Judging Grass

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The man, if judged at all, should be -- as any person -- judged by his entire life and what he accomplished, not what happened when one was 17 years old. It is time to put to rest this stigma of those years and let the young people of today look to the future that is "theirs." Who are we to judge at all as we all live in "glass houses." -- Robert J. Patulski, US

Ralph Giordano hit the nail on the head. No man is perfect, and given that, we should be happy that Günter Grass has come to terms with himself, and with Germany. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. He did what anyone would do, and did. There are legions of these boys who were inducted in 1944 and 1945 at a young age, who are now 77, 78, 79 and dying. I feel that Germany should make clear to Grass and to these many other soldier-citizens that there was no moral fault on their part for serving their country. There is no salvation for the upper echelons of the Hitler/Nazi government -- but there should be heartfelt and very open forgiveness expressed to these one-time youngsters. -- Wiley Horne, US

I believe Günter Grass should have much earlier revealed his past and should not have kept it hidden for the last 61 years. I think he did not confess it earlier fearing that such a confession would prevent him from getting the Nobel Prize, which he eventually got in 1999. This whole episode only shows his hypocrisy and double-speak. -- Pialy Mazumder, India

It's a sad thing that one of Germany's most famous authors, if not people, of the 20th century has come under such wide criticism. Unfortunately, this criticism in not quite undeserved. It is not shameful to change your convictions, especially after a catastrophe as World War II. It is not shameful to call for openness on the topic; in fact, there has probably been too much left unsaid. However, it is a blow to the atmosphere of honesty, and to the entire public, when one of the advocates of the openness and honesty has hid such a secret for so long. Whether this admission is sincere, whether it is timed to advertise the book (consciously or not) and how much more there is about Grass' military service I can not know. Yet it is unfortunate that Grass' works won't ever be read the same way. -- Boyan Penev, Germany

This confession only confirms my suspicions that as whole the German society is plagued by hypocrisy and to continue to have a superiority complex. This man became the icon of German left politics, claiming to have the role as moral conscious of the modern world. That Günter Grass lied to Germany in this matter and that Germany and Germans believed him, only speaks that Germany and German have no moral superiority with which to admonish the world on what is righteous or to show the world which is the ethical path. Recently Germany, under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, again reclaimed the post of moral voice of the world by opposing and decrying the invasion of Iraq by the US, Britain and other nations. The parochialism of German society continues as do the hypocrisy that permeates it. Unfortunately Germans have not changed, but as we all know, the society that begot Karl Marx, Friedrich Engel and Adolf Hitler and company are nothing more than a bunch of liers and self-delusional people. -- Francisco A. Olivas, Nicaragua

He should be stripped of the Nobel Prize, but not have his honorary citizenship of Gdansk removed, because he was born there and he is a citizen of Gdansk (Danzig). Whether we like it or not does not matter. Before we jump to conclusions, we need to investigate his role in the SS. If Grass proves not to be guilty, then all those who are "killing" Grass owe him an apology in public. -- Danuta Hejzner