Canadian Infantry in battle with the 12th SS

[Mike Webb]

Well that's basically the mistake you and many others are making. Listen to yourself... 'Nazis and Allies'. The 'Nazis' were a political organization for the most part, with some military representation in the form of the SS. Yes, many Germans were Nazis supporters, particularly early on. But not all Germans were Nazis... yet somehow people like yourself continue to use the word 'Nazi' interchangably with 'German' (or 'German soldier').

My family fought the Germans in WWII. But I'm not about to throw my support behind the wholesale slaughter of reason by propagating ignorance, such as the idea that all Germans were Nazis. Besides that, the opposing force to the 'Allies' was the 'Axis'.

To be frank, propagating ignorance, and fomenting hatred is exactly what the Nazis did. When I see people thinking ill of the German people, I can't help remembering The Treaty of Versailles, and I think about that saying... "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

Not all Germans were members of the Nazi party but millions did nothing to oppose them. I'm not fomenting hatred against Germans or anyone else but revisionist history makes me sick. Claiming all parties in WW2 were at fault for the outbreak of war and all parties behaved in the same manner is a disservice to all Canadians who fought against the aggression of Germany and her allies.

 

[Dakk]

Claiming all parties in WW2 were at fault for the outbreak of war and all parties behaved in the same manner is a disservice to all Canadians who fought against the aggression of Germany and her allies.

Pretty sure no one here has said anything like that.

One guy claimed Britain started the war, which we all know is BS. Then its also been pointed out that Allied nations have likewise committed crimes against enemy POWs, which is based on historical information, not revisionist propaganda. Certainly, the crimes committed by Canadians and US soldiers pales in comparsion to the crimes the Nazis committed. Just be aware that not all Germans were Nazis, and the SS were not representative of all German soldiers. Though certainly, regular German soldiers were not above committing war crimes themselves.


Re: the Geneva Convention and treatement of POWs.

Articles 13 to 16 state that prisoners of war must be treated humanely without any adverse discrimination and that their medical needs must be met.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Geneva_Convention


It should be noted that the Soviets were also 'Allies' and had not signed the Geneva Convention. Thus they were free to do as they pleased with German POWs, and they did just that. Terrible, unspeakable things were done by both sides, but especially on the Eastern Front.

There were a number of war crimes involving Allied personnel that were investigated by the Allied powers and that led in some instances to courts-martial. Other incidents are alleged by historians to have been crimes under the law of war in operation at the time, but that for a variety of reasons were not investigated by the Allied powers during the war, or they were investigated and a decision was taken not to prosecute.

During the fighting at Leonforte in July 1943, according to Mitcham and von Stauffenberg in the book The Battle of Sicily, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment killed captured German prisoners.

C.P. Stacey, the Canadian official campaign historian, reports that on 14 April 1945 rumours had been spread that the popular commanding officer of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada had been killed by a civilian sniper. This rumoured action resulted in the Highlanders setting fire to civilian property within the town of Friesoythe in an act of reprisal. Stacey later wrote that the Canadian troops first removed German civilians from their property before setting the houses on fire, he commented that he was "glad to say that [he] never heard of another such case". It was later found that German soldiers had in fact killed the Argyll's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick E. Wigle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_war_crimes_during_World_War_II

If you think the excution of German POWs & unwarranted burning of civilian homes is a disservice to all Canadian forces in WWII, then you should blame the individuals who committed these crimes, not me for pointing to those historical facts decades later ...and if you hate revisionism, then you should start by not trying to rewrite history yourself.


PS - Was simply trying to be a bit more objective. But I'm tired of beating the so I'll move on and the haters can get back to their poo flinging.

 

[Gibbs505]

Dakk, Im am well aware that there were war crimes commited by the allies, indeed, if not ALL the allies. I also agree, that the Japanese, Germans and the USSR must take pride of place in respect of attrocities commited. By a very LARGE margin!

 

[Mike Webb]

Dakk, I don't disagree with anything in your last post. I am aware that the Allies also committed war crimes but this behaviour(as far as I can determine) was never accepted policy but an abberation. Many orders were issued by the German High Command which were in direct violation of the Geneva Convention.