Myth of the clean Wehrmacht ( ) denotes the myth that the Wehrmacht was an apolitical organization along the lines of its predecessor , the Reichswehr , and was largely innocent of Nazi Germany 's war crimes and crimes against humanity and , behaving in a similar manner to the armed forces of the Western Allies . This narrative is false , as shown by the Wehrmacht 's own documents , such as the records detailing the executions of Red Army commissars by frontline divisions , in violation of the laws of war . While the Wehrmacht largely treated British and American prisoners of war ( POWs ) in accordance with these laws ( giving the myth plausibility in the Western world ) , it routinely enslaved , starved , shot , or otherwise abused and murdered Polish , Soviet , and Yugoslav civilians and prisoners of war . Wehrmacht units also participated in the mass murder of Jews and others
war crimes and crimes against humanity
War crimes of the Wehrmacht
Myth of the clean Wehrmacht