I was recently challenged because I showed something of the human side of Joseph Geobbels, although in the tweet I condemned him to a Nazi hell of his own making. Why is it important that we look at Nazis and any other tyrannical individuals as humans? THREAD

If we simply regard those people who were Nazis as monsters, then that exonerates them of their crimes. Making them inhuman lets them off the hook. ‘They were monsters’ suggests that they were programmed that way from birth. They were not.

We now know that the soldiers of the Wehrmacht - once the unblemished heroes of the Reich - were responsible for hideous crimes against humanity. But they had families, emotions, loves, and hopes. And yet they the opted to kill and brutalise.

If we look at Nazis - and others - as humans then we can meet their gaze and challenge them, saying, ‘You and I had the same opportunities and hardships, but you CHOSE to kill, maim, hurt and degrade others; I did not do those things. Now explain yourself. I challenge you.’

Keeping Nazis as monsters - the zombie killers of films which really offend me - lets them off the hook. So remember, they were humans who did despicable things to other humans. Challenge them as humans. Never forget. Learn the lessons. #NoToFasicm

This photograph of happy Auschwitz guards on a day out is more chilling than any ‘Nazi Zombie’ because it is real. It is the epitome of the banality of evil. Nazi perpetrators were real people with choices to make. Show their human faces; the monsters lie underneath #NoToFasicsm