The application of today's moral/ethical/legal standards to times past is almost always a mistake. I remember running into the subject full force when studying Greek tragedies in college....don't live in the past...
Apparently it's a lesson I need to re-remember from time to time.
I know I don't fully agree with you. Specifically, I'm not sure it's valid to consider 90 years ago to be "times past" to such a degree that I excuse anything that happened back then.
But you have a legitimate point and there's much wisdom in your post. Now I think I need to go off and ponder a bit...