POPE - "Hitler Youth double speak"

[blueyonder2012]

Pope Benedict 'never in the Hitler Youth', says Vatican

Times | Article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6274826.ece)

Amid rising criticism of the Pope’s performance at Israel’s Holocaust memorial, the Vatican today made a surprise denial that the German pontiff had ever been a member of the Hitler Youth.

“The Pope has said he never, never was a member of the Hitler Youth, which was a movement of fanatical volunteers,” Franco Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman said.

Attention on the Catholic leader’s past has threatened to eclipse the message of peace and reconciliation he has been pushing during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Mr Lombardi said that the then Joseph Ratzinger, as a 16-year-old seminarian, had served in an auxiliary air defence squadron "that had nothing to do with Nazism or Nazi ideology.”
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However, the Pope has said himself in past interviews that prior to serving as a Wehrmacht anti-aircraft gunner he had been conscripted, along with so many other German boys of his age, into the Hitler Youth, in which he had served reluctantly.

More > > (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6274826.ece)

[decim]

Seems it didn't do him any harm.

Does the pope need a CV?

[void]

If somebody was in Communist Russia, I doubt they would have much of a choice about being in the Komsomol. Likewise, with his situation. People are projecting our kind of relative freedom today, onto situations of the past which were radically different than today.

[amandaooo]

I was under the impression that the Pope stated that he had "no choice" as far as being in the Hitler Youth during his visit? I'm pretty sure that was on the news (ITV or BBC) yesterday.

[dangermouse]

people will look part at people who are in the british army, israeli army and us army in future in the same light ..