Quote Originally Posted by Ser Clegane View Post
And in addition it should be noted that, after the war, they also received the German population with open arms to join the civilised world again*.
On a larger level there might be the argument that even that was politically motivated to keep the Western part of Germany as a buffer to the Communist countries in the East - however, the countless experiences that German citizens had with American soldiers after the war clearly show that the amazingly friendly and helpful attitude of the American G.I.'s was genuine.


* While not as completely forgiving as the Americans it should be noted that also the other Allies (even Russia) treated the German population in Germany very decently after the war considering what they had to endure at the hands of the Germans during the war.
Of course both sides ingratiated themselves to the Germans. It's hardly surprising considering that they both needed them during the Cold War. Also, I know of many hundreds of thousands of German soldiers who would disagree with your caveat, had they survived the gulags.