The problem with your theory, JB99, is that there are countless examples of Hitler saying Bolshevism and the Soviets were the great threat to Germany, the true battle. The fact that the Eastern Front was Germany’s primary target is not exactly post-hoc rationalization, it’s supported by approximately a mountain of primary evidence. That was where Germany’s Lebensraum was to be.
Hitler’s own words (from Mein Kampf):
Hitler wanted an alliance with Great Britain (“England”) and Italy (one of which he got); he wanted to isolate and crush France; and he wanted those things in order to expand Germany into a much larger continental-type state at the expense of Russia and other countries to the East of Germany. And of course he hated the Jews. He said all of those things–alliance with Britain and Italy; crush and humiliate France; expand at the expense of Russia and other eastern countries; destroy the Jews–and he did all of those things (for a while, anyway) except for the alliance with Britain, and that was only because Britain (under Churchill) refused an alliance with him.
You say that you are relying on Hitler’s own words. Again, I’m genuinely curious: What words to that effect did he say, and when and where?
When I get home I’ll dig out some quotes.
Frankly (and not meant to be the least bit snarky) I though it was beyond accepted by historians at this point that Hitler was focused on the east. He discussed this (as noted above) in Mein Kampf and discussed the subjugation of the peoples to the east, and the recolonization of that area by Germans once it was cleared out repeatedly. The one or two quotes that I remember off the cuff that he made about America is that it was a bloated, weak minded democracy.
There is also a school of thought (I’m not sure were I stand on this, even after learning about it man years ago) that he declared war on the United States in December of 1941 knowing that the war was lost at that point anyway, and he desired to go out in a blaze of glory. Realizing this and knowing he had no ability to reach out and touch the United States one could argue there wasn’t a logical reason to declare war on the U.S., so who knows?
Since this seems like a good thread and we have some knowledge-able people, can we have some discussion of the battle of Tannenberg in 1914?
I think the battle of tennenberg is talked about too little when it come to rise of nazism. In 1914 the eastern hordes (Russians) invaded Germany from the east. They invaded east Prussia. This shocked the German population and there was a wave of nationalism. In many cases the Russians commit war crimes, rape and looting. Cossacks riding on horses murdered Germans indiscriminately.
The Germans famously routed the Russian invaders at Tannenberg. Hindenburg was the general who defeated the Russians, and was seen as the savior of the german nation. He was hailed as a god. For many Germans the victory at Tannenberg was seen as evidence that god was on the side of the Tuton, not the Slav. The historic fight between Tuton and Slav was a big think for Germans at that time. Germans recalled a victory over the Slavs in the 1400s i think?
Also slavs were thought of as slaves by the Germans, inferior in every way to Tutons.
The Tannenberg war memorial was built by the Germans to commemorate their victory over the Russians, veterans of the battle gathered every year after 1914 to remember. You can see some pretty insane German nationalism at rallies in the 1920s and 30s there. Hindenburg handed over power to Hitler at the 20th anniversary of the battle in 1934 if I’m not mistaken.
I think the monument was in the shape of a castle? Like a medevial castle. Recalling historic german victories over the slavs (slaves) in the Middle Ages.