Posted by Rich (205.188.192.38) on April 22, 2002 at 14:08:34:
Hello Jan:
You have brought several good points recently that I want to talk about. First, you mention Hitler being Mercurial and having a great need for structure. Hitler want an orderly program of mass murder, not free lancers, causing disorder. You have explained one of the craziest features of the Nazis! SS men were shot for abusing slvae laborers, or those slatted to be murdered. Technically,it was for disobeying orders, or being against " the honor of the SS ". Himmler was the same way, in his infamous Posen speech of October,1943, to his SS generals Himmler empasised how they had to be " hard, but still decent fellows ". ( He honestly doesn't seem to have seen the paradox in all this! )
As for the Nazi War Aims there were 2:
1. The program of mass murder, to clean out the people already living there, so the new empire would be ready for Germans.
2. A Nazi empire in Esatern Europe & European Russia.
The " the tuning out of nasty reality " comes in that the 2 war aims were in conflict with each other. The majority of the trains going East, were full of prisoners, these trains came back empty. That meant that there were far fewer trains to carry suuplies to the troops, and bring wounded troops back! The Nazis were most interested in their murder program, but they had to win the war, first.... Hitler was too Mercurial in this regard, because it meant so much to him! This sound like the Mercurial people you have dealt with! Rich