Hitler avoids war.

[Markus]

Germany's economy wasn't going to fall over just because it didn't go to war. This idea stems originally from pre-war British assessments that German economic conditions were unstable and weak and informed British foreign policy from 1933 onwards. As was demonstrated during the war, this view was wishful thinking, but was retained in political circles even when evidence began to emerge from economic intelligence sources that Germany was in fine shape and that the blockade was an overstated weapon. In 1939 the fundamentals of the German economy were on par with that of Britain and France, neither of whom are characterised as having conquest economies.

You are wrong. Germany was on the brink of bankruptcy and the economy was about to overheat, inflation included. During the war Germany plundered other economies to keep it´s own somewhat stable.

The comparison with Britain and France is not fitting, because neither nation went on a rearmament as massive and as fast as Germany did.

 

[Croesus]

Germany was on the brink of bankruptcy and the economy was about to overheat, inflation included. During the war Germany plundered other economies to keep it´s own somewhat stable. The comparison with Britain and France is not fitting, because neither nation went on a rearmament as massive and as fast as Germany did.

I'm assuming by 'bankruptcy' you're referring to the balance of payments situation. It was certainly a problem but not a terminal one; the government recognised it had a problem and had a range of measures available to tackle it. A balance of payments deficit doesn't mean a country has to attack other countries in order to survive.

A report for the Foreign Office in Feb 1939 concluded that 'economic conditions inside Germany are not brilliant, but they are certainly not disastrous... an 'economic collapse' is almost impossible in a country so well regimented as Germany'.

Chancellor John Simon wrote a report in Jul 1939 that suggested that Germany was in a better economic psoition than Britain, with greater financial flexibility, higher taxation and growing economic power; his view was that Germany was better prepared for a long war than Britain who required extensive American loans to survive.

The Nazi economy was not orthodox; excessive levels of state intervention and aggressive deficit financing were not seen as contributing to a healthy economy. However this does not mean that, just because it wasn't running its affairs as the powers were, Germany was foredoomed to collapse. However in the short-term of 5-10 years or so its control economy was stable and at the heart of the economic system of central and eastern Europe and Germany had further insulated itself against war by means of its supply agreements with the Soviet Union and Italy.

 

[Malta]

I would think the civil war bit would be most sucessful. Hitler on the eve of invasion, but he is unable to start off his war due to internal strife. Could be caused by Communist rebels, Political rivals, or just a group of people that hate Hitler. Though from their ranks would have to have a number of Hitler's trained military forces. As so it rips apart the military, making Hitler incapable of swiftly crushing the rebellion or civil war, right from the get go.

 

[ZaphodBeeblebrox]

Sounds about right, they could going on this path recycling the debt for some time. A case might be made for the UK having to go to war to get the emergency funding to continue their rearmament drive.

Hitler wanted a bigger germany and to exterminate the races. He didn't care much how he got that. If it took invading other countries to do so, he would. His assumption was that the Europeans were weak and would hang seperately rather than build an alliance against him. Funny thing is that European history has many examples of 'alliances of convience' being hammered out to face a contemporary threat.

In the last years before the war apparently he was fixating on America as Germanies principle threat, and their was no point in waiting any longer since that would only make the enemy stronger. So yes he got to a point where he had to have his war no matter what.

I Used to Date a Girl, Just Like that ...

Whenever she Wanted to Have a Fight, she HAD a Fight, Even if I Gave into her Demands, Completely ...

Eventually, I Learned to Just Sit Back and Watch her Argue with herself, But, that Just Made her Angry, And Nobody Liked her When she was Angry!

 

[Elidor]

I Used to Date a Girl, Just Like that ...

Whenever she Wanted to Have a Fight, she HAD a Fight, Even if I Gave into her Demands, Completely ...

Eventually, I Learned to Just Sit Back and Watch her Argue with herself, But, that Just Made her Angry, And Nobody Liked her When she was Angry!

How was the sex like?

 

[ZaphodBeeblebrox]

How was the sex like?

What Sex?

