Of Thè Nazi Elite

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

of thè Nazi Elite -v\ . t -. '• ' • > PI \(>l IN' Contents List of Illustrations XÌÌÌ Acknowledgements XVÌ Preface xvii Abbreviations xxì Part I Interrogations: an Introduction 1 Outlaw Country 3 The Criminals 25 The Charges 43 Asking thè Questions 57 The Absentees: Hitler, Himmler, Bormann 93 Selective Amnesia? The Case of Hess 115 The Helpful Speer 129 The Unrepentant Goerìng MI The Limits of Responsibility: Strategies of Denial 155 Confessing to Genocìde 175 *I hope they hang ali': Final Retribution 201 Part II Interrogations: thè Transcripts 209 Note on thè Transcripts 211 x Contents Perspectives on thè Fuehrer 213 Document 1 thè driving force' [Albert Speer] 215 Document2 Hitler's Women [Karl Brandt] 258 Document3 The New Feudalism [Hans Lammers] 272 Document 4 Hitler thè Warlord [Alfred Jodl] 276 'The world's worst criminal': Goering in thè Third Reich 285 Document 5 A Souvenir from Monte Cassino [Hermann Goering] 288 Document 6 The Commander-in-Chief [Hermann Goering] 296 Document 7 Conquest by Telephone [Hermann Goering] 307 Document 7b Vote 'No' if you dare [Albert Goering] 312 Waging War 315 Document 8 Ribbentrop, Hitler and War [ Joachim von Ribbentrop] 318 Document 9 Hitler's 'chess game of power politics' [Albert Speer] 323 Document 10 OKW at War [Wilhelm Keitel] 335 Genocide 353 Document li The Fuehrer Order [Dieter Wisliceny] 355 Document 12 A Morbid Accounting [Dieter Wisliceny] 361 Document 13 'incredible things at Auschwitz' 371 [Ernst von Gottstein and Eugen Horak] Document 14 A Doctor at Dachau [Franz Blaha] 374 Document 15 Auschwitz-Birkenau [Rudolf Hoessl 381 Document 16 Demarcation Dispute [Otto Moli and Rudolf Hoess] 387 The Hess Case 401 Document 17 'I have lost my memory' 404 [Rudolf Hess and Hermann Goering] Document 18 The Young Ladies [Rudolf Hess, 407 Ingeborg Sperrand Hildegarde Fatti] Document 19 Hhe science of psychiatry is sound' [Rudolf Hess] 414 Contents xi The von Papen Case: Resistance and Compliance 421 Document 20 'a way out of thè mess': von Papen 424 and Hitler in 1933 [Franz von Papen] Document 21 vthis problem of responsibility' [Franz von Papen] 431 Albert Speer: True Confessions? 447 Document 22 Speer thè Expert [Albert Speer] 449 Document 23 Sixty Acts of Treason [Albert Speer] 453 Document 24 Speer thè Assassin [Dietrich Stani] 460 Document 25 Special Pleading [Albert Speer] 468 Document 26 'not a concern of mine' [Albert Speer] 471 Robert Ley: Profile of a Suicide 477 Document 27 The Testament of Robert Ley [Robert Ley] 480 Document 28 Ley's Dialogue with thè Dead [Robert Ley] 487 Document 29 Confessions of an Anti-semite [Robert Ley] 491 Obeying Orders: Complicity and Denial 499 Document 30 'not a dangerous person' [Wilhelm Frick] 501 Document 31 Halking in a dream' [ Joachim von Ribbentrop] 509 Document 32 'very undesirable activities' [Heinz Guderian] 527 Germany's Future 535 Document 33 Rebuilding thè Reich [Robert Ley] 538 Document 34 Schacht's New Germany [Hjalmar Schacht] 547 Notes 557 Bibliography and Sources 622 Transcript Sources 632 Index 637.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

D'antonio, Michael Senior Thesis.Pdf
Before the Storm German Big Business and the Rise of the NSDAP by Michael D’Antonio A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honors Degree in History with Distinction Spring 2016 © 2016 Michael D’Antonio All Rights Reserved Before the Storm German Big Business and the Rise of the NSDAP by Michael D’Antonio Approved: ____________________________________________________________ Dr. James Brophy Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: ____________________________________________________________ Dr. David Shearer Committee member from the Department of History Approved: ____________________________________________________________ Dr. Barbara Settles Committee member from the Board of Senior Thesis Readers Approved: ____________________________________________________________ Michael Arnold, Ph.D. Director, University Honors Program ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This senior thesis would not have been possible without the assistance of Dr. James Brophy of the University of Delaware history department. His guidance in research, focused critique, and continued encouragement were instrumental in the project’s formation and completion. The University of Delaware Office of Undergraduate Research also deserves a special thanks, for its continued support of both this work and the work of countless other students. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................
