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FRANKFURT - Four in ten Germans say the Nazis had some "good and bad aspects" but a growing majority feel shame for the Holocaust, according to a survey published by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Monday.
Of the more than 1,000 Germans surveyed, 55 per cent said Nazism was mostly or only negative, while one per cent saw more good aspects than bad.
The number who saw some good in National Socialism fell to 40 per cent, down slightly from 42 per cent recorded in a similar poll in 1991.
The German-Jewish Dialogue survey, carried out by the respected TNS Emnid polling organisation, said many of those who viewed parts of the Nazi regime favourably were elderly or had little education.
The report said the "favourable" aspects referred to in the survey included the German economic upturn after 1933.
The 112-page report also found that two-thirds of Germans "absolutely agree" with the statement "I am ashamed that the Germans have committed so many crimes against the Jews", up from 60 per cent in 1991.
The number of those who said they "absolutely disagree" with that statement fell to eight per cent, down from 13 per cent in the earlier poll.
- REUTERS
