That will always be a problem! It is true to say that if Hitler had been killed during the attempt on his life in 1938, then the rest of the world would have hailed him as a hero for rising Germany from the ashes of the Weimar republic!
Thinking about it, I could probably live with that - it would have saved 60+ million lives, and Nazism would probably have succumbed to capitalism soon enough, just like communism.
wow, is this a wide subject... In my opinion, there is something in the German mentality that wants to conquer and go to war...having said that, prior to the war and during the war years, remember almost ALL of the senior leadership within the Nazi Party (NSWP) and within the SS were Austrian, NOT German... when the Kaiser took away ALL firearms in the early 30's, it left the entire population wide open to be subjugated and 'dazzled' by the actual and promised standard of living practices by the Party...many of the average German were starving to death by actual inflation of the German Mark (hence the food riots).... there is also something within us all the loves mysticism and the connection of 'greatness' with the past...The Nazi's were Loaded with it.... and remember, there was going to be a war with Russia ANYWAY....Stalin actually had the plans to invade Prussia in motion when Russia was invaded by Germany...and what Stalin had planned for Germany paled in comparison to what Hitler had planed for Moscow (Hitler was going to kill the entire population and flood Moscow and make a huge lake were the city is now)....
Yeah, its interesting how people can uphold a stance when their memories of that era were very good. It doesn't shock me that Germans who live during that time would have fond thoughts of those grave events. Many Germans claimed they didn't know what was going on, and that could be the case, but Nazi victories paved the way for the common German to live the high life upon another's expense. There was a good chance that the average German had no ideal how he was living so good, and what you don't know can very well hurt you. I guess its hard to let the good times fade away out of your mind, even if you knew they came the wrong way. Those principals that the Nazis "brought out of their country" were already there, they just exploited them with propagada.
Am I reading this too simplistically? The people responding to the poll were NOT necessarily supporting the nazi regime nor it's ideology then or now. Merely acknowledging that even in the midst of that dreadful evil there were some tiny rays of sunshine. The price that went with those rays of sunshine was outrageous but it doesn't mean that they weren't there. I just can't see that we can ever move forward if we are stuck in polarised views of events of history without looking at the bigger picture too sometimes. Only in jest can I subscribe to the notion that millions of people, within what are often politically inspired, man made borders, share personality traits. I do agree that good orators can manipulate the masses to convince themselves that they share common beliefs (Arthur Scargill nearly convinced me to join the strike too!!!!). Looks like we are going to have to agree to differ Blackwatch. Cheers CTNana
