Quote:
Originally Posted by dazz1971
what we need to remember is that under nazi rule if a german solider/civive etc spoke out against them or didnt follow orders to the letter they were shot there familys were shot so while i dont condone the SS i do belive that a great number of the ss soliders did what they did under great duress (sp.)
a great number of germans did not agree with the nazi,s if you have seen the film valkarie at the end of the film it tells you that there were no less than 17 attempts to kill hitler that were made by german soliders civies etc not all germans were nazis
i like the german planes weapons etc and the reason i like the german jets so much is becuse i admire there engeneering skills etc not becuse i like nazi i despise what the nazis did
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Absolutely - I wasn't saying that SS = Germans, or that SS = war criminals - but there were a significant number of SS (and in military units) who where war criminals. Also, when it comes to the SS, you had to make a pretty serious effort to get into it (and Himmler didn't exactly mince words about what they stood for), so unlike your garden variety Wehrmacht, the SS are generally judged much harsher than the German people for what they did, and rightly so. This is particularly the case for the SS leaders. This isn't picking on Germans in particular, I also have a very low opinion of the inner circle of Pol Pot's regime, or of the mob that took over Rwanda in 1994, but it would be quite crazy to suggest that all Cambodians or Hutus/Tutsis are evil.
Of course, that's got nothing to do with German engineering. As far as I know, the SS had next to nothing to do with any of the engineering work, and I was never suggesting otherwise. There's nothing at all wrong with respecting German (or any other) engineering ingenuity. Never suggested there was. The only point I was making was that the SS military units, as well as their other units, committed atrocities. Obviously, flowing from this, using symbols of the SS is linking oneself with an organisation that committed pretty nasty atrocities, and is probably best done with caution, but it's a free world - but people that associate with the SS should be prepared to have the odd look (in my view, quite rightly) directed at them for the choice.