Hitler became demented over time which made him very stupid, hence the Downfall parodies which actually was mild compared to how far gone he was at the time.
Which ways Hitler was a bigger Idiot than a evil dictator
- Thread starter UnknownX3
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Hitler became demented over time which made him very stupid, hence the Downfall parodies which actually was mild compared to how far gone he was at the time.
Funny story. Read on Wikipedia a few weeks back how in one of the art repositories the Americans found paintings and statues wrapped up in tens of thousands of winter uniforms. Turns out they were made, but the Nazis decided to priorities what they protected. They cared so much about German blood that they wanted to splash it everywhere.
Makes sense, given how his doctor seems to have been poisoning him to the point where he couldnt eat solid food.
There's so many stupid things he did, where do i even start?
-Placing the country into the hands of insane kleptocrats.
-Exterminating the best and brightest in concentration camps.
-Starting the war instead of waiting for the Soviets to scare the whole continent into the German camp.
-Video game logistics as official policy decades before video games were invented.
-Taking fists full of drugs while micro managing the military
The list goes on.
-Placing the country into the hands of insane kleptocrats.
-Exterminating the best and brightest in concentration camps.
-Starting the war instead of waiting for the Soviets to scare the whole continent into the German camp.
-Video game logistics as official policy decades before video games were invented.
-Taking fists full of drugs while micro managing the military
The list goes on.
I don't think it's a mistake. By early 1941, the writing is on the wall regarding US intentions - the US is overtly hostile, rearming fast and building intercontinental bombers and the greatest fleet in the world, all aimed at Germany in direct response to the defeat of France. Only with free access to the resources of the east, ASAP, can Germany hope to prevail in the inevitable contest with the US.
Meanwhile, in 1941 the British are still stuck impotent on their island and the Soviets are still rebuilding after the purges. The only problem is the blockade and the lack of access to world markets - but given that the blockade cannot be lifted, it makes taking the resources of the east even more urgent. Attacking the USSR was the right move at the right time.
This, really. Hitler made many mistakes, but the OP's list is just the usual myths.
Ribbentrop and Goebbels both strongly supported a Axis-Soviet Bloc, so did Italy and Japan. It would at least give some breathing room for dealing with Britain if their empire is crumbling.
Not listening to his generals' advice and having a two-front war could be linked together, but I chose the former of the two because had he done the first one, he could've avoided the second one.
If Hitler had listened to his generals they would have bogged down in France. They were against the Ardennes offensive. The idea that if Hitler had "listened to the generals" should be taken with a grain of salt, because the idea came FROM said generals.
You have to simplify what generals you are talking about as you can't lump Germany generals into a hive mind on any one topic from a two front war to the Ardennes offensive to Kursk.
So in other words, he should have ignored the wrong ones, but not the right ones?
That's not what the poll option says, and it's not what the poster in question said.
In other words it's the job of the commander in chief to take in a whole bunch of ideas from their generals and they have all sorts of ideas and pick the best of the option, early on at least tactically he seemed to pick well, but his decision making was worse with time Guderian and Rommel were both strongly against attacking Kursk, but other generals won him over.
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In terms of strategy he had to decide what generals to go with as well and it tended to be ones that dovetailed his own thinking.
But again, that's not what the option says. It says quite specifically: "Did not listen to his generals' opinions and advice". If we take that to mean doing, well basically what he wanted over what was recommended then you can't have it both ways. Either he should have listened in France, which results in disaster, or he shouldn't have listened in either case. Listening to the opinions of generals and deciding doesn't show stupidity. Bad judgment maybe. Insnaity, probably. But not stupidity.
I mean, this is Adolf freaking Hitler we are talking about. There's plenty of stupid you can lay at his feet*, just not this one.
*Takes a deep breath:
Tiger I, Tiger II, the Mause, the Elephant, V-2, V-3...I think you get the point.
