Having talked to several German veterans of World War II, I can say that most were extremely proud of their service and their units; including the members of the Waffen SS. The average Soldier doesn't know much more about what was going in the greater war around them beyond the men to their right and left and a couple hundred meters to their front. They have an esprite de corps with their unit, a brotherhood with those with whome they serve, and sense of patriotic duty to their country. The number of soldiers who were actually present at the time or who were directly involved with what we define as war crimes is very very small. As the "greatest generation" passes on, historians are beginning to look at WWII more objectively and see the war as being less than black and white. The German and Japanese militaries committed horrible acts against civilian populations, but so did every other nation; including the US (think of the massive firebombings of civilian populations). The Soviet Union's revenge against German civilians was brutal and has been well documented. This is not to excuse anyone. But as an Army officer and military historian myself, I try not show too much bias when writing about the war.
