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Army leaders declared they would refuse to participate in the defense of Europe unless pardons were given to their colleagues charged with murders in the east. The courts then ruled that Jewish hostages were actually partisan fighters deserving of execution. Some officers declared that all Jews were known enemies of the regime, and killing them was a normal wartime duty. The courts agreed. The same arguments would have justified the killing of all unarmed prisoners of war and, if available, their relatives and the civilians of any conquered nation, whether they resisted or not.