how do young people in Germany view Nazis now?

[erasure]

Originally Posted by Bettafish

I already posted the wiki link. You can read it and draw your own conclusions.

Eng. Wiki is as good as ever, because it's diligent, it looks at a subject from different angles and provides detailed and objective information.
However, in order to draw my own conclusions, I'd have to take in consideration some additional information, which would tip the objective scales of Wiki in only one possible way - that is to say that Suvorov is nothing more than a sensationalist, who wanted to sell his books and certain people ( mentioned in Wiki) that support his claims, use it to push their own political agenda and are not too interested to look for truth.
The truth, however is that when you look at Hitler's statements on Russia in his "Mein Kampf" published in 1924,

Hitler on Russia and Bolshevism (1924)

you can add 2 + 2, and figure out that if a person states such things in 1924 and this very person comes to power in 1933, then Russian commandment can't not to take note of it or to be unaware of it. Needless to say it couldn't ignore it.
More than that, if you read the General Ost plan, and read other Hitler's statements like

"We National Socialists consciously draw a line through the foreign policy trend of our pre-War period. We take up at the halting place of six hundred years ago. We terminate the endless German drive to the south and west of Europe, and turn our gaze toward the lands in the east. We finally terminate the colonial and trade policy of the pre-War period and proceed to the territorial policy of the future … if we talk about new soil and territory in Europe today, we can think primarily only of Russia and its vassal border states."[SIZE=2][1][/SIZE]"

"Everything I undertake is directed against Russia. If the West is too stupid and too blind to comprehend this I will be forced to reach an understanding with the Russians, turn and strike the West, and then after their defeat turn back against the Soviet Union with my collected strength. I need the Ukraine and with that no one can starve us out as they did in the last war." [SIZE=2][5]

Generalplan Ost - General Plan East

Then sure you can understand even without any wiki what that was was all about, and why Russia simply couldn't not to be concerned, couldn't not to arm herself, getting ready for whatever comes but still hoping for the best.

Yet, there was another side to this story, often missed, that Russia-Germany relations go far, far back in history, that Germans had big presence in Russia, be that trade or academia, that Germany is the country that shaped and influenced modern Russian state a big deal ( since Russians were a younger nation,) and even in intermediate period between two wars Russia and Germany ( yet again) ended up in close relations, being two pariah states, rejected by the rest.
As usual, Russia was supplying Germany with grain and raw materials, and as usual, Germany was supplying Russia with technology that Russia needed at that point for its industrialization and modernization.
So keeping that in mind, ( plus all the games that were going behind the scene among other major powers political circles,) Stalin had to tread very, very carefully when it was coming to Germans. On one hand, whatever "Mein Kampf" explicitly said about Russia was taken in consideration, yet at the same time Stalin couldn't trust the allies for obvious reasons. And that's why the whole issue of Russian militarization in the thirties was so controversial. Stalin was preparing for possible invasion of his country, yet the time frame and certainty of it were not carved in stone. That's why the Soviet army was big, yet in total disarray when Germans attacked - not because Stalin was planning to attack Germany himself.
As I've said earlier - the philosophy of the Soviet state was concentrated on the internal effort of building the new system that they were not interested to export any longer, and that's what Russians were getting busy with at that point, not planing some invasions.
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[erasure]

Originally Posted by espn_lies

It is naive to ignore Poland because they were "quickly" (lasted longer than France who had larger military and more time to prepare) defeated by 4 invading nations (Germany, USSR, Slovakia and Prussia)

But Russia was still years away from a theoretical invasion of Germany/Central Europe because they knew Poland stood in the way. And let's remember what happened last time

Polish-Soviet War 1919-1921

According to American sociologist Alexander Gella "the Polish victory had gained twenty years of independence not only for Poland, but at least for an entire central part of Europe

Poland was mostly irrelevant at that point; when it did win the war with Russia earlier, it was the time when Russia was about to collapse, being at the stage of civil war right after the WWI and revolution.
However the later Katyn massacre was directly related to Polish-Soviet War of 1919 -1921.
Stalin had a long memory and he remembered who tried to take advantage of Russia's weakness right away, claiming Ukrainian territories; that's why he made sure that Poland would be deprived of its officer's corps and that Poland wouldn't be more than obedient vassal in times when he sensed that his state was in mortal danger.
I couldn't believe for quite some time that Katyn massacre was executed by the Soviets; it didn't make sense to me - why bother with Poland sort of, I thought, but at that point I never paid attention at the events of the 1919-1921.
By the time I was reading the witnessing of the German officer on Katyn during the Nuremberg trial, I was already aware of it, and only then it all made sense to me.

[espn_lies]

Originally Posted by erasure

Poland was mostly irrelevant at that point; when it did win the war with Russia earlier, it was the time when Russia was about to collapse, being at the stage of civil war right after the WWI and revolution.
However the later Katyn massacre was directly related to Polish-Soviet War of 1919 -1921.
Stalin had a long memory and he remembered who tried to take advantage of Russia's weakness right away, claiming Ukrainian territories; that's why he made sure that Poland would be deprived of its officer's corps and that Poland wouldn't be more than obedient vassal in times when he sensed that his state was in mortal danger.
I couldn't believe for quite some time that Katyn massacre was executed by the Soviets; it didn't make sense to me - why bother with Poland sort of, I thought, but at that point I never paid attention at the events of the 1919-1921.
By the time I was reading the witnessing of the German officer on Katyn during the Nuremberg trial, I was already aware of it, and only then it all made sense to me.

Western history fail. Poland was the first and arguably most important domino of the European War. If Hitler were able to get Poland to accept his offer (lower his demands of Gdansk) then the Nazis are successful at defeating USSR
1) Invasion of USSR occurs earlier
2) Germany is full strength
3) No need for two war front as England/France don't come to USSR rescue
4) Constant uprisings and trade route disruptions don't occur
5) No need to hunt down Jews/Gypsies/etc.

The reason Hitler treated Poles differently than other occupied nations was because he felt betrayed by their refusal to join him AND he knew of the Poles unbreakable spirit.

Consider, why invite England/France into the war and expose invasion plans to Stalin if all you are gaining is Poland? Hitler knew without surprise attacking Poland with 3 other invaders, the occupation of Poland would have taken 6 months+. If France and England abide by their treaty with Poland.....the Nazis are defeated at Stage 1.