This isn’t a rant for the Pit. I really think my boss was a Nazi!
Help me sort this out:
He’s around 83 right now, which would make him born around 1920.
He’s German. As far as I know he’s spent his entire adolescence in Germany and came to this country in his 40s or so.
So this timeline would make him a healthy non-jewish 25-ish year old male in 1945 Germany. Is there any way somebody with that profile could not be put into military service?
What’s he do for a living? There were plenty of healthy 25-ish year old males in 1945 America & England who weren’t in the war. How old are you? Are you in the army?
Well, to the best of my understanding, not all non-Jewish/non-gypsy/etc. Germans of the time were Nazis. There’s a difference between believing in the ideals of the Nazi party, and being conscripted into service for your country.
The father of a friend of mine was in the German army in WWII. He lived in one of the countries that was taken over by the Germans (I’m thinking Romania) and was told that he’d either serve in their army or be shot. He figured he’d take his chances in the army, and emigrated to the US afterwards.
He’s not necessarily a Nazi.
Sick? Hiding? Studying? Working in other war-related work that would exempt him? Did he live anywhere else at the time that wasn’t Germany or occupied territory?
Anyway, even if he was in the military that doesn’t mean he was a Nazi (ie, in the party or a believer of it’s ideals), and it certainly doesn’t mean that he’s one now.
Chill.
Being German circa 36-45 did not automatically make you a Nazi.
Many non-Jewish Germans were thrown into concentration camps in that era, due to political dissent, religious beliefs, or homosexuality.
Furthermore, not all Germans belonged to or believed in the Nazi ideology. And citizenship does not equal membership in any given party. Not all Russians were members of the Communist Party, not all Germans were members of the Nazi party, not all Americans are Bush supporters.
He might have been an ordinary Wermacht infantryman, or a floor sweeper in the Afrika Corps, or a mechanic fixing trucks for the Kreigsmarine, or a fuel truck driver for the Luftwaff.
Or an SS officer. :eek:
You don’t know the facts.
He might have spent the whole war interned in a neutral nation, as a civilian.
Or he might be Swiss or Austrian. They speak German, too.
You don’t know, & soon enough, your boss will face a Judge that will know all of the truth. Leave this matter to the Highest Court.
Ditto with what Ferretherder said!
Please stop judging people unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
sorry this hits a sore spot with me as my family emmigrated from Austria and YES THEY WERE GERMAN!!! gasp!*
I’m not in the military and never have been. However, it’s not 1945 anymore either. I was under the impression that most 1st world countries impressed a certain ‘patriotic duty’ on men to do some sort of military service, especially in the case of wartime.
I didn’t mean to imply that all non-Jew men were Nazia, but it seems to me that he would fit the correct age and profile any army would be looking for.
Yeah, but America combined with England is like 18 times the size of Germany, is it not? Also, I’ve heard many tales of people rejected from service (because of an injury or something) who were pissed off they were denied their chance to defend their country. I am applying this sort of sense of duty to Germany…they may not have done this though; I’m not sure.
I am going on the assumption that because of a much smaller population, Germany would have a much higher percentage of their population in the service. Factor in the fact that they dis-allowed Jews, Gypsys, Women anybody with any physical diabilities/injuries, etc… and that gives them even less of a population to pick from.
Also, I’m not passing judgement on anybody who lived in Nazi Germany, or intend to lump them all together as Jew-hating, warmongers either. I have always imagined most of the citizens of 1940s Germany were probably mostly unaware of what their Government was doing, and probably wouldn’t have condoned it. When I say someone is a ‘nazi’, what I mean is ‘a part of government or military when the Nazis were in power’ -through coersion or willingness.
Now, I want to clarify one thing before this thread gets out of control. I’m not “accusing” him of being a Nazi. Not now or ever. I’m not saying he’s a bad guy, or a monster or anything.
I was just doing the math and figured out he appeared to be of prime military age during WW2, and wondered if he served.
Why don’t you ask him?
Whoa, my reply too too long to type…I missed all those simul-posts.
I think I made it clear that all I meant was: Being that age in Germany in 1945, would he have been ‘obligated’ for military service.
Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor, I think YOU need to chill. I never accused him of any wrong doing at all. He could have been the barber sweeping hair off the floor for the military, that would still have made him a part of the Nazi army. He may not need to face any sort of a “higher justice”. Certainly not anymore than ANY soldier who has killed (be that American, Japanese, Korean, or anything else). That’s none of my business, frankly.
-I didn’t judge, nor do I.
-I know not all Germans followed the Nazi party. Many did. Some because they believed in it, some because the were forced to. I know many who did regret it all their lives.
-Yes, if he was in the Military that would have made him a Nazi at the time, would it not? If he was fighting for Germany, and the Nazis ran Germany, then by association, he would have been a nazi. If this is wrong, please forgive me. That’s the way I see it, and I don’t claim it to be 100% correct.
Show me the line in my OP that judges him! …yeah, I thought not.
