Peace In Their Time

We all know the Germans annexed Austria in 1938, but the story of how they tried to overthrow their southern neighbor in 1934 doesn't get as much attention. Today I'll be covering the politics and instability that created a window of opportunity, or perhaps more the scant impression of one, to be exploited by the Nazis.

Bibliography for this episode: 

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Military conquest was always an ambition of Hitler and the Nazis, a central thesis of theirs was that war was necessary to strengthen their nation. But while the military was built-up almost from scratch, victories were sought on the diplomatic front. Which is the new facet of German aggression being moved onto. Today specifically be about the Geneva Disarmament Conference, the colossal waste of time it wound up being, and how it set the tone for Nazi diplomacy in the future. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

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For the 200th episode I'm taking a dive into the minutia of the German Army's arsenal. Ironically, some of the most famous German weapons were only introduced in the later half of the war, when they were losing ground left and right. The years of their build-up and conquest were marked by much more modest pieces of equipment that nevertheless had their qualities.

Was the German Army of WWII the unstoppable demon army of military myth? Or were they the luckiest flock of goose-steppers ever to visit Paris? Turns out they were simply a professional force that brought just enough new ideas to the table that they made everybody else look bad there for a while. Today I break down the broad strokes of German doctrine and organization for its army, everybody's favorite WWII topic since 1945. 

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I know that half the military history internet is devoted to the technical specs of the German military in WWII, but for completions sake I'm going to be adding to that pile. Today I cover the organization, doctrine, and models of weapon used by the two supporting branches of the German military. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Deist, Wilhelm The Wehrmacht and German Rearmament MacMillan Press Ltd 1986

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

In the second half of this installment, I wrap up the woes the Wehrmacht faced by the end of the 30s, problems that would never be fully resolved. Also covered is the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair, two unrelated scandals that nevertheless Hitler used as cover to solidify control of the army. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Penguin Books 2006

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

I've been slacking a lot on the release schedule, so enjoy a second episode for this week. Today I'm still talking about rearmament, but this time it's just the planning on the military side. Turns out expanding your army to support thirty times more troops, all the while building a world-class air force from scratch, and half-heartedly constructing a navy in a little over half a decade creates some problems. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Penguin Books 2006

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The reality of Nazi Germany's bid to conquer Europe and dominate the world was that it simply lacked the economic capacity to actually do those things. That didn't stop Hitler from trying though, and he pushed the economy to the breaking point getting as many weapons and the biggest army he could. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Penguin Books 2006

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

A sudden transformation of the economy needed collaborators to be carried out in such a short time frame as the Nazis were demanding. And it also demanded a closer relationship between the state and capital, leading to an unholy alliance that brought out the worst in both the German business class and the upper echelons of the Nazi government. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Penguin Books 2006

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

One of the most striking accomplishments of the Nazi state during the 1930s was the speed with which it built an army capable of conquering Europe. It wasn't a perfect army mind you, but it was capable all the same. And given that it was built up from the weak interwar army in just six years, well something unusual was afoot in Germany. And that something was a startling overhaul of the economy towards war production, to an extent unheard of in peacetime. The first stage of this masked war economy is where I'll be starting on this new miniseries covering the rise of the Nazi war machine. 

A sudden transformation of the economy needed collaborators to be carried out in such a short time frame as the Nazis were demanding. And it also demanded a closer relationship between the state and capital, leading to an unholy alliance that brought out the worst in both the German business class and the upper echelons of the Nazi government. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Penguin Books 2006

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]