There seems to be a pendulum swing in historical analysis from Great Man hero worship to blanket blame. The fact is, most folks were just folks trying to get by, build a better life than what they knew, and often failing through everything from stupidity to cruel accidents.
You are very good at saying things. I think eventually our culture will outgrow the black and white thinking. Seeing one side, then another, eventually we'll recognize the spectrum that is humanity and its history.