Adolf Hitler was a German politician, war veteran of World War one and leader of the German Nazi party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; NSDAP). He was a ruthless dictator, racist, warmonger and an ardent believer of Aryan supremacy. Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Branau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary, close to German empire, to George Hitler and Marie Anna Schiklgrubber. Hitler is more infamous for his Jewish genocide. The roots of anti-Semitism in his attitude are unknown. Hitler himself claims in his book Mein Kampf that he became an anti-Semite during his years in Vienna. In his early years in Vienna, Hitler frequently read local newspaper that fueled hatred towards Jews and thrived on fears of few Christians.
During the outbreak of World War one, Hitler voluntarily enlisted in the Bavarian army and after the Germans defeat; he in his speeches frequently blamed the Jews for the defeat of Germany. Many have argued that his hatred for Jews stemmed from World War One as historian and journalist Dr. Joachim Riecker said, “In his madness Hitler was convinced that the ‘Jewish poison’ had done the same thing to his beloved Germany in 1918 what the ‘cancer poison’ had done to his beloved mother in 1907.”
“The core of his hatred lies at the defeat of Germany in WW1,” said Mr. Riecker, “where Hitler blamed the Jews for defeat of the country, the collapse of the monarchy and the ruination of millions,” he added .
World War II, Hitler and Britain
The infamous Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was one of the most powerful and ruthless dictators that history has ever witnessed. Following World War I, Hitler’s rise to power came in 1933. Under the banner of the National Socialist German Workers Party Hitler took charge of the German government in 1933. Immediately after taking the charge he began to weave propaganda against Jews, Gypsies, Communists, and other races. He exuded an air of such confidence and all of his actions ultimately led thet German people to believe in the supremacy of their race and even more exclusively the Aryan race.
In order to avoid being arrested for evading military service in Austria-Hungary, Hitler left Vienna for Munich in May 1913 but soon was forced to return, however this time he failed the physical examination. As mentioned earlier, Hitler volunteered for the Bavarian army the following year and served during the WWI on the Western Front. It is widely believed that his experiences in the war affected his thinking about war thereafter.After World War I, Hitler joined the ranks of the National Socialist German Workers Party and soon rose to eminence. He hoped to lead party to power in Germany. However, following his release from the jail after a failed coup attempt of 1923 failed, he turned to build the party to seize power and fulfill his hitherto unknown dreams. All along it was evident that Hitler was a racist and he hoped to build a strong country on a racial basis. He dreamed, and believed, that Germany could win a series of wars and it needed to only to expand the German people’s living space until they dominated and exclusively inhabited the globe . Following his rise to power he began to build internment camps where groups, he believed conspired against Germans, were put, and tortured. Ghettos were established and all other groups excluding the Germans were put under them. His ruthless behavior and tactics led to the death of nearly 6 million people. The whole world war saga was created by his irrational and warmongering attitude. He dreamed of ruling the entire Europe, and ultimately creating the hitherto world’s strongest empire, subjugating the smaller nations while crushing the stronger ones, and replacing them with German settlers.
Before the World War II, the Nazi propaganda machine showered words of praises on Britain, newspaper published articles in favor of the Anglo-German friendship. It was during the time when Hitler tried to woo Britain and form an alliance. Also during this period, a series of articles were published which drew comparison between the British Empire and ‘to-be German empire’. Also during this period a long article, which is widely quoted as to signal the shift in German policy towards Britain, was published in the Berliner Illustriete Zeitung newspaper in 1936 extolling the British for resolving the Fashoda crisis of 1898. Biographies and historical novels commemorating various prominent “Aryan” figures from the British history such as Cromwell, Marlborough, Nelson, Rhodes, Wellington, and Raleigh were widely promoted and published during this period. British were extolled for their ruthlessness in building and defending a strong empire and it was seen as model to be emulated.
Furthermore, the British were hailed for subjugating millions of brown and colored people to their rule, their ruthlessness in establishing a strong empire was praised. British Raj in India was seen as a model and parallels were drawn, it was believed that this is how the Germans would rule Russia. Despite subjugating the communists, gypsies and Jews, the Nazis made it a point to promote English language studies in the German schools.
