Without going into detail, Reagan visited the site of WW2 German veterans. It is pretty clear in context, that his intent was not to praise them for their defense of Nazi Germany, but only their service to their country. It served as a point of reconciliation and was part of a longer term goal to “reconcile” Germany by reuniting the West with the East.

I can understand this gesture. I lost two uncles in WW2. One fighting for Germany and I one bombing Germany, potentially my mother’s hometown since it was a common target for bombers that had failed to discharge their bombs before returning to England.

My mother was raised in Germany and happened to be visiting this country when the war started. My father was born and raised in NYC. So my mother’s family fought for the Germans and my father’s family fought for America.

I have zero sympathy for Hitler or the Nazis, but my lack of sympathy for Hitler and the Nazis does not translate into me condemning every German soldier for defending their country. Especially those on the eastern front like my uncle given the vengeance the Russians extracted on the German people.

I likewise have no sympathy for slavery. But I can find it in my heart to understand and show compassion towards the Confederate soldiers buried in cemeteries and respect their sacrifice no matter how little I sympathize with their cause.

In our political times people struggle with the service a soldier gives his country and the underlying politics behind the war. I am not a racist and condemn racism, no matter the form. I am not a Nazi, I reject what the Nazi’s did in Germany both their racist atrocities as well as their corrupt ideology. But I also admire the soldier who gives his life for those he loves. The military has studied warfare extensively. One of its studies concluded that very few soldiers care about “causes”, they care about the person on their right and on their left and their families back home. That is enough for me to respect their sacrifice…