Ratsinger's childhood was shaped by the Hitler Youth program of which he was a member. (Donuel)

That's a silly idea. He has that in common with 99% of his peers. Some of them became conservatives, some reactionaries, some communists and some liberals. The son of one of the July 20th plotters against Hitler who hadas a young man seen his father shot by the Nazis became a very conservative man.

Much more shaping for Ratzinger may have been the fact that his father's career came to an end when he refused joining the Nazi party.

Wolfgang