How guilty is the entire Wehrmacht of war crimes?

[Gebirgsjaeger]

...I know it´s way off-topic, but it might be interesting to look at this link
...and this

http://www.democracynow.org/2003/10/29/ ... t_uncovers

Sorry I've heard enough of democracy now on NPR to know that it is totaly untrustworthy.

Well, sorry. But if you do just a simple google search you´ll find more than enough sources for very cruel American crimes - like it or not. I am in no way against Amercia. But the truth is that every human society is very much capable of comitting such crimes - including the US armed forces. The history of the US armed forces is full of war crimes, from the civil war to nowadays. Not a bit better that the evil Wehrmacht....

[phylo_roadking]

Moderator's Note -

Please note when discussing threads and posts in this section that it has always been a standard on the forum that when discussions on war crimes arise, the sins or not of one side are NOT measured against or excused by those of the other. What constitutes a "war crime" is a breach of the various treaties defining the laws of warfare, treatment of non-combatants, destruction of property, treatment of POWS, etc. - or the commonly-held "customs of war" underpinning them...what does NOT make an action a "war crime" is that the other side did it first or worse. Each war crime or alledged war crime stands on its own "merits" and circumstances - and not in comparison with or measured against any other by degree.

[lwd]

.... But the truth is that every human society is very much capable of comitting such crimes - including the US armed forces.

Indeed and no one has debated that.

The history of the US armed forces is full of war crimes, from the civil war to nowadays...

I certainly wouldn't say so. I'm not even sure I'd say the history of the SS was full of war crimes although they certainly committed quite a few.

Not a bit better that the evil Wehrmacht....

Here we are in considerable disagreement. There is considerable difference between an institution whose memebers occasionally commit a crime and are often punished for it and one that not only condones but on occasion orders them. Note that I try to avoid terms like "evil" unless the individual or institution clearly deserve it. I don't feel that's the case with the Wehrmact.

[phylo_roadking]

but on occasion orders them

And that is the legal nub of the matter as it stood in 1945. Whoever GAVE the order was guilty, whoever carried out the order was guilty - that they were part of the same organisation or command structure does NOT make that a criminal organisation.

[Domen123]

Documentary - 40 minutes long - with testimonies of Polish Jews concerning their wartime experiences:

English subtitles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOsfc-RgwZ0