I never will ever understand the Germans crimes during the second world war. Although it also is nothing unusual down through history.

Man in many ways is seriously flawed. How people could sleep nights while behaving in these manners is beyond me. Ethnic cleaning is still well and active to this day though.

When you look at all the total property damage at the end of the war and all the misery created. It is somewhat amazing it was all built up again.

The massive losses the Russians military and civilian population took is also beyond belief. It is kind of suprising they did no kill every German they saw when they took Berlin.

I think perhaps a partial answer is that both Hitler and Goering eventually became basically druggies. Otherwise Germany might have surrendered earlier. Or perhaps the feared and deserved retribution inhibited it.

Another thing is that German lower ranks where apparently given an early form of speed before battle. Or perhaps had a choice to ingest it.

Too bad as well that what turned into the so called cold war evolved after the end of the war.

Statistically other than some foreplay it was essentially a Russian/German confrontation. Russia claimed twenty five million Russians perished. The accuracy of the claim is questionable. The reality is also that it may be a fairly accurate claim.

A guy I took sailing with me years ago and worked with was a German army conscript. He served on the eastern front later in the war at the age of seventeen. He was probably very lucky to have survived it.