In re Joseph Ratzinger’s WWII past:

From the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4445279.stm

“At the age of 14, he joined the Hitler Youth, as was required of young Germans of the time, but was not an enthusiastic member.

His studies at Traunstein seminary were interrupted during World War II when he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit in Munich.

He deserted the German army towards the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner of war by the Allies in 1945.“

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Eudaimonia