Italy - Hero and zero

My uncle Ross fought in Italy as part of NZEF (New Zealand Expeditionary Force) MEF and told me this snippet that stuck with me:

"We liberated an Italian village and the townsfolk cheered us as we marched through and threw flowers at us. It was a great fuss. A few days later, I was taken prisoner of war by the Germans and we were marched back through the same town. This time the townsfolk jeered and spat at them. The implication was that on both occasions the people were only doing what they needed to do to survive."

My uncle was only held for a short time before continuing the war and returning home.