However, a major shift was seen in the policy following the 1938 the English were denounced and depicted as the Jews and plutocrats, fighting and hungry for money. The Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels was quoted as saying that the problem with the English and the world was the few hundred families were ruling . This shift was due to change in Hitler’s foreign policy. He had started to see English change from an ally to an enemy. The propaganda machine came into full swing following the Hitler’s changed stance. Now series of articles were published denouncing Britain for their reckless attitude and vile propaganda.
World War II began after he attacked Poland in 1939 and by 1941 the Germany had occupied much of Europe and North Africa. This led to a wider belief among the German commanders that Germany could invade the whole of the Asia pacific before eventually conquering the West. However, the tables turned following the Russian entrance into the war stage. In 1939, Hitler had signed a truce with Russia. But, soon he broke the truce and attempted to invade Russia. It was before the US had entered the conflict, despite repeated persuasions of Winston Churchill, the US had kept aloof for much of the period. During the entire World War II, the Russians gave the toughest time to the Nazis. The Germans were unprepared to deal with the freezing weather in Russian parts, which gave advantage to the Russian army and Germans were forced to retreat.
Jonathan Fenby gives vivid description of meetings between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. Jonathan, in his book, writes that when Churchill was informed about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he literally jumped and started dancing on his feet. It was only after the vicious attack by the Empire of Japan that the United States entered the conflict.
Hitler believed that Germany should fight wars for the sake of vast tracts of land so that Germans could settle on them, he established internment camps so that these could provide soldiers and help Germany in its efforts to conquer the world. He hoped that the beginning of the war would be a swift one, it would need to begin against Czechoslovakia, and this war will be followed by the really difficult one against France and Britain. A third war would follow against the Soviet Union, which he assumed would be simple and quick and would provide raw materials, especially oil, for the fourth and final most important battle against the United States. However, he believed that once France and Britain were conquered the war against US would be simple as Germany by than would had the long-range planes and super-battleships to fight a power thought inherently weak but far distant and possessing a large navy. The war efforts were in full swing as soon as Hitler rose to power. A plan had been drawn out to take different front with different tactics, finding allies and subjugating smaller nations.
In 1938, however, Hitler turned from war against Czechoslovakia at the last minute but later he regretted this truce and came to look upon it as his worst mistake. But, when he turned to the war against France and Britain, he could not persuade Poland to subordinate itself to Germany in order to ensure a quiet situation in the east, therefore he decided to crush the country before heading west and fulfilling his plans. It was evident from his policies that he was hell bent upon having war and hence initiated it on September 1, 1939. To facilitate the quick conquest of Poland and dissuade any power from blocking the attempt, he signed a truce with the Soviet Union .
Initially he had had planned to attack in the west in the late fall of 1939, but owing to the bad weather, which would have ultimately hindered the full use of the air force, and differences among the military, led to postponement until the spring of 1940. However, during that interval, Hitler made two significant decisions. Egged on by his trusted confidant Admiral Erich Raeder, he decided to conquer Norway to facilitate the German navy’s access to the North Atlantic and eventually did so in April of 1940. He was also urged by General Erich von Manstein to shift the primary focus of attack in the west, from the northern to the southern part of the front. They might then cut off Allied units coming to aid of the Belgians and the Dutch. This new plan and improvisation seemed to work when the Germans managed to break through the ranks of French defense forces and to Hitler’s surprise within ten days his forces reached the Channel coast behind the Allied forces. Ordering their air force to destroy the cut-off Allied units, the Germans first wanted to turn south to prevent the buildup of a new defensive line, a decision on which the German commander, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Hitler agreed . However, soon it dawned on Germany that many Allied soldiers at Dunkirk may escape and therefore the direction of the German armor was reversed again, but it was too late to halt the evacuation of much of the British Expeditionary Force and many French soldiers. The thrust southward in early June 1940 brought a swift collapse of remaining French resistance, and this complete victory gave Hitler an aura of triumph, which assured him the enthusiastic support of almost all of Germany’s military leaders, especially as he systematically tied them to himself by generous promotions and a system of mass bribery .