[Show full text]
From the Nuremberg Trials to the Memorial Nuremberg Trials
Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Memorium Nürnberger Prozesse Hirschelgasse 9-11 90403 Nürnberg Telefon: 0911 / 2 31-66 89 Telefon: 0911 / 2 31-54 20 Telefax: 0911 / 2 31-1 42 10 E-Mail: [email protected] www.museen.nuernberg.de – Press Release From the Nuremberg Trials to the Memorial Nuremberg Trials Nuremberg’s name is linked with the NSDAP Party Rallies held here between 1933 and 1938 and – Presseinformation with the „Racial Laws“ adopted in 1935. It is also linked with the trials where leading representatives of the Nazi regime had to answer for their crimes in an international court of justice. Between 20 November, 1945, and 1 October, 1946, the International Military Tribunal’s trial of the main war criminals (IMT) was held in Court Room 600 at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. Between 1946 and 1949, twelve follow-up trials were also held here. Those tried included high- ranking representatives of the military, administration, medical profession, legal system, industry Press Release and politics. History Two years after Germany had unleashed World War II on 1 September, 1939, leading politicians and military staff of the anti-Hitler coalition started to consider bringing to account those Germans responsible for war crimes which had come to light at that point. The Moscow Declaration of 1943 and the Conference of Yalta of February 1945 confirmed this attitude. Nevertheless, the ideas – Presseinformation concerning the type of proceeding to use in the trial were extremely divergent. After difficult negotiations, on 8 August, 1945, the four Allied powers (USA, Britain, France and the Soviet Union) concluded the London Agreement, on a "Charter for The International Military Tribunal", providing for indictment for the following crimes in a trial based on the rule of law: 1.
[Show full text]
Military Tribunal, Indictments
MILITARY TRIBUNALS Case No. 12 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA -against- WILHELM' VON LEEB, HUGO SPERRLE, GEORG KARL FRIEDRICH-WILHELM VON KUECHLER, JOHANNES BLASKOWITZ, HERMANN HOTH, HANS REINHARDT. HANS VON SALMUTH, KARL HOL LIDT, .OTTO SCHNmWIND,. KARL VON ROQUES, HERMANN REINECKE., WALTERWARLIMONT, OTTO WOEHLER;. and RUDOLF LEHMANN. Defendants OFFICE OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT FOR GERMANY (US) NORNBERG 1947 • PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/c6a171/ TABLE OF CONTENTS - Page INTRODUCTORY 1 COUNT ONE-CRIMES AGAINST PEACE 6 A Austria 'and Czechoslovakia 7 B. Poland, France and The United Kingdom 9 C. Denmark and Norway 10 D. Belgium, The Netherland.; and Luxembourg 11 E. Yugoslavia and Greece 14 F. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 17 G. The United states of America 20 . , COUNT TWO-WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: CRIMES AGAINST ENEMY BELLIGERENTS AND PRISONERS OF WAR 21 A: The "Commissar" Order , 22 B. The "Commando" Order . 23 C, Prohibited Labor of Prisoners of Wal 24 D. Murder and III Treatment of Prisoners of War 25 . COUNT THREE-WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIANS 27 A Deportation and Enslavement of Civilians . 29 B. Plunder of Public and Private Property, Wanton Destruc tion, and Devastation not Justified by Military Necessity. 31 C. Murder, III Treatment and Persecution 'of Civilian Popu- lations . 32 COUNT FOUR-COMMON PLAN OR CONSPIRACY 39 APPENDIX A-STATEMENT OF MILITARY POSITIONS HELD BY THE DEFENDANTS AND CO-PARTICIPANTS 40 2 PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/c6a171/ INDICTMENT
[Show full text]
Indictment Presented to the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg, 18 October 1945)
Indictment presented to the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg, 18 October 1945) Caption: On 18 October 1945, the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg accuses 24 German political, military and economic leaders of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Source: Indictment presented to the International Military Tribunal sitting at Berlin on 18th October 1945. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, November 1945. 