Brig wrote:5 Year Old kid...
Yes. As an order from the Reich and military which I would have self-enlisted in, especially on the Eastern Front against COmmunism (Which I so greatly despise), I probably would have obeyed an order to do such. As a soldier, you do what is required of you. I would not want to be sent to some desk position because I declined an order.
Of course, were it in the US military, I probably would not. There would be no cause I saw myself fighting for, other than national protection. America doesn't start wars against much, just because of much
Hehe, Brig , you are funny man
Look, you do not have to try to make the Wermaht look like an honorable army. There is no need for romanticism here. German soldier was neither honorable nor soldier in the East.
We all know, and they all knew that killing civilians is a crime, not a wrong doing. There is nothing soldier like in killing 100 civilians for each German soldier killed. Real soldier would suck up the losses and refuse to resort to repressing the civilians to save his life and continue to fight the enemy. And we know from first hand witnesses that German soldiers were fully supporting this practices.
As far as you notion on following the orders. Look, go and jump in an empty pool to prove us how brave are you. I bet if an order was issued to the German soldiers to kill themselves they would refuse. Or at least to shoot in their own Germans they would much more refuse than refusing to shoot Russian civilians. Many generals in the East when faced with imminent defeat were refusing orders. So the conclusion is as long as I am doing OK, I can kill in the name of Reich but as soon as Russians came close to Berlin than all of a sudden it was Hitler's fault. To all this, I say screw the German army. It is easy to obey the orders to kill c 5 year old children when you are advancing, when face with its own demise, than all of a sudden they were disobyeing orders. Their commanding cadre (German) in east is guilty as sin. I can also say this thing for the soldiers, yet there could be 1% of those who at least felt it was wrong and tried to avoid mass murdering. Honestly, in the east, I do not see any reason for organizing a trial for let say Einsatzgruppen members, all you have to establish is weather that person was or not a member of such unit. Once that is established execution of the appropriate justice is the next and last step.
And also, do not give me that stuff about HJ, nobody, nobody in East was really resisting shooting the civilians and out of 75% German personel consumed in Barbarossa somebody was trained in HJ.
