As John Paul II's right hand man, in charge of enforcing the conservative papal policy, Cardinal Ratzinger earned an unfortunate nickname from his more progressive peers: the "Panzer Cardinal". Like the tank. Pope Benedict XVI, now 78, had his own brush with warfare as a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany.
- At age, 14 membership in Germany's "Hitler Youth" became mandatory. So Joseph Ratzinger enrolled
- He managed to get out early so he could study for the priesthood.
- Two years later, when he was 16, Ratzinger was drafted again by the German Army.
- Ratzinger worked as a helper in an anti-aircraft briagde.
- In 1945, he was put through basic training and stationed near his hometown in Bavaria.
- When Allied forces advanced, he deserted the German army — risking death by that act alone.
- After he escaped, Ratzinger was captured by American soldiers and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp.
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