I suppose, on the other hand, it's worth looking at what has happened in Iraq, where the Occupation was evidently instructed from Washington to purge everyone associated with the former regime, and the outcome has been disastrous.

There were other factors there - notably the speed with which the invasion crushed the opposing forces. There hadn't been time for the same degree of devastation and war weariness, which I imagine in Germany reduced the options andthe appetite for a continuing Iraq style "resistance".

But it is pretty generally agreed that the post invasion civil and miltary purge of Ba'ath suppoters - even nominal ones - has made things far worse than they otherwise would have been.

Maybe in that kind of situation you sometimes have to take a long spoon and sup with the devil. But I think you ought to be honest about what you are doing, with yourself and with the world. Even if the Occupation had to do that, a bit more honesty would have made it easier for a new generation to set the balance a bit straighter.