At the risk of being called insensitive (but not as insensitive as Mr. Linnell in my opinion) I would ask that the following scenario be imagined.
The son of German Luftwaffe pilot who's father's Junkers bomber was shot down over London by a Spitfire pilot during the Blitz goes to England to research the circumstances of his fathers death. He happens to find the Spitfire pilot and asks him how he felt as he shot down the bomber and watched it explode in flames as it hit the ground. He gets the response he sought."Very pensive" the spitfire pilot answers and then goes on to elaborate on the evils of war in general.
Surely a more honest answer would have been that any discomfort at causing the death of an enemy bomber and its crew would have been far outweighed by the understanding that by doing so he had most likely saved the lives of who knows how many innocent civilians in London who were the intended targets ( or at the very least, likely collateral damage) of the bomber. If the bombs had already been dropped it would be understandable that the Spitfire pilot show more concern for his fellow citizen casualties that for the enemy bomber pilot he had just shot down and killed.
Why does sensitivity on one side seem to produce insensitivity on the other. At a human level both the film and my scenarios are essentially the same. Why do we still expect Germans to shrink in apology at the mention of our war dead, who we still remember proudly and celebrate as the saviors of the free world. Ordinary Germans (not the culpable Nazis) feel the loss of loved family members just as deeply as us yet cannot remember them like us. We do not allow them ,subtly reminding them with self indulgent exercises like this film, that it was all THEIR fault.
Until we all have the imagination and sensitivity to wear each others shoes there will always be war .Egocentric emotion, however moving, doesn't help.
I would be grateful if my comment could be acknowledged and even more grateful if they could be forwarded to Mr. Linnell
