AMilitariaGuy
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The scene captures the moment when these POWs were confronted with the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime.
Such screenings were part of an effort by the Allied forces to inform German POWs and the German public about the horrors of the Holocaust and other war crimes.
EvangelicalAtheist
But before we wrap ourselves in the holy American shroud; remember, before we entered the war, which side we would enter on was a serious question. A very large part of the USA wanted to enter the war on the side of Germany!
WenTheEternallySurprised
Ultimately, it's because Eisenhower feared that in time, people would deny any of that had happened. The last great Republican president, because he was a soldier first and a politician second.
TiredBanana
What Israel has taught in the last year is not half of those nazis are half as sorry as they should be.
thefreshjedi
Good. Confronted with their guilt. I would have made them watch it everyday till the message sunk in.
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HeresYourSauce
I'm deleting the above comment as the people responding are (reasonably) reading it very differently than I meant it.
It comes off as an apology for war crimes, which is very much not what I meant.
Corrodias
Some of the details of what they were doing may not have been public, but you don't go through years of pogroms, legal discrimination, deportation, and extermination without people getting the gist of it. Don't go thinking that fascism was unpopular.
MouseDenton
It's entirely possible most didn't know how atrocious the conditions were, but those on the Eastern front were almost certainly aware of the slaughter happening right in their wake. The myth of the innocent Wehrmacht may have been necessary for an armed West Germany entering the Cold War, but we must remember they were, at the very least, enablers to the Holocaust.
lightfoot2
Gotta love the guy in the upper right corner "Hm, I think I am great artiste!"
TiredBanana
"hmm... But perhaps both sides were at fault. I am very smart."
bippityboppitybuttsex
We did not put anywhere near enough of them on trial...
DrWhy9
True but at least the general consensus in Germany ended up as "nazis bad", they were uneasy to go to far since the idea of crimes against humanity where a new one and were actually written after the atrocities so it was a bit weird. Also they were afraid of punishing too much, since that was what caused the nazis in the first place. All in all while definitely not perfect it ended up pretty well, japan though.....
bippityboppitybuttsex
I wonder how much of the German consensus of 'Nazis Bad' was more to do with the fact that they lost and the Germany's destruction as opposed to the destruction and murder Germany caused?
ItTookMeAGoodWhileToComeUpWithAUsername
So many more factors. We also lacked people with expertise and therefor positions like judges were staffed with former Nazis again. Same with mayors, political positions and others.
It was pretty short sighted looking at it as a German nowadays. We allowed too many Nazis to stick around.
bippityboppitybuttsex
So did the US after January 6th. We should have come down like a hammer.