In part, there were so many Germans who served in the Wehrmacht or who had family members who served in the Wehrmacht that there was a widespread demand to have a version of the past that allowed them to "...honor the memory of their fallen comrades and to find meaning in the hardships and personal sacrifice of their own military service".[56] Wette writes the founding years of West Germany saw the wartime generation cement over its past and make outraged claims that innocence was the norm.[57]