Tag: Sturmabteilung

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Hitler’s Blueprint

In his absorbing book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William Shirer made sure to point out on numerous occasions how Hitler’s 1925 book, Mein Kampf, or “My Struggle” (it was really more of a “manifesto”) laid out the agenda the future Führer would pursue once in power. Hitler’s book was first published seven years after Germany signed the armistice ending the conflict of World War I and subsequently, the Treaty of Versailles acknowledging their responsibility. (There were two volumes of Mein Kampf published; 1925 and 1926 for a total of 720 pages.)

CBS war correspondent, William L. Shirer, in Compiègne reporting on the signing of the armistice between Germany and France on 22 June 1940. The building in the background housed Marshal Foch’s rail car where the World War I armistice was signed on 11 November 1918. It was relocated to the Compiègne forest by Hitler for the signing of the June 1940 armistice. Photo by Kreigsberichter Jager Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (22 June 1940). PD-Author’s life plus 70 years or fewer. Wikimedia Commons.
CBS war correspondent, William L. Shirer (center at typewriter) in Compiègne, France,  reporting on the signing of the armistice between France and Germany. The building in the background housed the rail car used by Marshal Foch on 11 November 1918 to sign the German armistice after the end of World War I. Photo by Kreigsberichter Jager Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (22 June 1940). PD-Author’s life plus 70 years or fewer. Wikimedia Commons.

The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to disarm, give up thirteen percent of its European territory, lose all its colonial possessions, and subjected the country to onerous financial reparations. Germans, including Hitler, were humiliated and at the same time, outraged. The Weimar Republic came into existence in 1919 and things went downhill from there. The book was written during a time when Germany was suffering from hyperinflation, political extremism, quarrelsome relations with its European neighbors, and within five years, a severe depression. It was a period when people began looking for a scapegoat for their problems and Hitler found a group of people who, for millennia, were forced to play this role: the Jews.

Did You Know?

Did you know there was one thing that Hitler and the Nazis feared more than Jews, Communists, or homosexuals? It was cancer. Well, the 1931 Nobel Prize winner for medicine was a German who was Jewish and openly gay. Otto Warburg (1883−1970), a biochemist, was nominated for a Nobel award forty-seven times during his career. He is remembered for his work on how cells metabolize food and sugar. He discovered that cancer cells eat up more glucose than other cells. Warburg believed the cause of cancer was faulty cell metabolism. As time went on, his theories were proven wrong, and Warburg announced his critics were idiots. The scientist was extremely vain and filled with self-conceit. When another scientist was asked to rank Warburg’s arrogance from one to ten, he took a moment and answered, “Twenty.” Read More Hitler’s Blueprint

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Professor Dr. Six

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like today had Hitler and the Nazis won the war? That scenario would likely include the fact that the Germans successfully invaded Britain. Today, we will examine the German plans for “Operation Sea Lion,” the planned invasion of England and what the consequences for British citizens might have been had the Germans occupied the country.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Stalin and Hitler signed a non-aggression treaty on 23 August 1939? Otherwise known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the treaty allowed both dictators to partition Poland into satellite territories for Germany and the Soviet Union. Of course, you knew this. However, did you know that Stalin signed a neutrality pact with Japan on 13 April 1941? Of course, most of us don’t know about this. Yōsuke Matsuoka (1880−1946), Japan’s foreign minister, negotiated and signed on behalf of Hirohito and the government.

The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact had similar consequences. The German treaty allowed Hitler to turn his attention to the west without worrying about a second front (and it secured Stalin’s western boundary). The Japanese pact eliminated a second front for Hirohito’s generals (and it secured Stalin’s eastern borders). By this time, Japan was preparing to attack Pearl Harbor and Hitler was planning Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Japanese did not know if Hitler was going to invade England or the Soviet Union. By then, Hitler had given up on invading the British Isles and it is thought that had the Führer informed Japan about his intent to invade Russia (22 June 1941), the Japanese may have launched an attack on Siberia (likely sparing Pearl Harbor). After Matsuoka failed in his attempt to convince the Japanese cabinet to tear up the treaty and attack the Soviet Union, he resigned in disgrace.

Matsuoka signs the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact. Photo by anonymous (13 April 1941). PD-Russia. Wikimedia Commons.
Matsuoka signs the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact. Photo by anonymous (13 April 1941). PD-Russia. Wikimedia Commons.

Despite Roosevelt’s attempts to “bribe” Stalin into committing to fight the Japanese alongside the Allies, the Soviet Union remained “neutral” with respect to the war against Japan. That is, until America dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Stalin tore up the Soviet/Japanese neutrality pact and invaded Manchuria and Korea. Stalin joined the fight against the Japanese in the waning days of the war and reaped the expected rewards.

The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact showing the signatures of the Japanese delegation. Photo by World Imaging (c. 2009). Japan Foreign Ministry Archives. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Wikimedia Commons.
The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact showing the signatures of the Japanese delegation. Photo by World Imaging (c. 2009). Japan Foreign Ministry Archives. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Wikimedia Commons.

As we’ve seen throughout history, a treaty with a dictator or totalitarian regime is only as good as long as the regime needs it to be.

War-time Nazi Documents

Most of us are aware that the Germans were fastidious in their attention to detail and documentation. Toward the end of the war as they began retreating from the occupied countries, many documents were destroyed to prevent them from ending up in the hands of the Allied army. At the same time, Himmler gave orders to destroy all evidence of Nazi crimes in the concentration and extermination camps. Similar scenarios occurred in Berlin as the Soviet army began its final assault. Read More Professor Dr. Six