From an article about Ratzinger's personal history and his popedom, in the 2/6/06 New Yorker, and related to the odd (buried, and vital) wording about charity, love, and the state from his first encylical. he made these remarks in a Spring, 2004 event, at Normandy...

In this hour we bow in respect to teh dead of the Second World War, We remember the many young people from our homeland whose futures and hopes were destroyed in the vloddy slaughter of the wara. As Germans, we cannot hep but be painfully moved to realise that their idalism and their obdeicence to the state were misused by an unjust government...they simply tried to do their duty--even if beset by terrible, inner ocnflicts, doubts and questions

Animosty and bitterness remained between the combatant natiosn after the First World War, esp[ecialyl beyween the German and the French, resulting in a poisoning of the nations souls

The treaty of VErsailles was deliberatley intended to humilate Germany and to burden the country with so much debt that it radicalised the people, therby opening the door to dicatorship and to belief in its depcepive promises of the return of freedom, honor and might to GErmany"

An Eye for an Eye, a too for a tooth for , that does not lead to peace. We have seen the results"

Thank God the same thing was not repeated after the Second World War

The Americans generously helped us GErmans with their Marshall Plans, helped wus rebuild our country, and made prosperity and freedom possible.

The rest of the article deals with Catholics post war history, including the convent built near Dachau and two future popes visits there, Ratzinger in Auschwitz, the Protestant and CAtholic confentations in 68 in Turinberg, Ratzingers discomfort at mentioning the victims of the holocaust (namely in a one page 1978 statement, on the 40th anniversary of Kristalnacht, "It also cannot be forgotten that, in these same days, the same Nazi leaders publicly declared war on the CAtholic church...Just as the Jewish shops, the (church) windows were broken and smashed...(the holocaust) as a "preliminary step" to the eridication of Xinity. The article also talks about Ratzingers position as a Bishop to Bavira and Sudentenland, where he played games with history, instead of being humble about his role, and the churches role in the holocaust, he places the sudentenland as victims, of a "lost homeland". "horrific conditons" and "injustice", which "the public does not like to hear about this, for many reasons," "It does not fit into their understanding of history. They try to forve a veil of silence around this injustice, and even well intentioned indivuiuals feel that it should no longer be discussed for the sake of reconfilliation". that this lead to "sipressed truths" which led "to a poisoning of the spirit".

well worth reading