Originally Posted by Not_Whistlin_Dixie

Originally Posted by blue_sophist

Albert Speer - Inside the Third Reich.
A bit like parts of ARRSE ... full of megalomanics, egotists and deviants

I thought Speer was casting himself in a rosier light than the facts warranted:
** His depiction of himself as the "anti-Nazi Nazi," an essentially apolitical, non-bigoted person who developed an abiding hostility toward all forms of totalitarianism and persecution. Rubbish. He, along with the various cut-throats in the book, aspired to be Hitler's successor.
** He apparently wasn't above the large scale confiscation of Jewish-owned housing in Berlin so far as it suited his purposes.
** His alleged effort to assassinate Hitler. On his own showing, this consisted of thinking about it.

Only half-way through, and certainly not willing to be "persuaded" by his line. A degree of "self-reincarnation" after his prison sentence may be implied!

However, at face value it offers an amazing insight [if true, of course] into the way the Third Reich worked [or didn't]. I certainly don't see him [at this stage in the book] as an apologist for Hitler, which makes his comments on how H ran things very interesting.

Ernst ("Putzi") Hanfstaengel's Hitler: The Missing Years was an interesting insider's account of life with der Fuehrer. Hanfstaengel sneaked out of Nazi Germany apparently just ahead of an assassination attempt orchestrated by Goering who may have viewed Hanfstaengel as a potentially dangerous rival.

http://www.amazon.com/Hitler-Missing...137087&sr=1-89

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Hanfst%C3%A4ngl

Cheers Dextrose

Originally Posted by dingerr

Cheers Dextrose

No probs if you get the 4 of them report back might get them myself....

All of this fascinating Nazi material is, of course, tainted by supposition of self-justification. However, they all seem to reinforce [comprehensively] the fact that Mr Hilter was an incompetent ... for which we should all be truly grateful.

With respect for the 5M Jews and others slaughtered, it could have been substantially worse if the former Cpl had played his cards differently.

I am reading this you dull cnut......!

Originally Posted by bitterandtwisted

I am reading this you dull cnut......!

Over.

Originally Posted by blue_sophist

...Mr Hilter was an incompetent ... for which we should all be truly grateful.

1. Allowing the British expeditionary force to be evacuated from Dunkirk. What could possibly have been the thinking behind that?

2. Wasting Luftwaffe striking power (by using it against civilian targets) when the smart play would have been to concentrate on the RAF radar network and aircraft production factories.

3. Limiting Luftwaffe aircraft loitering time over the UK by not equipping aircraft with droppable external fuel tanks.

4. Hare-brained political interference with production of the Me-262 turbojet fighter, the most advanced machine of its type in the world.

5. Wasting valuable railway rolling stock to haul arrested Jews and other civilian unfortunates to concentration camps.

6. Gratuitously brutalizing, antagonizing and alienating people (particularly Russians) who were predisposed to view the Wehrmacht as liberators. I read that Stalin was amazed that his captive population would actually bear arms against the Nazis.

Yes, the Nazi leadership was incompetent and that was a lucky thing for our side.

Thank god for that, Im reading 1984 again, for those that aren't aware an horrific satire looking at what the world may have turned out like post WW2. Most frightening book I ever read.

After finishing (a while ago) Peter Hopkirk's "The Great Game" - early secret service type exploits in central asia.. was spurred into more reading about 'the sub-continent'.....

currently "Sahib: The British Soldier in India" - by Richard Holmes... a lot of colourful historical characters to say the least.