After World War II, some Nazis apologized, still they were punished.

 After World War II, some Nazis apologized, still they were punished. They got their penalty reduced sometimes by saying sorry.

Albert Speer is one such celebrity. He was a very significant person in the government of Hitler. Most Nazis claimed that they did not do anything wrong at the big Nuremberg trials. But Speer was something special when he claimed he was guilty and had accepted his punishment.

This likely saved his life. Several other leaders of the Nazi were killed anyway, however, Speer was sentenced to spend 20 years in prison. He remained there all the time.

Decades after his death, there was a reporter called Gitta Sereny who looked at his life. She discovered evidence that Speer was more aware of the evils that the Nazis committed than he testified to the court. She believed that had the judges known all the facts, they would probably have handed him a death sentence.

In the story, Speer demonstrates that after saying sorry, you might be able to receive a milder sentence, but it did not imply that you would avoid it altogether. Although he claimed he was sorry, Speer remained in jail up to 20 years.

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