Andrea Junker 
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but “I was only following orders” was rejected as a defense at the Nuremberg Trials.
Tobin Baker@Strandjunker which is why US military are trained to refuse illegal orders (I bet that would make Trump's head explode)
tessarakt@tobinbaker @Strandjunker German civil servants are personally responsible for the legality of their official acts, unless an order is confirmed upon protest.
Petr Tesarik@tessarakt @tobinbaker @Strandjunker Does it help? WWII Nazis were almost obsessed with law. Every atrocity was legal. In fact, thanks to their following the law, their deeds were documented so well that they could be held accountable afterwards.
@ptesarik @tobinbaker @Strandjunker Yeah, that's called "Aktenmäßigkeit der Verwaltung" (principle that public administration is based on files and in writing), see https://www.olev.de/s/schriftlichkeit.htm . It's part of the rule of law and serves as a safeguard facilitating accountability.