In our timeline, Adolf Hitler ended his life as the Soviet Red Army was closing in on the Fuherbunker in Berlin, finally acknowledging that Germany lost the war and deciding to not be executed or imprisoned by the Allies; instead, he would die by his own hand and with a shot to the head.
What if that didn't happen? What if Hitler actually did get captured by the Red Army, and had to stand in the Nuremberg Trials? How does this change things?
As for my two cents: Ironically, the only good thing that Hitler ever did was commit suicide, because that actually made the process of rebuilding Europe and ending Nazi ideals far quicker and easier than if he were captured and had to stand trial. Consider the context: Even after the war was lost, the Nazis still held considerable influence, followers and allies. It's not like everyone instantly came to the realization that Nazism was bad. This was why so many Nazis were able to escape to Argentina and live prosperous lives there, as they had supporters who could both smuggle them out (like Franco) and the Argentine government was sympathetic to them.
But thankfully, that all died down, and increasingly so overtime. Sure, you had people in Germany who wanted Hitler to win the war for decades afterwards, but they were increasingly on the fringe of society, and once they all died off, you're left with a Germany that hates Nazis as much as anyone -- with the extra sting of guilt, shamed of their dark past. West Germany was able to escape its Nazi roots in the Cold War quickly, because the citizens adopted western ideals and became a free nation that denounced Nazism, and wanted to reunite with Soviet-controlled East Germany the entire time to become a single country again.
By the 1960s, just twenty years after the war, most of the world had pretty well forgiven Germany and saw them as an ally and friend. Keep in mind that many WWII veterans were still alive then, and relatively young, with full remembrance of the Nazis. Though, the Cold War being what it was, it helped we had a new enemy on our minds in the place of the old: Those damned communist reds.
Thing is, if Hitler didn't kill himself right then and there, the Nazi ideals would remain popular far longer, and there would likely be resistance movements across both Germanies. If Hitler had been captured, he would've had to stand trial in Nuremberg, and that would change the way the trials went and what happened afterwards. The Nuremberg Trials in OTL was to various Nazi officials by the Americans, British, French and Soviets, and not having Hitler there made this relatively easy. No one stood as high in Germany as the fuhrer. He was the glue that held the thing together, and sheer admiration he drew from the people was astonishing in its own right (I've seen the comparison to that of Beatlemania in the 1960s). Without that "glue", the entire Nazi system completely fell apart.
Hitler would not be any ordinary prisoner. He would the highest value person in the trials, and they would have quite a dilemma on their hands. They would have to treat him well, keep him under absolute protection, and make sure he both never escapes or is never broken out. Once the trials are completed, the Allies would be left with the unenviable choice of what to do with him. A pick your poison scenario that leads to trouble either way.
Do they sentence him to death, or life in prison?
Going with the former, Hitler dying at the hands of the Allies and not the man himself would martyr him to his followers, keeping Nazism alive far longer, with many resistance/criminal organizations openly embracing his ideals. The process of "de-Nazifying" Germany would slower, more troublesome, would likely get people hurt and killed, and this would hurt Germans on the world stage. If going with the latter, the risk is there that Hitler could always be broken out of by the believers, who would continue to operate because he's still there, and always on guard of their very special prisoner, and Hitler still being alive, even if under bars, would no doubt be seen as an injustice by many around the world.
So that's why I think the best possible outcome happened in OTL, with Hitler ended his own life when he did, so that many got to be spared the pain and suffering his continued existence would cause. It made repairing and reconstructing Germany a much easier task, and Nazism died much sooner than it otherwise would. I'd hate to imagine Germany's standing in the Cold War if they still had a Nazi problem, even if they weren't the ones in power. If that was the case, people would be far less sympathetic to them in their plight to reunite with East Germany, and West Germany would be under far closer watch by the Western Bloc.
But that's just my theory. I'm open to other takes. Please, discuss.
What if that didn't happen? What if Hitler actually did get captured by the Red Army, and had to stand in the Nuremberg Trials? How does this change things?
As for my two cents: Ironically, the only good thing that Hitler ever did was commit suicide, because that actually made the process of rebuilding Europe and ending Nazi ideals far quicker and easier than if he were captured and had to stand trial. Consider the context: Even after the war was lost, the Nazis still held considerable influence, followers and allies. It's not like everyone instantly came to the realization that Nazism was bad. This was why so many Nazis were able to escape to Argentina and live prosperous lives there, as they had supporters who could both smuggle them out (like Franco) and the Argentine government was sympathetic to them.
But thankfully, that all died down, and increasingly so overtime. Sure, you had people in Germany who wanted Hitler to win the war for decades afterwards, but they were increasingly on the fringe of society, and once they all died off, you're left with a Germany that hates Nazis as much as anyone -- with the extra sting of guilt, shamed of their dark past. West Germany was able to escape its Nazi roots in the Cold War quickly, because the citizens adopted western ideals and became a free nation that denounced Nazism, and wanted to reunite with Soviet-controlled East Germany the entire time to become a single country again.
By the 1960s, just twenty years after the war, most of the world had pretty well forgiven Germany and saw them as an ally and friend. Keep in mind that many WWII veterans were still alive then, and relatively young, with full remembrance of the Nazis. Though, the Cold War being what it was, it helped we had a new enemy on our minds in the place of the old: Those damned communist reds.
Thing is, if Hitler didn't kill himself right then and there, the Nazi ideals would remain popular far longer, and there would likely be resistance movements across both Germanies. If Hitler had been captured, he would've had to stand trial in Nuremberg, and that would change the way the trials went and what happened afterwards. The Nuremberg Trials in OTL was to various Nazi officials by the Americans, British, French and Soviets, and not having Hitler there made this relatively easy. No one stood as high in Germany as the fuhrer. He was the glue that held the thing together, and sheer admiration he drew from the people was astonishing in its own right (I've seen the comparison to that of Beatlemania in the 1960s). Without that "glue", the entire Nazi system completely fell apart.
Hitler would not be any ordinary prisoner. He would the highest value person in the trials, and they would have quite a dilemma on their hands. They would have to treat him well, keep him under absolute protection, and make sure he both never escapes or is never broken out. Once the trials are completed, the Allies would be left with the unenviable choice of what to do with him. A pick your poison scenario that leads to trouble either way.
Do they sentence him to death, or life in prison?
Going with the former, Hitler dying at the hands of the Allies and not the man himself would martyr him to his followers, keeping Nazism alive far longer, with many resistance/criminal organizations openly embracing his ideals. The process of "de-Nazifying" Germany would slower, more troublesome, would likely get people hurt and killed, and this would hurt Germans on the world stage. If going with the latter, the risk is there that Hitler could always be broken out of by the believers, who would continue to operate because he's still there, and always on guard of their very special prisoner, and Hitler still being alive, even if under bars, would no doubt be seen as an injustice by many around the world.
So that's why I think the best possible outcome happened in OTL, with Hitler ended his own life when he did, so that many got to be spared the pain and suffering his continued existence would cause. It made repairing and reconstructing Germany a much easier task, and Nazism died much sooner than it otherwise would. I'd hate to imagine Germany's standing in the Cold War if they still had a Nazi problem, even if they weren't the ones in power. If that was the case, people would be far less sympathetic to them in their plight to reunite with East Germany, and West Germany would be under far closer watch by the Western Bloc.
But that's just my theory. I'm open to other takes. Please, discuss.