Susan Brownmiller's book Against Our Will takes about American Troops in Asia, the wars in Bosnia with Rape and torture camps just for Muslim women.... the routine rapes in African countries under going civil unrest.

Men with guns, any men with guns and uniforms pretty much means wide scale rape - from the Roman Empire on.. nothing new under the sun. In every war more civilian's die than soldiers - but you only hear about the soldiers if you are their side of a conflict -- ie if you don't know how many civilians have died in Iraq, you are caring on the same proud tradition. And considering how bad the raping of fellow soldiers is in the US military, can you honestly think nothing is going on with the civilian population?

I don't know what everyone is troubled with here. I knew about the stories and some more horrific than this one here. Try young women being virtually crucified by the invading horde. I think the REAL story here is less about which country is guilty of war crimes then it is a story that has been played out throughout history. I for one am glad someone is telling a true story of humanity; a reptilian heritage of us all still alive and well. And I am always impressed with the German sense of accountability. I know of no other nation past or present that addresses its history as unblinkingly as they do. It gives me hope.

Perhaps some writer at Salon should do a little in depth eport on why any of their articles featuring women and specifically ill treatment of women, seems to attract the most ugly and virulent of misogynistic commenters.

Frankly, the rape of some of the women, who, need I remind you people, SPAWNED many of the degenerates who caused WWII and then VOTED or PROMOTED a strong Nazi homeland, is a relatively mild problem in the whole scope of wartime events.

frankly, in my opinion, all Germans should have been obliterated after the war for what they allowed to start in their country.

My mother was BORN in a Nazi prison camp because the fuckers took the whole town hostage, Jew or not (we were NOT). What in the FUCK did they want from Poland?!?

Are they that itchy to just fuck with other nations?

Frankly, the rape of some of the women, who, need I remind you people, SPAWNED many of the degenerates who caused WWII and then VOTED or PROMOTED a strong Nazi homeland.

Frankly, I cannot muster up ANY sympathy if anyone tells me some German women were raped. Yes, some might have not been pro Nazi, but war is hell, and let God sort them out. We humans live on this sphere for 75 years tops, and to put up with the crap my parents and grandparents put up with courtesy of the fucking Germans and later the fucking Soviets means anything bad or evil that can be sent back their way is justifiable.

And NOW, with the burgeoning American empire, controlled by the Rothschild Bankers and with troops in 160 nations, how are WE any better, in fomenting the record numbers of wars our nation was instrumental in causing around the world this past half century, courtesy of the CIA?

Frankly, you humans deserve the crap you get, the only person openly and constantly discussing this in a public forum, and getting shit for it from all sides, is Alex Jones.

Maybe if women took a proactive stand in stopping profiteering war excursions, things might improve for everyone, men and women. Instead, all I see women doing is sitting quietly, glad they are NOT on the losing side. so sad. Look at YOURSELVES FIRST, women.

kadathdream - Although there certainly was American mistreatment of German POWs at the end of the war and although the full scope of that is still being researched, I'm pretty confident that the 1 million number is dismissed as impossible by serious historians.

Let's also not forget that there was a major food shortage in 1945 and starvation across Europe, not just among captured German troops. I can't say I'd really blame Eisenhower for feeding, say, liberated concentration camp victims and civilians of the countries conquered by the Nazis in preference to German prisoners.

Let's not forget that the reason that there was starvation across Europe was that Germany, under the leadership of the Nazis - who did after all receive over 17 million votes and 44% of the popular vote in the 1933 election, getting the highest vote total of any party in all but 2 of the 55 constituencies of Weimar Germany - had launched a war to conquer the continent and exterminate the population of Eastern Europe in order to build Germany into a superpower.

grmorrison - Why don't we take a poll and see how many people commenting here have seen this movie or read the book? My guess is that it's precious few. If we do that, will you go after each and every person here who has not seen the movie and/or read the book and tell him/her to join a book club?

Moreover, my comments relate to the Nazi party and its aims, the different treatment of German civilians by Russians as opposed to Americans, and the moral responsibility that Germans bore as a result of what their country did. The only comment I've made about rape is that it is not justified. If you think that any of these positions is undermined by the fact that I haven't seen this particular movie, please explain how that is so.

Yes, there is often an element of smug satisfaction in American discussions of World War II, and we often cast a blind eye on our own historical culpability. Indeed, the fate of the American Indians shows up in some Nazi documents as an express model for the planned fate of the Slavs of Eastern Europe (at least once the urban population was annihilated via deliberate starvation). However, none of that is really relevant to the Nazis' culpability or to non-Nazi Germans' culpability. In my opinion the former is extreme and the latter is non-zero, no matter what the white Americans did to the Sioux or what the Russians did to the Ukrainians.