German here

This is a difficult topic and generalizing towards any direction will lead to wrong conclusions.

Let's start before the war: His nationalsocialistic attitudes weren't the reason for Hitler getting elected. Sure, the core of the NSDAP have always been nazis, but most of the Germans have simply been disappointed by the Weimarer Republik.

It should be noted that Germany had huge economical issues after WW1 including a hyperinflation and obviously the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Germany also had to pay reparations for their loss in WW1. Hitler had already been imprisoned in 1923, but his charismatic personality led people to vote for him for the simple reason that he gave them work. Hitler credited himself with the invention of the Autobahn, which was mostly a clever sort of propaganda. People didn't care/realize that his economic success was based on producing arms and military ressources and also making debts that could only be paid off by winning a war.

Hitler's anti-semitic attitude was known by the people of Germany, but sadly people appreciated having found a scapegoat for their problems. It should also be noted that Hitler never won a majority in a democratic election and only got one by dispelling the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) from their seats in the Reichstag.

Right after the war most Germans have tried to renounce any involvement in war crimes or knowledge of them. This includes both soldiers and civilians. I have often talked to my grandma on her experience of the war and she confirms these views, but on the other hand she was still a child and remembers how she was more afraid of a thunderstorm than the bombs. So she might not be the most reliable source.

On the other hand this photo of German soldiers reacting to the cruelty of the camps supports her views.

There are many examples of Nazis being proud of themselves even after the surrender though (Amon Goeth from Schindler's list might be one of the most popular examples. To anyone who hasn't watched the film I highly recommend it.)

The Nuremberg trials concluded that most Germans weren't Nazis and the Wehrmacht not a criminal organization to a scale of the SS, but still commited severe war crimes.

The modern view on the question is more critical of the Germans in general. Germans are accused of Whitewashing themselves from war crimes that would've been impossible to carry out without the assistance of the Wehrmacht. Here is a list of war crimes of the Wehrmacht.

Sorry for some inconsistencies in the post, but in the end it is very difficult to conclude who knew what especially since significant details have been hidden or distorted by all involved powers.

My personal view is that most Germans didn't know what was happening until it was too late, but didn't act against the Nazis to save their own skin. There are some (sadly very few) resistance movements though (The "Weiße Rose" and "Operation Walküre" are common examples). On the other hand soldiers have deliberately commited horrific crimes, that have never been demanded by their military leadership, so I would not consider them "just soldiers".

There is lots of misinformation going around considering the war, although there is a ton of material available (often in visual form), so feel encouraged to research on your own. Independently thinking citizens are crucial in preventing another war with similar scale to WW2, so please find your own political opinion. The worst thing that can happen to a society is people not caring.