A little over thirty-three years ago, when I was just under seventeen, I was a highranking, dedicated member of the Hitler Youth and one of Germany's youngest pilots. Although the Hitler Youth was far larger than the Nazi party itself in membership, I don't hold myself responsible for the rise of Hitler, the outbreak of the Second World War, or the persecution of Jews and other so-called "sub-humans." I dearly wish, though, that it had never happened. It must never be whitewashed or forgotten.

It is impossible for any fair-minded German to deny the genocide of the Jews or to explain how it could have happened without sounding like a pious hypocrite or simple-minded apologist.