As many know, during World War II, when Nazi soldiers killed millions of Jews at the Holocaust, many soldiers did not know what was happening. Nazi leaders despised Jewish people and, as a result, almost all soldiers knew it. This hate was taught to them and was clear. While they also knew the Jewish people were being treated terribly, most of the soldiers didn’t quite realize the full extent of the mass killings.
There existed the secret death camp where mass murders were committed and the Nazis had kept it secretative. The full truth was known only by the soldiers who worked in these camps. Soldiers might have heard rumors or seen things; they were not as informed as you presume them to be. According to history, many Jewish people were being killed during the war, and more soldiers likely understood that.
For example, Anton Schmid is a German who was on duty in Lithuania. He saw Jewish people abused and he did not want to participate, so he risked his life to help them escape. However, his story shows that some soldiers knew of the cruelty and chose to act; and he was eventually killed for his actions.
Besides, much later, many soldiers claimed they didn’t know what was happening after the war. It is hard to say if that was true or not. Some may have known the full truth, but some may not have. Some didn’t want it to be true so they didn’t want to admit what they saw or heard.
At the end of the day, it’s difficult to know the exact number of Nazi soldiers who knew about Holocaust. Few had not heard that the Nazis hated Jews, but many had heard even more. Of what was clear was that not everyone knew the full horror, even if they saw signs of it. Only some, like Anton Schmid, helped the victims of the cruelty that they saw.
Related:
Have you come across any former Nazi soldiers? Did they take responsibility for their past or express guilt?
As a German who has served in the Bundeswehr, I met my share of former Wehrmacht soldiers.
Most of them (including some of my relatives) were drafted into the Army and cannot really be considered Nazis or ex-Nazis. One of my uncles was killed in Romania when he was only 18 years old and another one lost his right leg in Russia....( Read Full )
My father was born on a farm in Idaho and grew up during the depression. He had hay fever and hated farming. He wanted to be like the salesmen with shiny cars and polished shoes. He was a hard working driven person who went to the University of Utah majoring in business. He enrolled in ROTC. The ROTC believed the US would be involved in the war. After Pearl Harbor the Army apparently let him finish college and drafted him in the Army as a Second Lieutenant. He hated the spit and polish of the army and wasting time like watching the officer's dog. He just wanted to get the war over. In those days the army was segregated. He was assigned to a Black Quarter Master outfit. He regarded the Black soldiers as very poor and wanted another assignment. He tried to get into the Army
Air corp. But they weren't taking anyone then so he volunteered for the newly formed 10th Mountain Infantry Division. These were basically ski troops. They were sent to Italy to fight (not the Italians who couldn't fight worth a damn and just quit) but the Germans. My father had respect for the German soldiers. I said to him the Germans had better looking uniforms than we did. He said the Germans often looked better in defeat than we did in victory. After the war in Europe was won the 10 Mountain was going to be sent to fight the Japanese which my father dreaded. But the war ended with the atomic bombs.
I had an older customer who had difficulty walking. I asked him about his problem. He said he had been a soldier in the German Army fighting the Russians in WWII. He was taken prisoner and held for 5 years ( this surprised me that POW's would have been held that long. That is when his feet got frozen). We talked about the Genocide of the Jews. He and his wife said the Germans would never do such a thing. He had a thick book he wanted to have me read which debunked the murder of the Jews. I don't remember if it was in German,which I can not read, or English. I was not interested in reading a thick book on the topic. I already read "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". One thing I disagree with is I believe certain racial and ethnic groups are much better at fighting in war. Good: Japanese, Germans, Americans, Israelis. Poor: Italians, French, Mexicans.