John on the sunset coast,

I was born in 1972 - long after you say that Germany and Japan had long since been forgiven - you might say that my generation was as far removed as could be from those horrors by comparison to little hawks.

Yet I played with those same plastic WWII figures, and guess what - the british and american soldiers were the good guys and the germans and japanese were the bad guys. It was taken as given.

I grew up as a child surrounded by the common perception of practically every other kid my age, that Germany was the enemy, before discovering slightly later that actually the soviets were. I remember being apprehensive upon meeting german people and being hugely curious too to talk to one of these "aliens" (it wasn't something my parents ever taught me).

All of this before the age of 10.