Beast Or Brother? Poem by A. P. Herbert

Some call them 'bestial'; but that's unkind:
There is no animal with such a mind.
Some others say: 'They are my brothers still';
I'll own no relative so quick to kill.
Some are surprised—but why I do not know:
This story started centuries ago.
There is no need to seek another name:
These men are 'germans', evermore the same.
They'll frown on Hitler now, the fickle crew,
Not for his deeds, but what he failed to do.
April 29, 1945