Sir, It is uncertain what the young conscript Günter Grass could have done to satisfy our post-millennial morality (“report, times2, Aug 15). There were few Germans who rejected the Nazi machinery at the time, but many who examined its after-effects. Grass’s The Tin Drum specifically addresses the question of repression and unacceptable behaviour by individuals and groups. He does not promote himself as a moral arbiter. Had Grass been in the navy, the debate over his conduct during the war would never have arisen.
DAVE DREW
Winterborne Stickland, Dorset