Hitler’s Fanaticism Prolonged WW2 Bringing Death to Millions
The war could have ended in 1943 historians say, but Hitler’s unrealistic view of Germany’s war situation brought the country to ruins. Top German historians came together and worked on a book depicting WW2 in detail.
“The German Reich and the Second World War” is a monumental work comprising 12,000 pages in 13 volumes. It took Germany’s best scholars about 30 years to write. The books analyze the whole history of the Third Reich with a special interest in details and it also used secret German documents to compile a real picture of Hitler’s war thinking.
The 13 volumes focus not just on military issues and battles, but try to present a realistic view of the German wartime society. For historians who are interested in the history of the Third Reich, the 12,000 pages are a must-read. Authors say the book is a reference not to be omitted.
In the 30 year’s time that took to write the volumes, historians have discovered documents which reveal that Hitler was advised three years before the fall of Berlin that the war was lost. But it was the dictator’s fanaticism and ‘fight to the last man’ policy that brought millions of Germans to their deaths.
Hitler’s war in 1943 did not have any more blitzkrieg victories, but now the Wehrmacht was suffering defeat after defeat. The Germans began fighting a desperate war and at this time Hitler lost a clear perspective on the future of the conflict. He used the population’s high confidence in the Third Reich built by years of propaganda and embarked in a suicidal attempt to win what was already lost.
The book also shows how the propaganda apparatus fueled fanaticism among German soldier for whom peace negotiations were never an option. The Wehmacht fought under a number of principles such as ‘honor’ and the ‘fatherland’, these were not abstract impersonal ideas as many had given their lives for them.
In the end, the irrational and unrealistic approach to the events made disaster unavoidable for the German army and Hitler is the person responsible for he neglected advice from his staff.
Written by Ion Josan
| Do more:
Follow us on Twitter Subscribe via RSS |
No responses yet