But honest decent people can also commit horrible atrocities. There's no question in my mind that as a young brash kid, he willingly volunteered to kill enemies as he was devoted to his country.
Again I'm not judging people. It's a fact of human history that humans hurt other humans. I think it's pretty ignorant to idolize or honor Kamikaze pilots whose goal was to kill other people. On the other hand, most people are not reflecting on human crimes history all the time, and I guess it's pretty normal that they make mental lapses or have lack of empathy on certain subjects.
human hurt human and kill humans, that is the sad thing of wars and human history for many thousands of years.
its not just japanese or germans, or kamikaze pilots, the allied forces also hurt and killed many.
like your grand father, there are many also many german members here who have family that was in the nazi army and any other WW2 or WW1 army.
During that time, you are enlisted in the military. Maybe some took it as pride, maybe some was against it, we don't know, but that was all gov propaganda and everyone thought they were doing good or simply they don't really have a choice.
I think it is impossible that anyone has ancestors that didn't kill someone in the past 200 or 300 years, especially the world has so many wars in this time frame. We are all descendants of murderers, or relatives/distance relatives of them in a way.
I visited Nelson Mandela's prison cell, at Robin Island Museum. It is a place where human rights abuse happened on a daily basis. Does that mean I support the evil apartheid gov? No, it is to learn of the bad and hoping humans don't repeat the same mistakes.
That kamikaze museum has a lot of visitors every year (including foreigners). I wonder how many of them walk away thinking war is terrible versus how many of them go and celebrate war as japanese pride and will allow history to repeat itself?
The kamikaze like culture only exists in Japan, many other countries won't leave troops behind (probably a military crime in some places to send your troops on pointless suicides too), but in Japan, you know you are going on a plane with just enough fuel to fly into American ships, or get shot down before it. I wonder what these people think after they died, do they still feel war propaganda is good and will do it again? or they wish to have many children/grand children - then the kids of Japan today, same question to them.
Whether or not japanese gov don't apologies to the world is not up to me or anyone here - I'm disgusted they still don't. But that is them, I won't attack Japanese citizen for being victims of they leadership. If the leadership still teaches war over peace, then that is a different story. Many Japanese I know, view peace as the biggest pride of the modern century.
I believe humans are born good, it is all these war propaganda that turn people in war demons.
Today, it is all about education and learning from history, and people need to know that human hurting other humans are wrong, so if you and I all agree to it, then all hurt needs to stop, or you want it to continue on to your kids, your grand kids etc?
Today the biggest military aggressor in Asia is only 1 country. The nuke problem of India-Pakistan, and even of that of North Korea seems minute compared to the aggressor. I hope war don't break out.
