Usually they don’t ask about your political views at the conscription / draft office. Like, they didn’t go “oh you voted for Humphrey? Well no Vietnam for you then son! Enjoy staying safe at home!”
If this is the end of the war there are probably some end of war draftees. I can’t speak for them. But generally speaking the enlisted soilder had not clue about the concentration camps
6 million Jewish people, 5 million and change Slavs (mostly worked to death, they viewed Slavs as like beasts of burden unfit to self determine, not dangerous to society like they viewed Jewish people), various and sundry people with disabilities, lgbt people, a good chunk of Roma.
The extermination machine of the Nazis was indescribable. There was no clean wehrmacht, there could not have been logistically. Maybe some soldiers lying to themselves but they must have wondered where all the prisoners went and why they never heard of them again.
Then of course the horrific slaughter in the eastern front in terms of military casualities. How many poorly armed conscripts do you have to gun down before you ought to be questioning your orders?
Guy in the far right is absolutely fascinated. “So that’s how they did it in Dachau!”
I mean, if you get down to it, everyone in the picture was in the far right…
Usually they don’t ask about your political views at the conscription / draft office. Like, they didn’t go “oh you voted for Humphrey? Well no Vietnam for you then son! Enjoy staying safe at home!”
If this is the end of the war there are probably some end of war draftees. I can’t speak for them. But generally speaking the enlisted soilder had not clue about the concentration camps
Most would’ve known about the concentration camps, if not the details of the conditions. Only the extermination camps were kept reasonably secret.
Removed by mod
6 million Jewish people, 5 million and change Slavs (mostly worked to death, they viewed Slavs as like beasts of burden unfit to self determine, not dangerous to society like they viewed Jewish people), various and sundry people with disabilities, lgbt people, a good chunk of Roma.
The extermination machine of the Nazis was indescribable. There was no clean wehrmacht, there could not have been logistically. Maybe some soldiers lying to themselves but they must have wondered where all the prisoners went and why they never heard of them again.
Then of course the horrific slaughter in the eastern front in terms of military casualities. How many poorly armed conscripts do you have to gun down before you ought to be questioning your orders?
They were guilty through and through.
Oh hey dad, you’re back! Didn’t know it took 20 years to walk to the corner store and back.