50 p. (Cmd. 6696). p. 2-50. Copyright: Crown copyright is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the Queen's Printer for Scotland URL: http://www.cvce.eu/obj/indictment_presented_to_the_international_military_tribunal_nuremberg_18_october_1945-en- 6b56300d-27a5-4550-8b07-f71e303ba2b1.html Last updated: 03/07/2015 1 / 46 03/07/2015 Indictment presented to the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg, 18 October 1945) INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, AND THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS — AGAINST — HERMANN WILHELM GÖRING, RUDOLF HESS, JOACHIM VON RIBBENTROP, ROBERT LEY, WILHELM KEITEL, ERNST KALTEN BRUNNER, ALFRED ROSENBERG, HANS FRANK, WILHELM FRICK, JULIUS STREICHER, WALTER FUNK, HJALMAR SCHACHT, GUSTAV KRUPP VON BOHLEN UND HALBACH, KARL DÖNITZ, ERICH RAEDER, BALDUR VON SCHIRACH, FRITZ SAUCKEL, ALFRED JODL, MARTIN BORMANN, FRANZ VON PAPEN, ARTUR SEYSS INQUART, ALBERT SPEER, CONSTANTIN VON NEURATH, AND HANS FRITZSCHE,
[Show full text]
Karl Brandt, Philipp Bouhler, Viktor Brack, and Leonardo Conti
Western Illinois Historical Review © 2015 Vol. VII, Spring 2015 ISSN 2153-1714 The Administration of Death: Karl Brandt, Philipp Bouhler, Viktor Brack, and Leonardo Conti Zacharey Crawford Abstract This essay provides a new perspective on the administrative structures of the Nazi euthanasia programs of 1939-1942. The focus is on the four key individuals involved in the planning and execution of the program: Dr. Karl Brandt, Viktor Brack, Philipp Bouhler, and Dr. Leonardo Conti. The most lethal phase of the Holocaust commenced with the German invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. Beginning in December of that year, scores of victims were systematically gassed in Nazi extermination camps, but the methods used in the destruction of the European Jews had been developed and tested much earlier. The euthanasia program (Operation T4) that had been carried out by the Nazis between late 1938 and August 1941 laid the ground for the killing methods used in the Holocaust.1 It was the Nazis’ goal to create a racially defined Volksgemeinschaft or people’s community that excluded all individuals and 1 The most important studies on this topic are Michael Burleigh, Death and Deliverance: ‘Euthanasia’ in Germany 1900-1945 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994); Götz Aly, Peter Chroust, and Christian Pross, Cleansing the Fatherland: Nazi Medicine and Racial Hygiene (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994); Henry Friedlander, The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995), 59 groups who did not fit Nazi criteria of racial purity and superiority.2 While Jews were the Nazis’ main target, other groups were also excluded, for instance Sinti and Roma and so-called “aliens to the community.”3 Children and adults with physical and mental disabilities that were deemed to be “unworthy of life” became victims of the euthanasia program.
[Show full text]
Die Dienststelle Dr. Mühlmann. Organisierter Kunstraub in Den
Die Dienststelle Dr. Mühlmann Organisierter Kunstraub in den Niederlanden unter deutscher Besetzung in den Jahren von 1940 bis 1944 M A S T E R T H E S I S RADBOUD UNIVERSITEIT NIJMEGEN FACULTEIT DER LETTEREN KUNSTGESCHIEDENIS Auteur: J.C.J. Vermeulen Studentnummer: 4629825 Emailadres: [email protected] Eerste begeleider: Prof. Dr. V. Manuth TWeede begeleider: Prof. Dr. B. de Klerck Woensdag, 30 augustus 2017 ABSTRACT The Department Dr. Mühlmann – The organized art theft in the Netherlands under German occupation in the years from 1940 to 1944 by Jan Vermeulen In 1940 the Austrian art historian Dr. Kajetan Mühlmann set up an office in Den Haag, which functioned as a clearing house for art expropriated during the occupation of the Netherlands. This agency, headed by Mühlmann, became known as the “Dienststelle Dr. Mühlmann”. The following thesis deals With the organized art theft in the Netherlands under German occupation in the years from 1940 to 1944. It starts with Mühlmann’s biographic background and his political alliances to National Socialism in Germany and its members. These bonds are important because they led to his task in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands the Department of Dr. Mühlmann worked with different organizations. Although the “Dienststelle” had a small internal structure, it had a large external network. As well the internal construction of the department as its external contacts will be discussed and explained within the thesis. After the main characters of the “Dienststelle” are revealed and the different tasks which consist of the registration of important artworks and collections, different ways of procurement and in the end their sale, the complex system of the Department Dr.
