Poll: Would you harbor a nazi?

[Doth]

Shame he is repentant. That being said I'd still help him.

 

[Gigano]

Well, if as in the presented scenario he's my good friend, of course I'm not going to turn him in. I haven't abandoned friends who've made missteps in the past, and I'm under no legal obligation to report him anyway.

We have statutes of limitations for a reason. The war lies 65 years ago, and I subscribe to the notion that if you improve, so should the treatment of you [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tit_for_tat].

 

[Pyro Ghost]

If he's a good guy and fun to be around, sure. People do horrible things every day. The people who see someone being murdered and walk away are at least as guilty of the death as the murderer themselves. But those people still see themselves as good people. If an ex nazi has reformed and made up for it, than justice has been served. Wanting him to be punished further is just revenge.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Because of his apparently guilt over what he did and his kindness over the years, I wouldn't turn him over to the police.

Let's try changing this up.

A catholic priest had sex with little girls and boys (say infant to 8 years old) at a church orphanage from the time he was a priest in training at 18 until he was 30. He was introduced to it by his bishop and all the priests at the orphanage did it. They said god wanted them to have sex with the kids. At 30 he was transferred somewhere else where there was no access to kids and he started feeling guilty. He spent the rest of his being a truly perfect/giving person who did nothing wrong and was what everyone would consider an ideal human being.

When he is 80 one of the victims comes forward, the rush starts, he confesses that he did it but was a changed man, haunted by his past.

Do we forgive him for raping those hundreds of little kiddies?

Now lets talk about the one priest in the orphanage that didn't touch a child, but knew what was going on and did nothing to stop it, and even helped cover it up. Do we forgive him after his 50 years of feeling bad?

For the first guy: Nope. I wouldn't. But like I said, I wouldn't do anything to help him escape. And considering the situation, it looks like the police have him. He has to pay for his crimes and hopefully he understands that. The only reason why I wouldn't turn either of them in (as in go to the police and tell them I have them) is because of their apparent change and guilt (but like I said, only if I feel it's genuine). I'm not forgiving these people, I'm just understanding that they seem to regret what they've done and because of that, I'll stay neutral when it comes to action.

As for the second guy I'd let him live with the guilt. Sure he didn't do anything but he helped cover it up, so he can deal with the guilt.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

Um...well my Grandfather fought for the Nazi army in Stalingrad, and he was a great guy, so sure, I'd look after the guy.
Hiding them from the police though...
...well, that wouldn't happen. End of the day, it's like saying would you hide an immigrant in my house. I'd be willing to help them, but not to break the law.

So yeah.

 

[Kenko]

They couldn't do anything about it. They were fools, and have changed. One exception. If the words or phrase "I was just following orders." come out of their mouth, I'm turning them in. To quote The 9th Doctor: "And with that sentence, you just lost the right to even talk to me."

Yeah whenever i here american, russian or any soldier speak those words after having committed atrocities i become disgusted.

 

[Mr Binary]

Sure, he made mistakes and he changed. There is no point in punishing him if he truly changed and felt guilty.

 

[beema]

I think the obvious question here is: what crime are you harboring him from?

Is this some new crime that he has committed? Cause I'm pretty sure the police aren't out tracking down ex-nazi's from WW2.

Also the title should be changed to "ex-nazi," and the first poll choice is worded strangely too. "They have changed their ways." Who? Nazis? I'm pretty sure nazi's are still evil. If, however, the person in question has resigned their old beliefs, then it's kind of different.

 

[duncants]

I personally believe what the Russians and Japanese did in the war and after was much worse then what the Nazis did,the Russian troops raped and killed a shit-ton of post war civilians and the Japanese committed so many war crimes it'd make the worst video game enemies blush.

And the fact that other war criminals exist doesn't absolve this guy.

No I suppose not, but you know what does absolve him? The fact that 99.5% of the people on this forum would commit atrocities in order to survive. It's human nature, everything we do is to stay alive and reproduce. (well stuff like suicide isn't but you get the point)

You should not be so quick to judge people if you have not been in a similar situation... (if you have been in such a situation, and still did the 'right' thing, please ignore the above and consider yourself officially awesome

 

[Alleged_Alec]

I disagree with some of the responses I've read that he should have a fair trial. Not because he should have one, I'd agree with that. I disagree with the notion he's going to get one. And even if he does, and he does get away without being punished (which he should, if he really were repentant and did good and all that), it'd be impossible to integrate back into society, because people know he's an ex-nazi, and therefore an evil bastard who eats children and drinks pandatears.

 

[Iwana Humpalot]

My decision would depend on the military rank of the nazi. If he was just a regular soldier who had joined the army and would have been killed for standing up against his officers, i would personally just tell him that it wasn't your fault and maybe hug him, So no i wouldn't turn him in. But if he would have been a high-ranked officer i would turn him in, and maybe kick him a little bit.

 

[Rutkowski]

If he truely was repenant he would've turned himself in years ago. He dug himself into a hole and it's time to sit in it.

And I say that as a person of German heritage(my father was born in Essen) who had relatives that fought for several different armies of the war, including the German.

 

[Optional Opinion]

One exception. If the words or phrase "I was just following orders." come out of their mouth, I'm turning them in. To quote The 9th Doctor: "And with that sentence, you just lost the right to even talk to me."

I'm not sure if this has been brought up or not but if you feel like that you should read up on Zimbardo's prison experiment and also Milgram's famous electrocution experiment. I think you'll find them interesting.

"I was just following orders" is an adequate excuse.

 

[standokan]

You have to face responsibility for the crap you've done so, sell 'm out and lock 'm up.

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

Considering my beliefs on repentance as well as my family history, I have no choice but to hide him.

 

[Rottweiler]

"Being a German soldier during WW2 kind of defaulted to being a Nazi...

Every soldier swore allegiance to the party and to Hitler and any dissidence was dealt with harshly.

You can argue that swearing allegiance as a mandatory condition doesn't reflect the individual, but when all is said and done, what is the difference between a man who supports an ideology and a man who doesn't oppose it?"

The National Socialist Party was just that- a political party. It had a membership and it had a great deal of power- if you were ambitious you joined it because you got more influence and were promoted faster. However, it was also a choice. Many Germans during WWII were *not* members, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel being a major example.

In short, while the Nazi Party *ran* Germany, not all Germans were members. Much like being a member of the Communist Party in Soviet Russia.

 

[The Heik]

snip

Crimes of obedience are still crimes. Sure he didn't want to commit genocide, but he still did. If he really didn't want to do it, he could have run like so many other people escaping the Nazis. He could even have fought, and tried to save as many as he could. But no, he put his own safety over those of so many other people. He's nothing but a coward. And he'd have to pay the price.

I would turn him in.