As far as fighting skills go, I place the germans along side the Spartans. If wars would only be fought and felt on emtpy battlefields, I'd despise wars less. Soldiers are only humans, once they are conscripted, they bring with them all of their education and morality that was forged during their civilian life. Drowned in propaganda, seeing their friends die daily, that base of their conscience dictates if they remain human or turn into monsters. Since the germans were by large more educated and disciplined than many other nations, it's no wonder that we are more appaled by the Holocaust than the russian death wave of the 30's. In both cases however, only the the leaders can be blamed. We call them the nazis and their symbol was the swastika (the entire flag I mean). If I want to honor the bravery of the soldiers, I don't need that symbol. The true german symbols are the Iron Cross and the Eagle.
