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As luck would have it, I have an Imperial Guard army based on a WW2 era German "Heer" army. The paint schemes and uniforms are clearly inspired by history. So why do this, and how do you keep it from being tasteless?

1. First, Wargames Factory makes that great Shock Troop box set, as seen here: http://wargamesfactory.com/webstore/alien-suns/shock-troops-sci-fi-greatcoat-troopers . They're not as good as GW kits, but they fill the long desired "greatcoat" guard look nicely. And, the helmets and uniforms are clearly inspired by German aesthetic.

2. I grew up reading "Finescale Modeler", which runs articles every month on painting miniature tanks. And, for whatever reason, in the 1/35 scale miniature kit world, German subjects were dominant through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. (Thankfully, there's a lot more variety now) Thus, most of the painting guides were for getting just the right "Dunkelgelb." So, it's a natural extension of that modeling world to bring those techniques to the 40k designs.

3. In spite of these inspirations, this is not intended to represent a "nazi" army, in two different ways.

First, the national socialist party of Germany is anachronistic to the 40k setting; in my personal fluff these are regiments are raised from Hive Volkholm, capital city of the Vulcanheim industrial core that provides munitions to Cadia prior to Volkholme's fall to Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade. In spite of the dunkelgelb paint schemes and feldgrau great coats, no non-40k symbols appear in this army. While I do not agree with the degree of self-censorship evident in this thread, I agree that symbols like the Swastika imply direct connection with the literal real-world Nazis, a connection that implies either historical recreation or support of nazi ideology.

Second, even historically the German army of the second world war was not comprised of "nazis" as we think of them. The majority of the forces fighting were general "heer" or army units, undertaking a war of conquest that, while vile, was on par morally with WWI or even the Napoleonic wars; an act of aggression to claim power and property, and to settle past grudges and pride.

Alongside this common army are the party members, and the SS units, who are the nazis we think of when think of WW2. From them we get the death camps and the holocaust, which I think is really the stomach turning part of the war, the part that shocked the outside world to the core and has remained an enduring symbol of what evil is for the majority of a century to follow. War has always been hell, but this was something different to western eyes, something far, far worse.

Consequently, I wouldn't make a 40k army inspired specifically by the SS, anymore than I would make cutesy little "death camp" terrain to be fought over. There's a reason the History channel used to get German and US tank commanders together in the same room to discuss their experiences and the merits of the tanks and tactics used, rather than packing the German commander off to a war crimes trial the moment he turned up - the activities of the SS and the German armed forces were distinct. One was guilty of nationalism and war mongering, something altogether common in European history. The other, unforgivable, industrialized genocide.

For further examples of what I've tried to do with my Imperial Guard army to skirt this line, consider the Fantasy Flight game "Dust Tactics," which features an alternate World War 2 that invites players to take on the role of the Axis, piloting giant robots and mutant apes against the Allies. How did they get the German aesthetic, without encouraging players to play Nazis? Essentially, they built up an alternate history in which a cabal of mystics and super-scientists assassinate Hitler, purge the Nazi party from the government, and set about renewing the war effort for reasons only they are really privy to. (It involves an imminent alien invasion that is Germany's fault) I think Dust nicely captures the two-fisted Weird War version of history, without the really icky parts, and it's this style I hope to emulate in my own army.