> thats the actual reason why soldiers were spared in Nürnberg: because a lot of the army didn't actually have a choice. It was death or collaboration for them.

My historical knowledge of this isn't as detailed as I would hope to have; do you have some suggestions - links, books, etc in regards to the details on the sentencing?

I can certainly understand that the higher up the chain you went, the more knowledge of the atrocities you would (or should reasonably) have, but was there a particular "breaking point" where "below this point nobody is charged or even censored"?

If so - how was that point decided? What if you were just an everyday Joe-in-the-trenches soldier who was on the front lines, but knew you had neighbors and friends that just "disappeared" and you had doubts or other misgivings?

Or what if you were a younger person, and had "snuck around" and seen something strange with the "hidden camps" in the countryside - but then became a soldier a few years on, and those sights as a kid haunted you?

Where's the ethical line?

If you had a very good and reasonable suspicion that what you were participating in, had actually much more grave consequences for neighbors and fellow citizens - even if you didn't agree with their views politically or morally (let's suppose) - would it be better to avoid being a conscripted soldier and dying, than to participate in what may turn out to be a brutal atrocity on the world stage?

I can see the conundrum - that you wouldn't know for sure what the truth was, and since you don't really know for certain, then "fighting for your country" - even if forced - was better than your country killing you (in some manner) because you didn't.

But I bet there were more than a few who did say "no" - and I wonder how many of them made it through the camps or other "work detail" where they quickly learned either some horrifying details from other prisoners, overheard conversations of guards, or just what they considered very frightening rumor (that ultimately turned out true)?

Those that survived - if any - I wonder if there have been discussions between them and those who joined though they may have had misgivings or doubts?

When you start to question and think about this - you begin to see why things are the way they are in Germany today; at the same time, you also wonder how is it that there is still - kinda in the shadows, kinda not - a level of "nationalism" and (possibly?) "German purity" movement in both Germany, and Europe (and the larger world stage).

A certain amount of it has to do with propaganda, conspiracy, and the like of course - but what else is driving all of this? Are we (humanity) doomed to repeat this kind of atrocity again and again (that is - genocide and such on a mass scale; while what happened during WW2 was perhaps (?) one of the largest examples in history, it is also - unfortunately - not a unique thing in humanity's history)?

I'm also aware of other history that can help explain some of this (that is, the targeting of the Jews - among other groups) - and it potentially goes back millenia, which is both sobering and depressing to realize that we're barely budging the status quo over the years...