[Show full text]
The Foreign Contacts of Carl Goerdeler
Opponents ofHitler in search offoreign support: the foreign contacts ofCarl Goerdeler, Ludwig Beck, Ernst von Weizsilcker and Adam von Trott zu Solz, 1937-1940 Andrea Mason Department ofHistory, McGiII University, Montréal August 2002 A thesis submitted to the Faculty ofGraduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements ofthe degree ofMaster ofArts © Andrea Mason, 2002 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisisitons et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-612-85867-7 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-612-85867-7 The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou aturement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Canada Abstract This thesis examines the attempts made by Carl Goerdeler, Ludwig Beck, Ernst von Weizsacker and Adam von Trott zu Solz to obtain the support ofthe British government in their effort to overthrow the Nazi regime between 1937 and 1940.
[Show full text]
Outcome of the International Military Tribunal ( Imt)
OUTCOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL ( IMT) DEFENDANTS POSITION IN REICH SENTENCE RESULTS Hermann Goering Reich Marshal and Commander of the Luftwaffe Death Suicide Rudolf Hess Deputy Fuhrer Life in Prison Died in prison Joachim von Ribbentrip Reich Foreign Minister Death Hanged 10/16/46 Wilhelm Keitel Chief of the Armed Forces High Command Death Hanged 10/16/46 Ernst Kaltenbrunner Chief of the SD and head of RSHA Death Hanged 10/16/46 Alfred Rosenberg Reich Minister for the Eastern Occupied Areas Death Hanged 10/16/46 Hans Frank Governor-General of General Government Death Hanged 10/16/46 Wilhelm Frick Minister of the Interior Death Hanged 10/16/46 Julius Streicher Founder of Der Sturmer, Gauleiter of Franconia Death Hanged 10/16/46 Fritz Sauckel Plenipotentiary General for manpower Death Hanged 10/16/46 Alfred Jodl Chief of Armed Forces High Command Operations Death Hanged 10/16/46 Martin Bormann (in abstentia) Deputy Fuhrer, Head of the Chancellery Death Never Captured Franz von Papen Ambassador to Vienna and Turkey Acquitted Arthur Seyss-Inquart Reich Commissioner for Occupied Netherlands Death Hanged 10/16/46 Albert Speer Minister of Armaments and War Production 20 years Served full term Konstantine Freiherr Minister of Foreign Affairs, Reich Protector of 15 years Served 8 years Von Neurath Bohemia and Moravia Hjalmar Schacht Minister of Economics, President of Reichsbank Acquitted Walter Funk President of Reichsbank Life in prison Died in prison Karl Donitz Supreme Commander of the Navy, Chancellor 10 years Served full term Erich Raeder Supreme Commander of the Navy Life in prison Served 9 years Baldur von Schirach Leader of Hitler Youth, Gauleiter of Vienna 20 years Served full term Hans Fritzsche Head of Radio Division, Propaganda Ministry Acquitted These men were tried on the charges of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
[Show full text]
Buddhism from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Jump To: Navigation, Search
Buddhism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search A statue of Gautama Buddha in Bodhgaya, India. Bodhgaya is traditionally considered the place of his awakening[1] Part of a series on Buddhism Outline · Portal History Timeline · Councils Gautama Buddha Disciples Later Buddhists Dharma or Concepts Four Noble Truths Dependent Origination Impermanence Suffering · Middle Way Non-self · Emptiness Five Aggregates Karma · Rebirth Samsara · Cosmology Practices Three Jewels Precepts · Perfections Meditation · Wisdom Noble Eightfold Path Wings to Awakening Monasticism · Laity Nirvāṇa Four Stages · Arhat Buddha · Bodhisattva Schools · Canons Theravāda · Pali Mahāyāna · Chinese Vajrayāna · Tibetan Countries and Regions Related topics Comparative studies Cultural elements Criticism v • d • e Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: बौद धमर Buddh Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.[2] He is recognized by adherents as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada—the oldest surviving branch—has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications Vajrayana, a subcategory of Mahayana, is recognized as a third branch.
