[Mr.Coffee]

Great thread. Currently I'm in history of world war 2 up at the U of C... not that that means anything- in fact it doesn't, but today's lecture focused on the Stalingrad/Kurstk stuff, so it was kind of weird seeing this thread.

Originally Posted by TheDragon

True enough!

I remember sitting in the food court in SouthCentre, and talking to an old German guy who claimed to have been a former Nazi Soldier that was captured and brought to a prison camp just outside of Lethbridge. He said the second he found out it was Canada, he decided he was never going to go back home and has been living here ever since. He didn't find out about the SS and the Holocaust until long after the war, either, which was part of the reason he decided to stay.

It's interesting that much of the Nazis were in fact unaware of the Holocaust and that even if they did, the extent of its undertaking. Once Rommel became aware of the true extent of the Holocaust he became vehemently opposed to Hitler and what he stood for. Hitler then had Rommel killed- but I think it's important for us to understand that Germans at the time, although they were racist, that doesn't necessarily link them to believing that murdering 6 million Jews was a viable alternative.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I remember reading Mein Kemp and coming to the realization that it was written by a somewhat rational mind that had thought his hatred through.

Hitler likely wasn't completey insane until his last few moments when it was reported to him that the Allies had broken through the Gothic Line in Italy and were well on their way to Berlin. This combined with the troubles on the Eastern front led Hitler to start making irrational comments and committing irrational acts. He actually was a very intellectual person fueled by hatred and acting in racism. Claiming that Hitler is "insane" just seems like a cop-out doesn't it? I think he turned insane in his last 3 days before he went to his bedroom with his brand new wife and all was heard was a gunshot as the last reports of his life.

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I think the Allied victory in the Battle of Britain is over-rated (this despite my middle name being 'Douglas' after the famed BoB ace -- and wingman of Calgarian Willy McKnight -- Douglas Bader). I've done a lot of reading on the subject, and it's clear that the German military didn't have the capability to launch an amphibious invasion of the British isles in 1940 even if the Luftwaffe had been successful in gaining air superiority over Southern England. As decisive victories go, the Battle of Britain is more or less a moot point. By early 1941, both the RAF and the Luftwaffe had manufactured enough aircraft and trained enough pilots to replace their losses in the summer of 1940. It did provide a huge boost to the morale of the British people, though, and the psychological effect on the civilian population shouldn't be understated.

Yeah I agree, it did have its psychological effects and perhaps changed the way people within respective countries thought about the war (they could now be attacked or bombed), but generally I think the Stalingrad battle was one of the biggest.

Also it was mentioned by somebody else but the battles in Africa were HUGE for the Allies. Not only did an Allied Africa allow for key transportation routes through the Red Sea and Meditteranean (at the end of the Desert War), but also Middle Eastern resources such as oil were then freed, the Vichy French joined the Allies for a campaign in Italy, and Tunisia was used as a training setting for victorious Ally troops that were about to engage in Italy and France. Because of its remarkably similar landscapes to southern Europe, Tunisia helped train and reinforce Allied divisions, as well as organize. It allowed for a European assault that WAS NOT through the English Channel- because any type of attack that occurred before D-Day would have been tremendously disastrous along that front.