Even When we had it, Which Wasn't Very Often, it Stank and was on her Terms Only, she Also Refused to Cuddle After or Even Kiss During ...

Then, she Decided to GO Celibate ...

 

[Ridwan Asher]

What Sex?

Even When we had it, Which Wasn't Very Often, it Stank and was on her Terms Only, she Also Refused to Cuddle After or Even Kiss During ...

Then, she Decided to GO Celibate ...

Some girl you had there....

 

[esl]

I'm assuming by 'bankruptcy' you're referring to the balance of payments situation. It was certainly a problem but not a terminal one; the government recognised it had a problem and had a range of measures available to tackle it. A balance of payments deficit doesn't mean a country has to attack other countries in order to survive.

A report for the Foreign Office in Feb 1939 concluded that 'economic conditions inside Germany are not brilliant, but they are certainly not disastrous... an 'economic collapse' is almost impossible in a country so well regimented as Germany'.

Chancellor John Simon wrote a report in Jul 1939 that suggested that Germany was in a better economic psoition than Britain, with greater financial flexibility, higher taxation and growing economic power; his view was that Germany was better prepared for a long war than Britain who required extensive American loans to survive.

The Nazi economy was not orthodox; excessive levels of state intervention and aggressive deficit financing were not seen as contributing to a healthy economy. However this does not mean that, just because it wasn't running its affairs as the powers were, Germany was foredoomed to collapse. However in the short-term of 5-10 years or so its control economy was stable and at the heart of the economic system of central and eastern Europe and Germany had further insulated itself against war by means of its supply agreements with the Soviet Union and Italy.

here are some more observations from Richard Overy...

"The same could not be said of the British economy.Chamberlain's repeated fear that 'the burden of araments might break our backs' was realizing itself under the pressure of emergency.The balance of payments crisis grew deeper as Britain sucked in extra imports for defence.British gold reserves fell to half the level of 1938 as capital flowed away from London in search of safer havens. The first signs of inflation were evident. The Chancellor of the Exchequer became more insistent as the year went on that Britain faced imminent financial collapse.'We shall find our selves in a position', he told Cabinet in May , 'when we should be unable to wage any war other than a brief one'. The 'fourth arm of defence' on which Chamberlain, for one , had laid such stress threatened instead to become a formidable liability. It was clear in the summer of 1939 that Britain could not continue to rearm indefinately; economic advice suggested that such levels of preparation could not be sustained in peacetime much beyond the end of the year. Oliver Stanley at the Board of Trade drew the obvious conclusion ; 'There would , therefore come a moment which, on a balance of our financial strength and strength in armaments , was the best time for war to break out".


Quote:
"The truth was that the financial effort and the military preparations unwittingly created a timetable which was very difficult to alter.From the start British rearmament was planned with the idea of a potential conflict in 1939 or 1940. The decision to make a great armaments effort in 1938 and 1939 , and the post -Munich mobilization planning locked British leaders into a set of expectations which were increasingly difficult to transcend. War could not be fought with any confidence in 1938; but neither could war easily be posponed much beyond 1940."

Quote:
"Ofcourse there was a way out : Hitler might, as Chamberlain hoped , back down in the face of British rearmament , and the defence effort could perhaps be relaxed. If he did not , British choices about the timing of the war were severely circumscribed."
Overy The Road to War, pp 115-116

 

[Colin Francis]

The basic premise is invalid. Hitler and the NSDAP were focussed totally on war and radical solutions to percieved problems.

You often read that if the Nazis had spared the jews and treated the slavic nationalities and communists humanely then he would have beaten the USSR and triumphed in the East. Problem is that the whole point of Barbarossa was to murder jews and communists and drive the slavs from their own lands.

 

[esl]

The basic premise is invalid. Hitler and the NSDAP were focussed totally on war and radical solutions to percieved problems.

You often read that if the Nazis had spared the jews and treated the slavic nationalities and communists humanely then he would have beaten the USSR and triumphed in the East. Problem is that the whole point of Barbarossa was to murder jews and communists and drive the slavs from their own lands.

Agreed. This is why many people refer to it as "Hitlers War".