The sad thing is, de-nazification was half-assed... and it was still enough to instill a deep and enduring sense of shame in Germany for the Nazi regime.

By normalizing the condemnation instead of glorification of the previous regime, the next generation saw it with clearer eyes, and asked the questions their parents did not - why did you go along with these atrocities?

And that was enough. I mean, don't get me wrong, I very much would've preferred more Nazis hanged. But the backlash against Nazism was deep once the next generation came of age, simply because their culture did not normalize apologia for its horrors.

We didn't even half-ass it. Half-half-assed. Quarter-assed. Decimal-assed.