Learning from history?

Dear Buz:

Thank you for your accurate summary of German history and the success of Adolf Hitler (Letters, Sept. 9).

I want to add a couple things that were different then but cannot be an excuse nowadays. There was no TV or computer, only radio and newspapers, which were both controlled by Hitler. Not many cars either, to drive to other places. My mother grew up not far from Auschwitz and did not know that it existed. My father was sent to Russia to fight at age 18. Once Hitler was in complete control, nobody could be against him without facing the consequences.

I grew up in the aftermath of t...