shit about what happens to him.

[30564U]

Evil German Nazi store keepers...it just keeps getting better and better. Please God...tell me that he had a club foot and was around 4 foot 6...and his equally evil Nazi mother was a nearsighted dwarf with a back hump and a gnarled wooden cane

[GG57]

No, all quite tall and dignified looking. Except... well... Karl the Nazi's oldest daughter is a hunchback. The one that came to our house with him!

[Insideoutbodies]

poor guy back then say no to your officer and they will shoot you and use it as an example man life was fucked back then or is it now?

[30564U]

Originally Posted by GG57 ↗

No, all quite tall and dignified looking. Except... well... Karl the Nazi's oldest daughter is a hunchback. The one that came to our house with him!

I just knew there was a hunchback in the family tree somewhere. God...I just love the Germans. They used to think of themselves as "supermen" now they're just a shadow of their former selves. Progressivism/Socialism/pussification at it's finest. They've accomplished themselves what Stalin and Lenin tried to do, but couldn't. The damn Germans feel so bad about WWII that they've let themselves more toward socialist pussification out of a misplaced collective guilt. Very sad...like I said, I liked them so much better when they were war mongering assholes...at least they had personality.

[Blewvane]

Originally Posted by niknik ↗

Nobody said he should have disobeyed.

You suggested he should have..

Originally Posted by niknik ↗

How he could accept that and participate I can't understand.

Originally Posted by Blewvane ↗

If he disobeyed orders he would consider himself lucky if all he got was executed on the spot or sent to the Russian front. It's most likely his family would also have been arrested, labeled as enemy sympathisers, and put in a prison camp to die..

Originally Posted by niknik ↗

I wouldn't have done it.

Very noble of you to die, and risk your entire families lives as well, for a group of people you didn't know or owe anything to. I am sure your family would have appreciated having their fate decided by you, all choice removed from them, while they slowly starved to death in a prison camp having been branded as traitors.

German soldiers under the nazi regime didn't get to choose which orders they felt like following, let alone members of the SS which were considered to be diehard nazi loyalists. The SS started conscripting in 1943, not 1944.