DBWI: Adolf Hitler?

Erm, ASB buddy. Fringe parties led by obviously deranged men who waste all their time in Bavarian beer halls aren't going anywhere. Weimar Germany's electorate, even in it's infancy, is smarter than you give then credit for. And they certainly wouldn't elect a party filled with alcoholic demagogues even if times were tough.

Tell that to the Russians in the 40s.

(OoC: OP said WWI, which implies a WWII)
 

birdboy2000

Banned
Tell that to the Russians in the 40s.

(OoC: OP said WWI, which implies a WWII)

The Russians started the mess. If Leon Trotsky hadn't managed to win control of the Politburo there would never have been a WWII. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of the militarists, but the war was inevitable the moment Stalin got exiled to Sun Yat-sen's China and his followers were purged.

Yeah, I know, some people say Stalin was no better than Trotsky. Perhaps they were right. But he was the leading advocate of "socialism in one country", which is pretty much the only way to avoid Soviet expansionism; once they rearmed and realized even a depression wouldn't bring the Red Revolution to Europe, WWII became inevitable.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
On the other hand it was the von Papen government's meddling in Poland that scared the shit out of Trotsky. I wonder if Hitler would have been better, and not involved Germany in expansionist projects in the east. Sure, Trotsky was bad, the purges show that, as well as his attempts to arm the Communist parties of Germany and France. But had the Germans not invaded Poland, I doubt Trotsky would have dared to launch his red crusade.
 
You mean the invasion of Poland the Soviets actually proposed and took a large part (far more than the then undermanned and underarmed Reichswehr, at least) in?
It's true that von Papen was meddling with Poland - or rather trying to - but without the Soviets it would've stopped at that; the German military leadership was far too concerned about a new Great War with France and Britain, much like they were in '38, to do anything by themselves.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Yes, because France and Britain so stopped Anschluss.:rolleyes:

Acctually the war was pretty much bad timing for the Soviets. Had they waited a bit the Laval government in France might have gone to war with Germany over Poland, instead everyone ganged up against Trotsky (and pretty much screwed over Poland in the Peace of Prague 1944).
 
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