'Discredited' is a strong term, but the problem is that many people, even senior Nazis, made similar arguments. Read, for example, Eichmann in Jerusalem to see

'Discredited' is a strong term, but the problem is that many people, even senior Nazis, made similar arguments. Read, for example, Eichmann in Jerusalem to see an account from a senior member of the SS making a similar explanation when justifying why he managed transportation of Jews to concentration camps. The world's reaction has been to universally reject such arguments, which may be unfair in any particular case but is necessary for a proper accounting of war crimes.