Wittmann wasn't a war criminal....=/ IN fact, the majority of nazi party members weren't.
'09 Comedy Post of the Year
I have heard hilarious statements in my life, but this for sure earns the World and Olympic Records
While the Nazi party
was judged to be a criminal organization, and therefore, members were considered to be criminals as well, most of them were never punished for explicit criminal activity or war crimes, just for supporting the ideology. In fact, most Party members were considered to have been "hang-arounds" (
Mitläufer) at the most and were declared "denazified" soon after. The party leaders, agitators, etc. were a different case and were judged accordingly, but they were in the minority even among the former party members.
In the Third Reich, joining the Nazi party was not a particular political statement. It was something most did just to fit in with the crowd, to be able to get promotions or to be hired as civil servants, NOT because they wanted to put
Generalplan Ost into action or something like that. Compare to this: in our age and society, if you're a member of a trade union, it does not necessarily mean that you are a die-hard Communist. (Some might be, but most are not.)