Originally posted by Vector
Nazis = national socialists = german party
Luftwaffe = german air force
Let's keep these two separated.
Let's not, because they weren't.
Equating National Socialists with a "German party" ignores the obvious; there weren't any other parties. There was just the one. By pretending that it had nothing to do with the rest of the populace, you're simply putting blinders on yourself to reach a happy thought that you want to reach. Germany in WWII WAS Nazi Germany. Those nice Nazi pilots you're trying to protect generally went through Hitler Youth training, identified themselves with the Fuehrer in adult life, and never questioned what they were doing to the rest of the world. Not a lot of them involved in any plot to get rid of Hitler, that I've ever heard of.
And please don't substitute your desired thoughts for those of the US pilots in WWII. The ones I've spoken to were quite clear in failing to see any distinction between Nazis and Germans.
- Oldman