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One issue that emerged during World War II was whether the German nation and people were inherently warlike. Germany had been unified around Prussia--a German state with a highly militarized ethos. There were even discussion of turning Germany into a pastoral nation so the country could never again start another war. Many questions about the Germans and World War II are difficult to answer. One is not. There is no doubt that the vast majority of the German people did not want another War. Even the Wehrmacht did not want war. Accounts suggest that before Primeminister Chamberlain abjectly caved into Hitler's demands at Munich that the Wehrmact was posed to arrest Hitler. Historians report Hitler's frustration after Munich when the public reaction was that war had been averted rather than Germany had triumphed. It is not possible to quantify popular opposition to war, but there is no dobt it was the case. The best proof of this is Adolf Hitler himself--perhaps the most astute German politican of the 20th century. Hitler knew that the German people were afraid of another War. Thus he never advocated war. He advocated steps that meant war like lebensraum in the East, but he never came out and advocated war. The massive NAZI rearmament program was presented as necessary to prevent war. And when the Wehrmcht invaded Poland launching the War, a mock Polish invasion was staged. Unlike World War I, there was no patriotic outburst when war came. Hitler although invading or forcing most of Europe into invasion, only actually declared war on one country--the United States. After the War began he repeatedly blamed in on others, mostly the Jews and Bolshevicks, but also British imperialists and American capitalists who he imagined were controlled by the Jews. Even in his final writings in the bunker, he never accepted resoponsibility for the War. This is not to say that there were not some Germans who wanted war, but they were a small minority. A much larger number wanted goals which could only be achieved by war or who wanted national prestige achieved through military power. But it is very clear that most Germans did not want war.
One issue that emerged during World War II was whether the German nation and people were inherently warlike. Germany had been unified around Prussia--a German state with a highly militarized ethos. Beginning with the reat Flector, Prussia developed a military reputation. Some historians described Prussia as a state supporting an army. Under Chncellor Bismarck, Prussia engineered a series of wars to unite Germany, wars with Denmark (1964), Austria (1866), and finally France (1870). Following the accesnsion of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the dismissal of Bismarck, the new united Germany became increasingly belicose, generating a series of Euroean ctises. Te final result was World War I. It would be incorrect to blame Germany excllusively for the War, but Kaiser Wilhelm essentially writing Austria-Hungary a blank check in punishing Serbia was the critical step in sending Europe spiraling toward war. And as Primier said when asked how history will explain the outbreak of the war, "I can tell you what history will nt say, that Belgium invaded Germany." After the War, Germany was generally seen as the guilty party and this was even witten into the Versailles Treaty. With the rise of NAZIism, this image was further cinfirmed. So much that there were even discussion of turning Germany into a pastoral nation so the country could never again start another war. This was the so called Morgenthu PLan.
Many questions about the Germans and World War II are difficult to answer. One is not. There is no doubt that the vast majority of the German people did not want another War. Public opinion polls did not exist at the time in Germany. But the fact that Hitler never publically advocated war is a good indicator that war is not what the German people wanted. The same anti-War sentiment that swept the rest of Europe, America, and the Dominions also swept Germany. The great abti-War novel, All Quiet on the Wesern Front was of course a German book. It is difficult to know just how different segments of the population divided on the war issue, but a very large part of the population was clearly against another War. Surely this feeling must have been stringest among women. The attitude of men must have been somewhat more varied. Some veterans of World War I saw war as evil and wanted to save their sons and grandsons from the horror they experienced. There were some, however, that were convinced that Germany did not lose the War and was stabbed in the back by Socialists and Jews. It should not be thought that most Germans were satisfied with the Versailles Treaty. Almost ll Germans were not. Most Germans, however, just wanted to regain the loss territories abd to accomplish this peacefully. Some Germans did, however want to renew the War and fundaentally reshape Europe. That Hitler never openly said he wanted to use war to achieve this is an indicator that it was not what the great majority of the German people wanted.
Adolf Hitler was an extrodinarily able politican. He defeated all of his political enemies, either by foirce or violence. And he not only helped bring Germany out of the Depression (through rearmament), but achieved what Germans wanted--the return of the loss territories. And he achieved this without war. This was something the democratic politicans of the Weimar Republic were unable to do. It was an extrodinary achievemeny. And had he stopped with the Munich ccords or perhaps limited his further ambitions to the Polish Corridor, he would have gone down in history as one of the great German leaders of all time, along with the Great Elector, Frederick the Great, and Bismarck.
Historians report Hitler's frustration after Munich when the public reaction was that war had been averted rather than Germany had triumphed. Despite the triumph and popular adulation, he felt that Prime-Minister Chamberlain had robbed him of his war. This is what Chamberlain could not comprehend, that a national leader actually wanted a war. After the tradgedy of World War I, Chamberlain simply could not believe that any sane individual could want another war. Thus Chamberlain was convinced that Hitler could be appeased by undoing the Versailles Treaty. But Hitler did want another. He wanted nothing more than to be a great war leader. He despised politicans and thus his political skills in his view counted for little. It was war leadrship and the laurels of military triumph that he coveted. And here ironically he was an amateur, perhaps a talented amateur , but an amateur with limited capabilities.
Although it did not seem like it at the time, the turning point for Hitler and the NAZIs was Czechoslovakia. Hitler had told Chamberlain at Munich that he wanted no Czechs in the Reich anf guranteed the independence of Czechoslovakia once he got the Sudetenland (September 1938). But only 5 months after signing the Minich Accords, he ordered the Whermacht to seize the rest of Czechislovakia (March 1938). This meant that Chamberlain could no longer delude himself about Hitler's intentions. There was no question of returning Germans to the Reich. The Czechoslovakia he seized was populated by Czechs. The same Czechs he assured Chamberlin he did not want. The result was that the Chamberlain negotiated a treaty with Poland guaranteeing Poland's borders. And after the spectacular success of te Wehrmacht in the West the German War cabinent hd to decide whether to resist the NAZIs or seek terms, the arch-appeaser Chamberlain sided with Churchill.
It is one of the tragic circumstances of history that Germany which did not want another war, allowed aman to seize control whose great ambition in war was to lead the German people in war. It is not possible to quantify popular opposition to war, but there is no doubt it was the case. The best proof of this is Adolf Hitler himself--perhaps the most astute German politican of the 20th century. Hitler knew that the German people were afraid of another War. Thus he never advocated war. He advocated steps that meant war like Lebensraum in the East. This was clearly described in Mein Kampf. But he never came out and overtly advocated war. This would have been political suiside. The massive NAZI rearmament program was presented as necessary to prevent war. And when the Wehrmcht invaded Poland launching the War, a mock Polish invasion was staged. Unlike World War I, there was no patriotic outburst when war came. Hitler although invading or forcing most of Europe into invasion, only actually declared war on one country--the United States. After the War began he repeatedly blamed it on others, mostly the Jews and Bolshevicks, but also British imperialists and American capitalists who he imagined were controlled by the Jews. Even in his final writings in the Berlin F�hrerbunker, he never accepted resoponsibility for the War. This is not to say that there were not some Germans who wanted war, but they were a small minority. A much larger number wanted goals which could only be achieved by war or who wanted national prestige achieved through military power. But it is very clear that most Germans did not want war.
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