I once saw a flick “This Land of Mine” about the million mines put on the Danish beaches to prevent invasion.. The war was over and the country would not repatriate their German prisoners. Made them remove them. Half of these untrained prisoners got blown up.
One thing that bothered me about the TV show “Hogan’s Heros” was the benign, comical portrayal of the absolute evil that is war and especially the type waged by dictators.
Thinking about it from the perspective of those living with landmines and being the winners...had the politicians done it any other way they’d have faced being fired by the people. I understand why they did it and even though the “innocent” Germans died, I find it hard to shed a tear for them.