dcd
Banned
Well put.Its what makes the movie Downfall so heartbreaking,even though they're genocidal murderers who did the same thing to countless others.
The Anglo/American - Nazi War - The on-going mystery
- Thread starter CalBear
- Start date
Bookmark1995
Banned
What Downfall teaches me is that you don't have to be evil to do evil.
The Hitler that was downright gracious toward potential secretaries (in a time period where it was OK for men to grope them) is the same Hitler who is sending children to die for him.
Deleted member 96212
While I'm sure this question has been asked before, searching for a proper answer has been a pain, so hopefully it's not too much trouble to ask.
What happened to the Hiwis and other Russian/former Soviet collaborators during the war? What kind of weapons did the Reich trust them with, how were they treated, and what duties were expected of them? As I understand it most of the OTL Hiwis/collaborators were used for logistical operations and implementing the Holocaust, were they killed off as the Reich solidified its hold on Europe?
What happened to the Hiwis and other Russian/former Soviet collaborators during the war? What kind of weapons did the Reich trust them with, how were they treated, and what duties were expected of them? As I understand it most of the OTL Hiwis/collaborators were used for logistical operations and implementing the Holocaust, were they killed off as the Reich solidified its hold on Europe?
Deleted member 96212
Actually I believe I found the answers to our respective questions.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...erican-nazi-war.140356/page-323#post-10944677
If I'm interpreting this correctly it would mean the Hiwis essentially ceased to exist once the Reich felt comfortable enough to no longer need them.
Bookmark1995
Banned
That's got to be one of the worst jobs imaginable: sacrificing your fellow people just to put off your own execution for a few more weeks.
Deleted member 96212
I can imagine the total, manic false hope that would come from such a mindset perfectly. "I have to keep living! There might be a day I can escape, or someone will show mercy, or the system will collapse!" But no help is forthcoming.
Well, the factors of shame of losing the war catastrophically and the fear of being humiliated and executed still exist, which could still motivate many Soviet officials and generals to commit suicide.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Probably, but many would likely save their behinds by collaborating.
Molotov TTL did this, selling his own citizens into slavery. Although there were indications by the time the Nazis destroyed his power base, he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. So such a life would be beyond horrible to live.
Here’s a quote from a biography about Himmler by Peter Longerich:
Was there any tangible incentive (money etc) for someone to become a settler in Eastern Europe or was the motivation entirely ideological?
Did the Reich actually manage to get the nearly 12 million settlers in the East that they planned for IOTL?
Was there any tangible incentive (money etc) for someone to become a settler in Eastern Europe or was the motivation entirely ideological?
What would happen if someone in the Western countries was found to be holding Nazi beliefs? Much more then just a few months in prison, I'd imagine.
Deleted member 96212
We have to keep in mind that most OTL Neo-Nazis and certainly many more ATL are either mentally disturbed or abused/otherwise disaffected from society in a major way (and I imagine the remaining few are edgy jackasses, just that gullible, or looking to make a quick buck off extremists). So ATL the average Neo-Nazi has probably already went to prison on other offenses or is/will be in and out of the mental health system. As is also true for OTL, it's far more likely that they will be perpetrators of violent crime rather than victims of it. That's not really something that would (or could) change ATL.
Bottom line is that Neo-Nazis won't change depending on how WWII goes down, you have to intervene in each individual's life to change their ways.
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Apologies for quoting an old post, but for some reason I saw this today and it brought to mind something in your perspective on this TL's world that I've always wondered about. Namely, it seems (and I could very well be misapprehending this) that you think of internal, and even international instability as basically "hydraulic"-an imposed peace is but a chance for war fever to build up, to be released whenever the watchful guard slackens. I would, on the contrary, be more inclined to think that, absent other factors, decades of peace and relative prosperity would prime political actors towards peace, to the point where it may endure even if no longer being imposed from above.
Thoughts?
Bookmark1995
Banned
Not really. Despite living under the Soviet roof, as soon as things fell apart, Chechens and Azeris and Armenians all went at each others throats.
The factor is, chechens, Armenians and Azeris were persecuted by USSR govt during these eras, which included deportations. I think A4 would intervene if these sort of thing occurs. So With these factor gone with A4 oversight, i don't think it will be hydraulic.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Yes, but as the A4 really solving tensions or keeping a lid on them? Is the A4 solving tensions, or is it the angry asshole father who just wants the kids to shut their traps?
Tito kept the lid on things, but as soon as he died, his Slavic unity dream came apart under the weight of ethnic tensions.
I bet welfare had been replaced, in Germany and "Aryan" Nazi-occupied countries, by a train ticket to the East and a homestead.
And werent the Armenian and the Azeri SSR engaging in warfare before the fell of the USSR?
