WWII question
 

90 years ago the barking monster wrote his book "Mein Kampf". It was 1924, nine years before the beginning of his dictatorship. Everybody could read now about his two goals: extinction of the jews and world domination. Sensitive intellecuals like Hermann Hesse, Kurt Tucholsky and many others had a presentment of WWII already then and expressed their warnings in books and newspapers.

1933 the barking monster started his dictatorship and some five years later, around 1938 everybody who wanted to see it could see clearly what would happen pretty soon. 1939 the catastrophe begun by the ambush on Poland. 1940 France was next in line. And so on and on...

My question now: Why didn't intervene nations like the United States or Britain earlier in order to stop the massive insanity, this totally destructive war of conquest?

In 1924 no one in the rest of the world took him seriously. Why did millions of Germans vote for him in the elections of 1933? His book had been out for 10 years by then.

I would say that the technical answer was that until he started to threaten the stability of Europe and the English dominance (and by proxy our control) of the Northern Atlantic sea lanes no one outside of European continent was too concerned about him.

[QUOTE=icenine;223294]In 1924 no one in the rest of the world took him seriously. Why did millions of Germans vote for him in the elections of 1933? His book had been out for 10 years by then.

The barking monster was a brilliant agitator and he promised jobs for milliions of unemployed people, unemploymennt was a huge problem in Germany in the early thirties. The other political parties then were weak and devoid of lacking in ideas. These are some reasons why he was so successful.

With the devastation with the aftermath of WWI, then add the economic collapse in the twenties soon there after. Countries were looking inward at their own problems to solve. Add to this the common belief in the good in man, most thought little would come of or could not even think his words had these consequences.

Just like today little action will be undertaken till after the fact. Then the same questions are asked as to why it took so long. This could be as simple as the inability to reach a consensus on a perceived "" what if "".

Or of naysayers who just look at their tax dollars and in not wanting to pay more stop any action! Very easy to do when the populace of the country is across the world and they are in need a better jobs. All problems are local is how it seems to work out most of the time.



Barney

But something like the Third Reich + WWII could probably never happen again due to the global exchange of information by the internet in a world we call the Global Village. At least I hope it will never happen again.

He was elected partly because Clemanceau had demanded such reparations that it, along with the depression destroyed the German economy. Ask any stamp collector about the German stamps of the period, surcrged with astonomical numbers. You could get your wages in a wheelbarrow and by the time you got to market it would barely buy a loaf of bread. My neighbour back in quebec told me how he and his buddies worked on a farm just for the food.

America was looking inward and in Britain no one wanted war and there were even some who thought the destruction of the Jews was a good thing. And we got war only because Britain (and Near as I recall France) had a pact with Poland.

Because France was on good terms withBelgium the Maginot line ended at the France Belgium border so they simply swept around it.

In those days military intelligence was an oxymoron hence Dieppe and the loss of so many Canadians. It was supposed to be a sandy beach instead theit tanks faced a pebbled beach and a three foot seawall and so they were slaughtered.

All in all it was a bloody mess and we only won by destroying tthe factories Ruhr valley dam and cutting off fuel supplies.

Thanks Rob. BTW in fall 1923 you had to pay some millions Reichsmark for an egg and in the end of this development in November even billions.

Chris I shoul photocopy one of the pages in my German stamp collectio where you can see a simple stamp surcharged billonen. I have an excellent collection of West Germany thanks to a lady friend Ruthild from Nurnburg, may she rest with the angels, she was killed in an accident on the Autobahn.

Good heavens, so the numbers were almost too big for the stamps then... :eek:

Well there would be a figure in front of the word but the mere fact that it would take billonen to mail a letter I suspect few were because those stamps are mostly available mint (unused) and are more or less worthless. But if you can find a used one they are quite valuable to collectors.