Should a people always obey their leaders when they decide to go to war? And how does this idea compare to US citizens of today?
2006-09-25 01:32:41 · 18 answers · asked by tarro 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Right? That's an odd question. Was it 'right' for Americans to follow FDR into war?
First, one must understand the times. The German people had been in desperate times during the depression. Hitler had taken the leadership and pulled them out of it. For this they were grateful and had much faith in him.
The military, who had felt humiliated by being defeated not in the field but by communists and peacemongers at home, and the following years of humiliation and retribution against them by the Allied powers, greatly supported the German military resurgence.
Add to this Hitler's obvious political ability and knowledge of the weak-willed Allies and their 'peace at any price' cowardice. They let him re-occupy the Rhineland. They let him build up the German armed forces. They let him annex Austria. They ignored his mounting attacks upon Jews. They even stabbed Czechoslovakia in the back by letting Germany take the 'sudatenland'. Hitler's appraisal that their cowardice and appeasement would let him do just about anything short of war was correct.
As his strength and popularity grew, so did his tyranny. He basically controlled the news. He had his secret police who eliminated dissenters. His control became quite unopposable.
But there is no comparison to US today. We have a free press and our rights are intact. Our intelligence services make more effort to protect our rights than they do to catch bad guys. We have all the necessary information to make informed choices, like supporting the president in his efforts to combat global terrorism. We did not have a 'Polish border incident' trumped-up excuse - we had a very real attack on 9/11.
There is really no comparison at all between Germany of the late 1930's and US today.
However, there is great comparison between Bush, Blair and their supporters in the War on Terrorists and Churchill, who recognized the Hitler threat.
There is also great comparison between the people who oppose Bush's and Blair's War on Terrorists and the cowardly 'peace at any price' appeasers who failed to oppose Hitler, which directly led to the conflagration of WW2 in Europe.
Had the French mobilized and opposed Hitler's reoccupation of the Rhineland, he might have fallen from power. Had they vigorously opposed his breaches of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles regarding re-arming, he would have fallen. But they were so afraid of losing their elected positions because their people wanted peace, they chose to NOT do the right thing.
What I see today is a bunch of people who have failed miserably to learn from the past - people who believe they can redo the Munich Accords with the terrorists and come back with a piece of paper and proclaim 'peace in our time'.
One of Aesop's fables was about the Frog helping the Scorpion across a river. The truth about people choosing to blind themselves to the truth and nature of our enemies is millenia old.
2006-09-25 02:11:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
DrFlox--Where on earth did you come up with your nonsensical idea that Germany started a war against an equal enemy?
Poland? The Polish sent out horse cavalry to fight tanks.
France? Overrun in 21 days.
Holland? Gave up without a fight.
Belgium? Gave up without a fight.
Denmark? Gave up without a fight.
Austria? A German-speaking country which willing joined them
Liechtenstein? Ditto
Luxemburg? Ditto
All of these countries put together, plus Britain, were not equal to the German military. What kind of revisionist history are you trying to palm off onto us?
2006-09-25 01:50:17 · answer #2 · answered by GreenHornet 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Too broad a question without understanding the climate of the time. When Hitler put his plans into action for world dominance and extermination, many under his control had no idea where it was leading or that it had started. What the army and people were behind him on were his plans and actions to bring new life and justice into a country that was in economic misery.
There may be some basis in comparing how people fell in line supporting a leader who was war driven. Ask the people who protested going to war in Iraq at the start of it and how they were treated. In Nazi Germany, a person would be imprisoned for speaking against the government. Not too far a stretch to compare then to now
2006-09-25 01:43:57 · answer #3 · answered by auld mom 4 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Without Hitler I'd be speaking Russian, so yeah, it was pretty swell for the german people to go off to war- after all, it was only after WW2 that wars became morally abhorrent.
Back then, they were an integral part of politics.
2006-09-25 01:50:08 · answer #4 · answered by dane 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They were united in their cause. If most Germans would've known about the death camps and atrocities of the SS and others, i'm sure they would've had second thoughts about following Hitler into war. In our case, we can be united too, especially when under attack. I remember the impromptu singing of God Bless America on the steps of Congress by a group of Republican and Democratic Senators just after 9/11....it made me feel proud at that time.
In my own personal opinion, i'd follow my flag wherever it took me, but that's just me.
2006-09-25 06:17:10 · answer #5 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It wasn't right for Hitler, Cortez, or Pizarro to commit genocide, nor the other times in history we know. People are too chicken to give their lives in protest to the war. But all in all was it best for the nation to follow him in war. At the time - sadly - yes it was.
2006-09-25 03:55:07 · answer #6 · answered by sloppy dan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Someone gets a bee in their bonnet & tell enough things to the people that they want to hear, do it enough times & amazingly people will begin to believe whatever is being said so that even outrageous demands & scenarios can be played out to fill whatever need this person wants to get their own way. Whatever the agenda, you make people scared enough & they will be behind you in whatever - it just comes down to how well you can feed propoganda & a sense of "hope" to the population for long enough. People are generally easily led because it is easier to follow blindly rather than looking into facts objectively.
*sigh*
2006-09-25 01:54:26 · answer #7 · answered by shirazzza 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
it doesn't.
you should stop trying to compare our government and the German Nazi's. it makes you look stupid.
if we weren't doing what have been since before WE TOOK OUT HITLER, which is helping out countries being tortured by their leaders (which is what hitler did), we would be chastised for not doing anything.
i enjoy my lifestyle. i am not being abused. starved. captured and tortured. i support my leader because i live a better life than a lot of people in a lot of countries.
why don't you move somewhere else?
2006-09-25 01:40:53 · answer #8 · answered by pain_made_me_beautiful 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
i think there was a big source of German pride back then and for good reason they were strong. misled but strong and now you can see it coming back minus hitler and all of the bad things that came with him. Germany is a strong country.
2006-09-25 03:04:39 · answer #9 · answered by Geology RockstaRR 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not everyone did obey Hitler.
2006-09-25 01:40:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