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How did Hitler stockpile so many munitions?
- Thread starter edro
- Start date
wwswimming
Banned
he had a Minister of Industries named Adolf Thyssen and a cooperative banker
named Prescott Bush (who continued lending Nazi Germany money through 1942.)
named Prescott Bush (who continued lending Nazi Germany money through 1942.)
Modelworks
Lifer
Hitlers rise to power is a very interesting story, he was such an unlikely ruler. He was very good a manipulating people and getting what he wanted done without having to resort to force. He used that to get the weapons produced and readied without anyone realizing what he was planning. I always thought it interesting how someone could make neighbors turn against each other when they had been friends for years based on the idea that they were somehow now inferior.
TallBill
Lifer
He used a little bit of force to get into power. Hired street thugs to create chaos, had his secret police take care of the communist party, and *probably* helped burn down the Reichstadt. Definitely fooled a lot of people with his words though.
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0403a.asp
BeauJangles
Lifer
Hitler wasn't really responsible for the Wehrmacht's initial resurgence in the late 1920s. The Treaty of Versailles limited the German army to 100,000 men, which meant that only the best and brightest were kept. The limited army was composed disproportionately of officers and was very concerned with how to establish an effective fighting force given the restrictions of Versailles.
As British tank innovation slowed, and then ground to a halt in the late 1920s, it was the Germans who picked up the mantle. They struck a deal with Russia, alllowing German tanks to be constructed in Russia and German tank crews to train there as well. In return, the newly-reorganized Red Army received tactical training.
The Germans continued to construct aircraft, also prohibited by Versailles, by claiming many of their prototypes were civilian, even though it became more and more obvious that the planes that flew under the Lufthansa name were mostly military in nature.
The mid-1930s were a tough time in Europe. Britain was facing crises on nearly all continents within her empire. The US depression radiated into Europe and caused massive budget cuts in the military. Hitler's rise to power (a complicated story to begin with) made an even bigger mess of the situation. His speeches were laced with the language of the Fourteen Points, claiming that Germans should be united and bemoaning the unfair nature of the Versailles treaty. Many within France and Britain thought that Hitler had a point.
While Britain was dealing with her own crises, she turned her back on France who was unwilling to stand up to Hitler on their own. Hitler openly defied the Versailles treaty, expanded the army, established the air force, and began constructing a massive fleet of ships. His army embraced mobile warfare, built tanks (illegal under the Versailles treaty), and trained in the open. France, already concerned about her ability to protect herself and unwilling to provoke another war did nothing. Without support from the US or Britain, France felt it couldn't win a conflict with Germany. Combine that sentiment with their sympathy towards the German fate and the country was immobilized.
Basically, Hitler played Britain and France like a fiddle. He appealed to their sympathies and knew that their scars from the previous war preoccupied them too much. He openly defied their treaties, which only emboldened him further. When push came to shove, France lost the best opportunity to stop Hitler when he remilitarized the Rhineland. If France had moved a muscle, sent a division, or done ANYTHING, Hitler would have been cast out of power.
roguerower
Diamond Member
The League of Nations which was at that time something along the lines of the current day UN had no teeth and was as useless as our current administration (oops, didn't mean for that to slip out). Rather than see another war like WWI, they just kept saying "Don't do it or else...", and like a teenager Hitler just get pushing to see what the limits were. When he never got punished he ran wild and did whatever he wanted.
WT
Diamond Member
Just finished reading 'Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' yesterday, and what Hitler did was sign a pact with Russia in which the Luftwaffe was basically moved and trained (in the mid to late 30's) in Russia, thereby loopholing the Versailles Treaty. He also set about creating the battle cruiser class of sea vessel, which was restricted to no larger than 11" guns and a gross weight of 10,000 tons. The ships weight was vastly underrated by German builders, again ignoring the Treaty stipulations. Submarines were not listed in the Versailles Treaty, so that left yet another loophole for Germany to exploit. No country used the subs to their true tactical advantage, save for Germany, so this fit into their plans of rearmament. Chamberlain really did get hoodwinked by Hitler when he returned from a conference in '39 with a non-aggression pact signed by Hitler, only to see the Germans invade Poland a few months later.
maddogchen
Diamond Member
they didn't enforce the treaty
Chiropteran
Diamond Member
See, that is what happens when you don't check a country for WMD's!
RagingBITCH
Lifer
Considering he killed off his opposition, started a war, and killed X million Jews, I don't think he cared much for rules, world peace, or a fvcking piece of paper saying that he can't stockpile weapons.
It is interesting to note that as desperate as the conflict became, Hitler never considered using chemical weapons (he knew all too well the horror first hand). Whereas Churchill famously advocated their use (as he had previously against Iraq). Fortunately, he lacked ultimate power and was resigned to fire bombing instead.
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