[Show full text]
NUREMBERG) Judgment of 1 October 1946
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL (NUREMBERG) Judgment of 1 October 1946 Page numbers in braces refer to IMT, judgment of 1 October 1946, in The Trial of German Major War Criminals. Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal sitting at Nuremberg, Germany , Part 22 (22nd August ,1946 to 1st October, 1946) 1 {iii} THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL IN SESSOIN AT NUREMBERG, GERMANY Before: THE RT. HON. SIR GEOFFREY LAWRENCE (member for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) President THE HON. SIR WILLIAM NORMAN BIRKETT (alternate member for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) MR. FRANCIS BIDDLE (member for the United States of America) JUDGE JOHN J. PARKER (alternate member for the United States of America) M. LE PROFESSEUR DONNEDIEU DE VABRES (member for the French Republic) M. LE CONSEILER FLACO (alternate member for the French Republic) MAJOR-GENERAL I. T. NIKITCHENKO (member for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) LT.-COLONEL A. F. VOLCHKOV (alternate member for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) {iv} THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, AND THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS Against: Hermann Wilhelm Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Robert Ley, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Walter Funk, Hjalmar Schacht, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Martin
[Show full text]
Filming the End of the Holocaust War, Culture and Society
Filming the End of the Holocaust War, Culture and Society Series Editor: Stephen McVeigh, Associate Professor, Swansea University, UK Editorial Board: Paul Preston LSE, UK Joanna Bourke Birkbeck, University of London, UK Debra Kelly University of Westminster, UK Patricia Rae Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada James J. Weingartner Southern Illimois University, USA (Emeritus) Kurt Piehler Florida State University, USA Ian Scott University of Manchester, UK War, Culture and Society is a multi- and interdisciplinary series which encourages the parallel and complementary military, historical and sociocultural investigation of 20th- and 21st-century war and conflict. Published: The British Imperial Army in the Middle East, James Kitchen (2014) The Testimonies of Indian Soldiers and the Two World Wars, Gajendra Singh (2014) South Africa’s “Border War,” Gary Baines (2014) Forthcoming: Cultural Responses to Occupation in Japan, Adam Broinowski (2015) 9/11 and the American Western, Stephen McVeigh (2015) Jewish Volunteers, the International Brigades and the Spanish Civil War, Gerben Zaagsma (2015) Military Law, the State, and Citizenship in the Modern Age, Gerard Oram (2015) The Japanese Comfort Women and Sexual Slavery During the China and Pacific Wars, Caroline Norma (2015) The Lost Cause of the Confederacy and American Civil War Memory, David J. Anderson (2015) Filming the End of the Holocaust Allied Documentaries, Nuremberg and the Liberation of the Concentration Camps John J. Michalczyk Bloomsbury Academic An Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2014 Paperback edition ﬁ rst published 2016 © John J.
[Show full text]
The German High Command and the Failure of the Offensive in the Soviet Union, Autumn 1941
Rejecting Catastrophe: the German High Command and the Failure of the Offensive in the Soviet Union, Autumn 1941 Geoffrey P. Megargee On August 11, 1941, Generaloberst Franz Halder, Chief of the German General Staff, recorded his impression of the campaign in the Soviet Union so far: The whole situation makes it increasingly plain that we have underestimated the Russian colossus, which consistently prepared for war with that utterly ruthless determination so characteristic of totalitarian states. At the outset of the war, we reckoned with about 200 enemy divisions. Now we have already counted 360. Indeed these new divisions are not armed and equipped according to our standards, and their tactical leadership is often poor. But they are there, and if we smash a dozen of them, the Russians simply put up another dozen.1 Here, just seven weeks after the Wehrmacht launched its invasion of the USSR, and five weeks after he had pronounced the campaign essentially won, Halder began to show the first signs of doubt in the course of the fight. He refused to give in to such thoughts, however, and instead clung to the belief that innate German superiority and the Wehrmacht’s professionalism would win through in the struggle against a militarily inept, subhuman Communist foe. Like his colleagues in the German high command, he apparently never questioned his fundamental attitudes and assumptions, even after the campaign’s extension into 1942 became unavoidable.2 In order to understand the German military leaders’ reaction to the prolongation of the war with the Soviet Union, we must first examine German intentions and expectations at the start, which displayed a mix of military hubris and racist arrogance.
[Show full text]