Who Started World War II?

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

[...] National-socialism ("nazism") has been the only political movement that really applied socialism. ...

HFBS (and HF=high flying)
Yeah right, now tell me how anyone could possibly mistake Hitler's dictatorship, for "socialism"? What about Krupp, and all those other capitalistic companies who arranged themselves with Hitler to make money? Porsche? Mercedes? Rheinmetall? a.s.o.

No people were happier than the Germans during the early years of the Third Reich.

Some of them, sure, but not the majority. It also were not the most intelligent ones, but yes.
The brown SA (the killer and terror branch of Hitler's nazi party) threatened and terrorized jews, other minorities, the communists, socialists, the social democrats, the conservative parties and anyone who dared to speak up againt the NSDAP or Hitler.

After all those german Freicorps fighting each others in the street, and all against socialists and communists, had either joined the SA, forced into submission or were plain killed, intellectuals driven out or killed, and political competition threatened or killed, there was just not much resistance left in the population due to threats, sheer terror and a general atmosphere of real Angst.

A lot of people certainly believed Hitler, a lot of others just saw the superficial avantages, like aviation was pushed and developed, and there were jobs, lots of them! All paid by pillaging jewish and other people's property, by freezing bank accounts of people who had to leave Germany in a haste, by printing more money and borrowing from banks, with the promise of a big return.
They built streets and infrastructure, not to forget all kinds of military hardware, but of course with the clear object to use it, against the Soviet Union. Which was, after all, commmunistic, socialistic and soviet, and thus the contrary of Hitler and his régime.

And with that there was prosperity, the street fights stopped, and Germany was a suddenly a peaceful and strong country (b.t.w. this is cynism, if you do did not get it!).

Of course, Jews were disadvantaged, and then persecuted.

Wow, now that's some insight.

There was no need to persecute the jewish people when the german people had become strong again.

Oh yes there was a need, because someone had to be the scapegoat for a mess that had been inherited from others, last not least fanned by Hitler and his later followers. There was even a song "An allem sind die Juden schuld" and lots of other critical and aggressive chansons that made fun of Hitler, his accusations, claims and his régime. You can probably imagine, what happened to the artists.
There were also attempts to kill Hitler, but he always escaped, if by a hair.

A lot of people did not see what was going on behind the stage, i'd give you that. The media were strictly controlled (Gleichschaltung of newspaper press, radio, publishers, burning of books considered as critical of the Nazis), any public meetings verboten, and so on.

My father who was born in 1911, told me a lot of those things. There were other relatives, of the time, and most male ones of course became soldiers, at the time. What i write is not all school, university and what you like to call re-education.

We now know how it all worked, and it is a lot easier in hindsight. But a lot knew, and preferred not to see it or look away. Just like today, i might say.