[InterestBazinga]

I feel like this is an intricate argument.

Why are german soldiers held in a negative light even though the war decisions were by its commanders?

[itake]

They aren't held in a negative light... After the war, they were forgiven and I think society in general has accepted that they were just following orders. The leaders definitely thought in a negative light.

[lxw]

This is not true. "Just following orders" was held to be not a valid defense in the Nuremberg trials: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_orders