How much did the Germans know of holocaust?

I think many of them probably lived in denial about what was really happening or were very naive, there are even some who deny the holocaust ever happened.

[deleted]

Your everyday citizen didn't know more than what they were told by the government. As things progressed a lot of them found out more of the truth, but they were not in a position to do anything about it without great risk to themselves and their families. My stepmother is German, born to a 16 yr old unwed mother, and was adopted at a very young age by an American soldier and his wife. Her dad was stationed there near the end of the war, and he said the average German citizens he met were very nice. They weren't Nazis; they knew what they government wanted them to know, which was mostly lies. The ones that finally saw the truth were sickened by it. The ones he met knew about the concentration camps but had no clue about what was really going on in them. They knew they were detention centers of a sort but were led to believe the prisoners were treated well and their basic needs were being met.

The sheep mustn't be concerned with the layout of their existence, as long as they're obedient to the shepherd that is all that matters, that is the policy of any government.

wir haben es nicht gewusst, befehl ist befehl.

little known fact, the germans did not take part in the holocaust, it was the portugese all along (those little *beep* go take a class or something x'D

sincerely

touchmetwinkieteam

Denial can be a powerful thing.

a lot

It depends. Many families in rural areas didn't even have radios at the time. The deliveries of goods to the camps tended to be done by young teenagers. They knew of the camps and were told that if they talked about it, they would be put in the camps.
So there was a lack of knowledge at first.

My family in Wels Austria was a farming family. They didn't know much about it until my great uncle was sent to Mauthausen. He was gone for 6 months before the nazis pulled him out to send to the Russian front. He informed the family of the shootings, death steps, and inhumane acts. This is how he got his two brothers to go to the Russian front where two of the three died. He was rotund before he was arrested. He was skin and bones after 6 months. We visited the camp where his story was corroborated.

My grandmother on the other side knew a little more since she lived in Vienna. But it wasn't much better. She knew of the "Colosseum" where our Jewish family members and friends went and were never heard from again. There was better news due to more people being a witness to the rounding up and the trains. The rural areas weren't as populated so they weren't as informed or they were easier to control.

At first, it wasn't well known. As more people escaped or got out, it became better known.