re: When did the German soldiers of WWII realize they were the 'bad guys'?

quote:

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During this time when Poland was independent before WW2, both Poles and Germans committed atrocities against each other -- their very neighbors! It's sickening to contemplate.

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Polish and German enmity went back a very long time. Like medieval times. In the modern era, things ratcheted up with the partition of Poland which erased the Polish state from the map until the Paris Peace Treaty in 1919 restored her just a bit further to the West and with some historically German lands and population to boot. Poland was a fervently nationalistic state herself and is often given a very favorable portrayal in this time period thanks in part to being the first and one of the worst victims of Nazi aggression. The Poles were NOT democratic and were pretty damn anti-Semitic themselves.

There were many in British foreign policy circles who felt giving the Poles the war guarantee was a bad idea since it encouraged them to be obstinate in negotiations with Germany and effectively tied Britain's fate to that of a Poland ruled by a military junta.