Over a million men served in the Waffen-SS, and thousands of them weren't even German or even of German ancestry. I don't care about Grass or his history, but I do wonder how this "revelation" will affect his standing with the left.
There is nothing wrong with having served ones nation in war. The cause for which he was fighting was wrong, but a 17 year old, in a society marked by propaganda news reels, and probably unaware of this regimes actions in regards to the Holocaust can not be faulted.
There is nothing to be ashamed of if one served in the Waffen-SS. They fought well. In fact I know some myself who had served in these units. As long as there is no glorification of the evil deeds in respect of the Third Reich, as long as the Holocaust is not denied, the bad policy of oppression and aggression are not glorified or excused, these men have "nothing" to be ashamed of.
Those who worked at the camps, the Einsatzgruppen and others who were involved with crimes against civilians for no reason at all other than the people they were after did not meet their eugenic profile, those deserve to be persecuted until the end of their days globaly, but the 17 and sometimes younger soldier who fought fierce and often futile battles against an enemy outnumbering them, out equipped, and with near bottomless supplies in oil, ammunition etc; those men can only be respected. They bled just like our guys, and they were nothing moe than dedicated, well trained soldiers trying to do what they percieved was right.