Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat
For example, if the full extent of Speer's complicity in the slave labour program had been exposed, he would have been sentenced to death, as he should have been.
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Politically difficult to invoke the death penalty and then turn around and absorb the fruits of the V2 rocket program. Yes it was largely developed on slave labor, and yes many thousands died to make it a reality, (although this was more a result of manpower shortages, i.e. necessity - than design); nevertheless, the question of American culpability could be raised.
In other words, if the Allies had fully demonized Speer it could have caused guilt by association to become a legitimate question. Much better to adopt a relative morality and say Speer was really bad, (but what we're doing with his work is good), rather than claim Speer was evil, (but we intend to go ahead and profit off the deaths of slaves anyway).
If they had adopted the later approach, many might have begun wondering why 'the good guys' would stoop to associating themselves with anything so rooted in evil. At the very least it makes for bad public relations, so best to draw a fictitious line and call it bad but not evil.