“He mentioned that the Germans did nothing noble on the Eastern front then he detailed it.”
Many minorities in the Soviet Union (especially Ukrainians) greeted the Axis as liberators; Russia admitted in the last five years that they deliberately sent troops behind the lines to stir up the Germans, causing retaliations against the Soviet civilians to drive them back into the Soviet fold (and it worked).
The Nazis had the Slavs in their crosshairs, even if they were blue eyed blonds with nearly 100% Swedish background.
I really don't think anything the Germans did in WWII is defensible ~ NOT ONE THING.
"Many minorities in the Soviet Union (especially Ukrainians) greeted the Axis as liberators; Russia admitted in the last five years that they deliberately sent troops behind the lines to stir up the Germans, causing retaliations against the Soviet civilians to drive them back into the Soviet fold (and it worked)Its more complicated. Initially the Germans were greeted as liberators. Later in the war, when it was apparent they would treat the local Slav population only slightly better, if not worse, than Stalin, and not give these people self-determination as German propaganda initially promised (as some naive anti-Communist nationalists initially hoped) then support for Germans had faded. The Ukrainian nationalist figure Stepan Bandera initially acted in concert with the Nazis against the Soviets but later in the war fought against both Nazis AND Soviets. The local Eastern European populations also often quite willingly participated in persecution and mass extermination of Jews. Both due to traditional grass-roots antisemitism and due to the perception that Jews were firmly allied with Bolshevik oppressors (many early Communists and Bolshevik Commisars were ethnically Jewish.) Historical reality is complicated, despite efforst to present it as black vs. white. History will always get written by the winners.