> > (*) it goes without saying that I also have tremendous respect for 
> > those that fought and gave their lives in the wars
> 
> I also. On *all* sides. It would however be a good idea if 
> everyone did a bit less of it :-(. War is a lose-lose 
> situation for the soldiers. I have visited the major German 
> cemetery in Ypres and it is a moving experience. The walls of 
> the entrance way are covered in fine print with the names of 
> dead German teenagers who fought and died for their country. 
> These provided examples for Hitler to use to encourage the 
> Hitler Youth in WW2. The Turks at Gallipoli included many 
> locals who were fighting not only for their country but also 
> for their homes. 
> The origins of WW1 are complex and in large part do not 
> reflect honourably on most involved. WW2 arose in large part 
> because the injustices on both sides from WW1 led to great 
> injustices being inflicted on Germany & provided fertile 
> ground for Hitler's ideas. 
> Hitler was a genius & a true patriot but also a man driven by 
> his own distorted vision which increasingly with time 
> departed from reality. 
> The injustices inflicted on the populace of the invaded 
> countries*, while severe, were arguably no greater than those 
> which towards the end were inflicted on the Germans by both 
> the allies terror policies and Hitler himself. Hitler at the 
> end sought to destroy the German people (!). [Hard reputable 
> documentary evidence of this exists].
>     * Jewish holocaust is outside this statement.
> 

absolutely. the vast majority of germans were innocent too; they were
only doing what they were told to do by an evil minority. And of course,
it would be unrealistic to assume that the conduct of all the allied
soldiers and officers was always "moral" anyway. war is definately a
lose-lose situation. it's very sad.

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