Did the common WWII German soldier know how evil Germany was?

I don't think so.

If it was between fighting for an evil dictator or being hung on treason charges...most just kept their mouth shut

I'm sure a lot of them did but wtf are you going to do? It's either fight or suffer the rath of Hitler so at least you have a chance of surviving by fighting for Germany.

Meh, they were no more evil than the Russians or the Japanese. One can argue they were even less evil than those two. The Ruskies and zipperheads were some sadistic fricks.

There has been much debate over this subject for decades. Some try to claim they did not. And I’m sure not all did know. However, it is a proven fact, thanks to archived letters home from average German soldiers, that there were at least some who were aware of atrocities being carried out in their rear areas.

Now as for members of the Waffen SS, yes, they were fully aware of jsut about everything.

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but did they believe it was wrong or did they believe it was for the good of Germany?

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I don’t think it’s that cut and dry. I’m sure there were many ideas about what was “right and wrong” back then.

I mean hell, look at operation Valkyrie. Obviously there were those who realized that Hitler needed to be stopped, but unless you had the right political and military backers, nothing could be done.

I think it’s the case where you have to follow orders despite the feelings you have towards the end goal.

I can imagine that the men in our military go through the same thing.

I can't think of any wars where either side had particularly clean hands, it's usually just a matter of degree. Uncle Sam is no exception.

There is a recently released book that sort of proved a lot of average people knew.

Regular army units were typically assigned to support the SS special action units when they needed more manpower. The SS also made frequent use of German police reservists-ordinary men who were too old for regular service but used for rear area "security" missions.

And the SS was not deployed at all in North Africa and the Balkans, in these theatres, atrocities were a Wehrmacht show, and they were enthusiastic.

To answer your question, not everyone had firsthand knowledge, but nearly everyone knew the general outlines. And some were in it up to their elbows.