Page 96 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

hitler, adolf 915

All of our greatness was born of liberty, even our commercialism was rocked
in the cradle of democracy, and we cannot strangle the mother without
destroying her children. • John Peter Altgeld (1847–1902)

order to foster tension among competing officials. Ulti- nor his once-adoring public, nor his armies recovered
mately all threads led back to him so that he could con- from that blow as the Allies (France, England, China,
trol his minions amid their institutional infighting. As a Russia, and the United States) closed in from east and
result, Germany’s administration and armed forces suf- west. For that eventuality, Hitler and his generals had
fered from duplications of effort and muddled lines of no solution despite the smoke and mirrors that he and
authority. Hitler’s personality was unsuited to the his propaganda minister threw up about exotic new
administrative drudgery that might have blunted such “vengeance” weapons, an “impenetrable” Atlantic Wall,
chaos. In consequence, strategic decisions were delayed or the German people’s “fanatical” will to resist.
or never resolved. Scientists and technicians received Too late small numbers of Germans concluded that
contradictory orders for weapons development and Hitler was leading their nation over the abyss, and on 20
other war-related activities (many of Germany’s best sci- July 1944, they nearly assassinated him. Nevertheless, the
entists were in exile). Industrialists never geared up attempt failed, and Hitler remained in control until, sur-
properly for a long war; thus, production remained rounded by Soviet forces in Berlin, he committed suicide
static until too late. Hitler’s disdain for women pre- on 30 April 1945. Even as his ultimate fate approached,
cluded their effective mobilization for the war effort. he refused to accept blame or express remorse for any of
Occupied European nations discovered that their con- his decisions. In February 1945 he had issued his noto-
querors behaved like thugs and stole production, serv- rious “Nero” order calling for the destruction of Ger-
ices, capital, artworks, and people in the form of forced many’s basic infrastructure. Had his followers carried out
labor. Genuine cooperation ceased, and the occupiers his scorched earth policy, millions of Germans would
acquired only a fraction of the support they needed. have died from malnourishment, exposure, and disease.
Hitler’s hatred of “inferior” peoples such as Jews and Fortunately, recipients of his order, such as his chief tech-
Slavs turned the war in the East into a racial war; thus, nocrat, Albert Speer (1899–1979), balked. The pity is
the captive populations, many of whom despised Com- that they had not disobeyed him sooner.
munism and its cruel master, Joseph Stalin, never coa- Before Hitler committed suicide, he prepared his last
lesced as a labor pool for Germany. will and testament. Far from an apology, it was yet
Ultimately Hitler’s role as commander-in-chief defeat- another mumbling diatribe against the Jews and an
ed him. After the victories of 1939–1941 he convinced indictment of his own people for failing him in execut-
himself that he was military genius. In his youth his ing his hate-filled schemes. His will became part of the
intuition had told him that he was a great artist. Now, historical record and helps explain why the name
in wartime, his intuition convinced him that he was a “Hitler” is synonymous with “evil.”
great captain on the order of King Alexander of Mace-
James F.Tent
don, the Carthaginian general Hannibal, or the French
Emperor Napoleon. In reality he was an amateur. Hitler See also Genocide; Holocaust; Interwar Years (1918–
alone ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union without 1939); World War II
adequate intelligence. He bobbled his army groups in
the opening campaign of 1941 while issuing his cruel
Commissar Order for the indiscriminate killing of Further Reading
Soviet leaders (and by implication the entire Russian Browning, C. (2004). The origins of the Final Solution: The evolution of
intelligentsia). Most fateful was his decision a year later Nazi-Jewish policy, September 1939–March 1942. Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press.
to steer his soldiers into the Battle of Stalingrad, where
Bullock,A. (1962). Hitler:A study in tyranny. Harmondsworth, UK: Pen-
an entire German army was annihilated. Neither Hitler, guin Books.