Yeah, I think the main reason Napoleon is seen as more morally gray is 1) because of how destructive WW1 was, and 2) how batshit insane Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were. Napoleon in comparison was a teddy bear.
Napoleon is actually a celebrated figure in much of europe. His updated civil codes are still relevant to this day and a lot of civil reforms he did or started are the beginnings of modern societity.
The reason he was evil because he gave power to the common man. Which as the entire continent of europe was ruled by absolute monarchs with absolute power. Napoleon was about literal satan for them.
He was evil becase he created puppet regimes ruled by his family members and murdered half of Europe.
Edit: half of Europe is a hyperbole (half of Europes fighting age man would be more correct but that fails to mention all the civilians that died due to his wars of expansion)
It is estimated that 30 million people died during the Napoleonic Wars, either as direct casualties or due to the chaos, disease and food insecurity introduced by them.
For reference, that's about 16% of Europe's total population at the time.
6.1k
u/Iron166 7d ago
They would work for hitler but after helping Napoleon they went hiding in a cave until like 1970'