Problem is, we'll never really know - propaganda was really effective those days, especially considering the inconsistent education and focus on rote (and therefore indoctrinated) learning. It makes it impossible to apply any of our modern assumptions to the situation (and yes, I realise that conveniently disqualifies my previous comparison, but let's just ignore that).
If we are talking about the early 30s, education would still have been Weimar Republic and German Empire. I don't think anybody can justly claim that German education under those two systems was inconsistent. It was probably better than in most western countries.
It would be fascinating to read some translations of internal party documents regarding the Nazis if they still exist. I have a feeling they don't though.
I'll see what I can find.
Anyway, I think we can safely assume that after people started disappearing nation-wide any German who wanted to know, knew. That's where the 'you can blame the German people safely' line comes in for me.
Are you kidding? It's a lot worse than that.
In the town in the northwest of Germany where my parents live they recently build monument to remind people of the events of a month before the end of the war. I have pictures, will upload them later today.
Basically what happened was that one of the last trains transporting Jews to death camps was derailed near the town by British bombs and 95 or so people escaped.
They were hunted down and murdered by the people of the town, NOT just soldiers or Nazis, but the normal people who had every reason just to sit out events and let the soldiers and SS do their jobs (the soldiers and SS had the decency to shoot the refugees, the townsfolk just beat them to death).
That was one month before the end of the war in the region. The Nazis had already lost control. But the people murdered the Jews anyway. They COULD have sat at home and do nothing, but they decided to be proactive and kill. I don't even think the Nazis would have (or could have) punished them for doing nothing at that point.
The memorial is made of stones from the main Holocaust memorial in Berlin and was build after much arguing in the town council. Originally the text on the sign wouldn't even have mentioned the fact that the people of the town actively participated in the murders, but most of the population thought that the planned text was too harsh and had a historian look into it. The resulting text was thus worse (but honest). The monument is made of two big stones symbolising the "gateway to freedom" and several small stones symbolising the refugees who nearly made it standing in front of it. A tree was planted for the few people of the town who tried to help, the very few.
I don't usually cry but when I stood in front he of the memorial (I walked up to it wearing a kippa), and said the Hebrew words (I promise I will never forget...), I cried. This was worse even than the Holocaust I learned about at school.
That's where the 'you can blame the German people safely' line comes in for me.
