Malcolm Hilgartner

The following month, I sat down with Bakken, a former brigadier general who now serves as the Volksbund's chief executive. There was something strange about the funeral to me, not just to see the ceremony done with military honors, but to see Germans grieving as much for themselves as for their victims. I knew this was the natural response when people bury their dead—

The following month, I sat down with Bakken, a former brigadier general who now serves as the Volksbund's chief executive. There was something strange about the funeral to me, not just to see the ceremony done with military honors, but to see Germans grieving as much for themselves as for their victims. I knew this was the natural response when people bury their dead—

At the same time, it all seemed to break with some unspoken prohibition about how to remember these particular combatants. Certainly there was an acknowledgment at the funeral of the national guilt Germany still faced, but when it came to the responsibility of the family members who chose their path during the Nazi years, those single people, in the words of the chaplain, never again...

At the same time, it all seemed to break with some unspoken prohibition about how to remember these particular combatants. Certainly there was an acknowledgment at the funeral of the national guilt Germany still faced, but when it came to the responsibility of the family members who chose their path during the Nazi years, those single people, in the words of the chaplain, never again...

was replaced by recollections like those Aust had for her grandfather about their positive individual qualities instead of their monstrous collective crime. Maybe it is harder for families to carry stories of guilt than for nations. I asked Bakken what other taboos might be changing in his country. Its distrust of the military was one, he said.

was replaced by recollections like those Aust had for her grandfather about their positive individual qualities instead of their monstrous collective crime. Maybe it is harder for families to carry stories of guilt than for nations. I asked Bakken what other taboos might be changing in his country. Its distrust of the military was one, he said.

When I was a young soldier, walking down the streets of Hamburg, someone might spit on you, right at the bottom of your feet when he crossed your path, he said. Now things were changing. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was showing that German attitudes about pacifism needed to be reconsidered. It will not protect you from someone who intends to do you harm, he said.

When I was a young soldier, walking down the streets of Hamburg, someone might spit on you, right at the bottom of your feet when he crossed your path, he said. Now things were changing. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was showing that German attitudes about pacifism needed to be reconsidered. It will not protect you from someone who intends to do you harm, he said.

None of this was to excuse Germany's past war crimes, he said. The Nazi regime destroyed its own country, along with much of Europe. Among the dead that the Volksbund exhumed were not just drivers and cooks, but also true mass murderers. Still, the question of guilt was a complicated one. Bakken said many of those who were buried were only nineteen when they died.

None of this was to excuse Germany's past war crimes, he said. The Nazi regime destroyed its own country, along with much of Europe. Among the dead that the Volksbund exhumed were not just drivers and cooks, but also true mass murderers. Still, the question of guilt was a complicated one. Bakken said many of those who were buried were only nineteen when they died.

Now, with the wisdom of hindsight, people say, they should have done this and they should have done that. I often ask myself, what would I have done if I was in that position? He told me a story about his grandfather, who fought with the Wehrmacht only to be sent to a prisoner camp after Hitler's defeat, where he faced abuse at Soviet hands before returning home.

Now, with the wisdom of hindsight, people say, they should have done this and they should have done that. I often ask myself, what would I have done if I was in that position? He told me a story about his grandfather, who fought with the Wehrmacht only to be sent to a prisoner camp after Hitler's defeat, where he faced abuse at Soviet hands before returning home.

As a young boy in post-war Germany, Bakken said he once came across his grandfather and great-uncle, both former soldiers, in the garden drinking coffee. The two men were in tears. You don't understand as a boy, but later as you grow older and mature, you start to understand why they were crying, he said. But my children? There are no experiences like this anymore.

As a young boy in post-war Germany, Bakken said he once came across his grandfather and great-uncle, both former soldiers, in the garden drinking coffee. The two men were in tears. You don't understand as a boy, but later as you grow older and mature, you start to understand why they were crying, he said. But my children? There are no experiences like this anymore.

I remembered an email exchange I had with Serge Klarsfeld, an 89-year-old former Nazi hunter living in France who joined the protest over the graveyard of Anne Frank's persecutor in the Netherlands. Klarsfeld's family experience of the war was far different from Bakken's.

I remembered an email exchange I had with Serge Klarsfeld, an 89-year-old former Nazi hunter living in France who joined the protest over the graveyard of Anne Frank's persecutor in the Netherlands. Klarsfeld's family experience of the war was far different from Bakken's.

His father was murdered in Auschwitz, and he now seemed frustrated that the graves issue was still up for debate so many years later. To him, the matter had been simple. We protested because it was known that the German graves in that cemetery, in a country occupied by the German army during the war, were mostly SS graves, he wrote to me.

His father was murdered in Auschwitz, and he now seemed frustrated that the graves issue was still up for debate so many years later. To him, the matter had been simple. We protested because it was known that the German graves in that cemetery, in a country occupied by the German army during the war, were mostly SS graves, he wrote to me.

Bakken did not see the matter of the graves as so black and white. How do we judge someone today whom we probably can assume has done wrong in his life and has committed a crime? He was never given a trial. He never had the chance to defend himself because he died, Bakken said.

Bakken did not see the matter of the graves as so black and white. How do we judge someone today whom we probably can assume has done wrong in his life and has committed a crime? He was never given a trial. He never had the chance to defend himself because he died, Bakken said.