Had they possessed firearms in the first place, they would have been able to better slow down the Nazi killing machine by killing more Nazis. A well armed private citizenry would have gone a long way generally toward preventing the creation of the Nazi police state. Private possession of firearms represents a natural system of checks and balances between a free citizenry and state power. Our founding fathers understood this. In the real world, peace is maintained through the strength of law abiding individual citizens.
Violence is prevented by adequate individual defense.
Peace is not insured by a monopoly of firearms in the hands of agencies of the government. This would be the practical result of a disarmed citizenry. Not just the second, but all ten of the amendments that make up the bill of rights are, to varying degrees, under siege today. If we are to have a nation that respects freedom and justice, we need to champion the entire constitution. This is the civil rights movement of the new millennium.