Because it looked as if this war was over, Hitler and the military began planning for the wars against the United States and against the Soviet Union. On July 11, the resumption of construction of the navy to defeat the United States was ordered; by July 31, after first hoping to invade the Soviet Union in the fall of 1940, Hitler, on the advice of his military staff, decided to attack in the east in the late spring of 1941.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the US entered the conflict and the tides of the war turned immensely. After UK and Moscow, now the Washington had also joined the Allied forces. The chances of Germany and Axis forces defeating the Allies were diminishing with every passing day.
However, the major setback came in February 1943 when the German forces battling in Stalingrad surrendered despite orders from Hitler to stand and fight. This turned the tide completely in favor of the Allied forces. The Germans defeat and surrender at the hands of Russian was followed by retreat after retreat and further defeats.
In July 1944, another significant event took place which led Hitler’s purge. Hitler survived an assassination attempt by his own Colonel Stauffenberg. Stuaffenberg had placed a bomb in a briefcase close to Hitler. This move by Stauffenberg was perhaps made to bring an end to the war madness that Hitler had started or to replace him.
However, it all became evident to Hitler that the ground has been lost when the Russian troops entered the Germany, and Berlin was besieged by the Allied forces. Hitler, however, initially had decided to stay in Berlin to the last. The entire German forces collapsed before the Soviet troops.
On the fateful day of 30 April 1945, Hitler was found dead along with his wife Eva Braun. It is almost unanimously believed that he killed his wife before killing himself .
The Aftermath of World War II On Britain
One of the hardest periods Britain went through was after World War II, widely known as post war period. There was shortage of living space not only for locals but also for the soldiers who were returning back from the war, since approximately five million houses were wrecked or destroyed. There was shortage of commodities, including food supplies and shelter, shortage of fuel and to add on winter of 1947 was the coldest winter recorded so far with unemployment reaching 2.3 million. Britain was in great monetary crisis and for the first time was in debt after the 18th century, had to take loans from Canada and United States. The loans country took to from other countries for backing war exceeded the amount it should raise through revenues or implementing taxes in the county. Irrespective of foreign debt from other countries, the money, which was generated by Britain, was just enough to keep it afloat.
On the other hand, Britain was not doing so well politically either. Labour Party won the elections of 1945 against Conservative Party, resulting in Churchill being dragged out of his office leaving the world in surprise. The new party in power, implemented new rules including embarkation of nationalization program and easing trade restrictions. Resulted in Bank of England ownership along with direct control on electricity, coal as well as gas industry. Furthermore, the British Overseas Airway Company (BOAC) was consolidated from airlines and British Rail consolidated from railroads. However, there were many questions raised over steel and iron takeovers, since they were private entities with immense profitability. Many of the industries in Britain were outdated and calling for immediate modernization, in order to make profits and to generate revenue for the industry itself. Therefore any advantage which could have be achieved from these industries was now hindered due to the facilities and equipment’s being not only outdated but also inadequate.
In 1948, Britain was able to establish several programs based upon social welfare. According to 1946, National Insurance Act was to work upon benefits to the society including reducing unemployment, maternity health, disabilities, death and senior citizen benefits. It was also supposed to take care of medical services making sure that all the citizens receive health service free of cost. The program was often labeled as “from cradle to grave” by the socialists. However, the government had to take some immediate steps and reduce some of the services since it was costing government a lot causing them to further run in debt.
Soon afterward, British economy started to do well and gradually recovered. Taking advantage of the Marshall Plan in 1948, which was recovery program for the duration of four years by the United States with an aim to recover economy of European countries by offering loan with low interest rate. Helping Britain to soon establish its export industry once again.
Britain played a vital role in global affairs, becoming permanent and major member of United Nations Security Council in 1945. Serving as a country which sustained not only to rebuild but also occupy Germany. Maintaining the role of world power through continuous support of military presence overseas both in the colonies of British and European. Furthermore, Britain started to manufacture its own nuclear weapons and maintained kinship with United States, to survive threat of nuclear attack from possible enemies .
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