If I had refused to take the oath in 1935, it would have meant that thousands and thousands like me, all over Germany, were refusing to take it. Their refusal would have heartened millions. Thus the regime would have been overthrown, or, indeed, would never have come to power in the first place.
This is exactly the line of argument why each and every one of us was completely responsible for the Vietnam war (as explained in the public domain boom “Hello, Stupid” - which I have never been able to refind after giving away my copy in the ‘80s. I believe it was originally published in someone’s basement in the ‘60s.)
