Nazi were not all as evil as the stereotype would suggest

 Nazi were not all as evil as the stereotype would suggest but when one wore that uniform, then after the war, one was a target. Major Karl Plagge found that out.

In the year 1941 he was appointed the commander of a vehicle repair regiment in Vilnius, Lithuania. SS was liquidating the Jews of the city and Plagge had had enough. He established a work camp called HKP 562 and informed his superiors that the workers were of interest to the war. That falsehood saved their lives. He introduced their families, better rations and prevented the SS whenever he could.

By 1944 the Soviets inched their way nearer. Any that were left, the SS intended to kill. Plagge himself was unable to just instruct them to run and so he issued a warning with the guise of being sarcastic- that they will be now taken under the protection of the SS who are the friends of children. That was the implication. Over 250 escaped into life.

When they came home there was no hero welcome. Those in charge of the Allies continued to conduct an inquiry on him just as they did with other German officers. He was not implicated, but the suspicion remained. It gnawed away at him till his death in 1957.

He was decades in fighting the survivors to be recognized. It was not until 2005 that he was posthumously honoured.

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