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Originally Posted by Damo1977
Abraham, that little corporal or painter could be a hero in the working in the working class society or working man (person to be p.c.). He rose from being abused by a family member, to living on the streets, to regular soldiering, to a leading state politician. Now his political agenda might not have been right, but who could deny that he actually worked his way to that position, by hard work.
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His political agenda was set out from the beginning in 'Mein Kampf'. Your: "his political agenda might not have been right" is an understatement that I did not expect from an Aussie! His policies were damn wrong: hatred & discrimination, suppression of the opposition, extreme nationalistic, German racial superiority & aggression, dictatorship, just to name a few items. He worked up his way allright by street terror; beating up the opposition in the weak Weimar democracy with his S.A.
and of course by the underestimation of his opponents, who disappeared in concentration camps as soon as he reached power.
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Originally Posted by Damo1977
anyhow you stated 'they sold there soul to the Devil', doesn't every armed forces member sell their soul to the politics of their country at any time? By accepting orders or taking an oath?
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The Oath of armed forces in normal democracies is usually to the Constitution, or the whole country, the King or Queen or President as the nominal head of the democratic government. I find that normal. Armed forces have to obey the ruling civil authorities.
The situation in the Third Reich was completely different. There was no constituition; Hitler ruled by decree. Hitler was a dictator for life with no democratic review of his policies after 4,5 or 6 years. This Oath for life(!) was sworn to Hitler in person, with no restrictions, one of the things that often prevented the German Officer Corps to resist him, since both Hitler an they took that Oath extremely serious. After that Oath there was no way out for moral objections; that's why I say they sold their soul to the Devil. One man was thinking for Germany and in Germany, he made all the decisions and estimated their military, economic, social and moral values. And what a man he was!
"Der Führer befehlt, wir volgen!", shouted tens of thousands hysterically at Nazi rallies (The Führer orders, we'll follow!). Well, he did, they did and in the end they all got what they had been asking for...
I think it is very dangerous - and even offensive for servicemen and -women in the Armed Forces - not to make a clear distinction between the position of the Military in a democracy and the position of the Military towards Hitler in the Third Reich (and other dictatorships).