Do you say that Joseph Ratzinger was actually a Nazi, or just that he was a German soldier in Second World War? There's quite some difference.

The German army was just German army, not specifically a "Nazi army" even though the country was lead by Nazis and even though modern click-baiting headlines equate the two.

As far as I know, Ratzinger had nothing to do with National Socialism beyond what was compulsory and unavoidable under pain of death in Nazi Germany (i.e. being drafted).

> The German army was just German army, not specifically a "Nazi army"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Wehrmacht

German army was not "clean". They were involved in various atrocities. Other armies also were not "clean". But saying that each and every conscript soldier serving in German army was a Nazi is hyperbole. Even if you did not like Nazis, it was perfectly understandable to like their main adversary, the Soviet army, even less, and fight for your homeland.

That's just a poor article. The English Wikipedia in general is a horrible source on anything related to the Nazis.

He was conscripted into the Hitler Youth, which I think was required by law at the time.