Certainly not! Not now. Probably never was. I was just curious if many German men at the time were in service, coulld he have been.
The USA has an army now. The Government is republican. Does that make someone who serves in the military a republican? Will they all instantly become democrats if Bush loses the next presidential election.
There was no such thing as “the Nazi Army”. There was a German Army and a Nazi Government. The vast majority of German soldiers were not members of the Nazi Party, and many of those that were joined for reasons of personal advancement rather than any enormous belief in their policies.
Of course, there was also many true blue Nazis. But you’re going to have to do a lot more than speculate about army service to imply that you’re boss is/was one. Why don’t you ask him if he fought in the war? Since most sensible people don’t equate that with being a Nazi, I’m sure he won’t be offended.
You haven’t necessarily judged HIM, but you do seem to have some preconceived notions as to who the Nazis were in 1945 Germany…
I still don’t see the judgement.
I didn’t say “I think my JEW GASSING PRICK OF A BOSS was a FILTHY Nazi!”.
I claimed no judgement on him, Nazis, Germans, Armies, Butterflies, Jackrabbits or Volkswagens!
If you want to lump all people associated with the Nazi party with Hitler and his sick soap factory, go right ahead; I didn’t. I’m sure many Nazi’s were regular people who believed in Germany and it’s future. Because the guy at the helm went personal-agenda crazy doesn’t make everybody a raving lunatic.
I was under the impression that all those guys marching in perfect rows carrying the swastika banners in the films of the war could possibly considered NAZIS!
Where did I ever come up with that?
Whether they felt they agreed with the German government’s policies, or simply joined the army to score chicks is irrelevant to my question; which seem to have been totally lost, by the way.
No more true than the statement that all of the soldiers in this current war in Iraq are therefore Republicans. 
It’s even less true in this case since Hitler drafted/conscripted German and non-German men alike into the military. There were specific branches of the military that you had to be a member of the Nazi party to enter.
Thank you FH. That shed some light. I always thought most German miltary members circa 1940 could be considered considered ‘party members’.
Either way, I’ll leave it with the fact that he may have served in the military, but that doesn’t mean he would have been considered a Nazi, and that he certainly wouldn’t be considered one now.
-And I may just ask a Mod to close this up before it gets out of control.
Nope they were soldiers in the German Army. Some or all may have been members of the Nazi Party.
American soldiers marched in perfect rows behind the Stars and Stripes. Brits did it behind the Union Jack. Not all of them were members of FDR’s or Churchill’ s political party.
I heard a lot of soldiers say during the recent war that they are professional soldiers who just do what they’re told. A lot of Germans had the same attitude. Some were cruel inhuman bastards as well but there is no way for you to know.
Now if the was SS then he’s a Nazi and kick the fucker in the balls every day for me please 
Oh and
You mightn’t have meant it but you did insinuate that the guy was a Nazi.
Yeah… by then you can say whatever the hell you want - he can’t hear you, 'cos you’re a mile away and he sure can’t chase you - 'cos you’ve got his shoes.
(Whaddya mean I’m not helping?)
Are you on relatively good terms with your boss? I mean that guy has got to have some great, great stories, worth hearing? Does he have any family for the stories to be passed through? Otherwise, man, his account of the war should be written down, if for the only reason of just proving to younger generations that not all Germans are/were Nazis. As long as he wasnt avoinding tial or something when he left (HIIGGHLY, HIGHLY unlikely), then he might be willing to share something with you. Hell, tape it and post it here, Id love to hear it, and Im sure there are some other history buff dopers that would too.
The Nazis did some pretty horrible things, with apparent relish. Even in our time, Nazis from WWII Germany have been hunted and tried for war crimes.
Calling someone a Nazi is no small thing. It’s not like, for example, calling someone a “commie.” Seriously labeling someone a Nazi is an accusation in itself, and a rather dire one at that. Some people (e.g. many affected by the holocaust) even take offense at things like the “Soup Nazi” on the Seinfeld show, as they see such usage trivializing a name that stood for some of the most horrific atrocities ever perpetrated upon mankind. It’s not a label to throw around lightly.
As others have mentioned, being a German citizen or a soldier in the German army during WWII is not the same as being a Nazi. If you think he likely was a German soldier, that’s one thing. But please understand that saying you think he was a Nazi is a whole different ballgame.
You said in your OP you think he is a Nazi. You reason this because he was a non-jewish young man during the War years. You have been corrected several times (and rightfully so) that just because a person was in the armed forces of Germany during the war years does NOT make you a Nazi. No more so than calling the US soldiers in Iraq right now Republicans.
Here is the deal.
Just because you were in the Forces in Germany during WW2 does not mean you were a Nazi. You were a soldier. It is possible they were also members of the Nazi party and/or were fanatical of the party beliefs, but that by no means was that the case of the bulk of the soldiers. They were largely conscripted and would be just like you and me if a war broke out right now and our governments conscripted us into the forces. It doesn’t matter if we believed in what the government was trying to do.