[Rhodes22-list] Ed - Nazis

[Brad Haslett]

Ed,

Thanks for the piece, "Why the Peaceful Majority is Irrelevant."  The book
"Last Days of Patton" by Ladislas Farago mentions one Hans Weindl in the
credits. In the opening pages Farago quotes Han's experience as a child in
Bad Tolz, Germany, where Patton established his headquarters after the war.
Later in life, Hans was the Public Affairs officer for the Flint Kacerne in
Bad Tolz, the step-father of my ex-wife, and my drinking buddy.  Being the
non PC person I am, I used to ask the German WW2 age men we partied with if
they were Nazis during the war.

 "No, No, No, of course not, we were just in the Wehrmacht" was the standard
answer. Later I'd get the straight story from Hans.

"Did you know that Hitler was rounding up Jews and sending them to
concentration camps?" was my next question.

Always pretty much the same answer.  Hans explained that everyone knew what
was going on, the Jewish baker, meat-cutter, pharmacist, etc., in Bad Tolz
just didn't sell his shop and move to another town.  Everyone knew but no
one wanted to ask too many questions.

Here we are today.  See no evil.  Hear no evil. Speak no evil.

Brad