Hitler Never Gave the Order - So Who Did? - WW2 Special

[@WorldWarTwo]

This episode explores the source of nazi policy of which we see the effects in our World War Two and War Against Humanity episodes. The more theoretical and analytical nature of episodes like this may cause more debate than usual. We encourage any civil and well-sourced discussion in the comments. We will not, however, tolerate any comments that are in violation of our rules of conduct. They are posted on our forum and I urge anyone to read hem before heading to the comments: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518

[@robertjarman3703]

Saying Hitler didn't give the order is like saying the King never ordered the assassination of Thomas Beckett. Sure Henry never signed a paper directing a specific subordinate to do something on this date, but he gave plenty of clues and made remarks at the cabinet meetings.

[@JoramAppel]

@@robertjarman3703 Did you even watch the episode?

[@jboss119]

So it was basically do what you think hitler wants and get his approval later when the job is done.... it seems so very ineffective and on one hand doesn't seem to fit with his skill and ability to organize.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

stupid wrong title.

[@YiannissB.]

This really reminds of David Irving and his denial that Hitler ordered or even knew at all of the Holocaust.

[@RobTzu]

Spartacus is one of the most fair and non-biased people on youtube. I don't know how you walk the tightrope you do so well, but really well done.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thanks

[@pyatig]

As an American who was born in the Soviet Union in 1975, who’s family members fought and died during the war it was always a shock to me how little most Americans know about the war. Thank you for doing this. If you truly want to know what that war meant to Soviet people watch the KZbin video called Immortal regiment. It’s very moving

[@ednorton47]

Irresponsible leaders like Obama and Biden are egging on the American people to go to war against Russia.

[@romeomatei5692]

@@ednorton47 That is a lie. A right-wing lie.

[@firingallcylinders2949]

I like that this channel addresses many of the myths and assumptions surrounding the war, especially Germany during that era.

[@robert48044]

it's interesting that people don't wish to see the Nazi's as socialist. Then again we live in a time people think socialism and communism are the same thing.

[@jtgd]

@@robert48044 they weren’t socialists though. Socialism doesn’t have a main tenet of depriving other ethnic groups of their existence to promote the betterment of one main ethnic group. They supported collectivism, but not marxism, socialism or communism, which they’ve explicitly condemned for going against their far right social views, which isn’t related to socialism. Hitler and his Nazis focused on providing the advancement of the German people specifically, which is why Nazi Germany practiced collectivism. They did not however seek to eliminate the bourgeoisie, but to eliminate non-german people, culture and influence from German society.

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Joey Dyker kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3mkf2CIha-Hn6c

[@robert48044]

@@jtgd Hitler said he was a socialist. Just because the Nazi form was awful doesn't mean their leader didn't see himself as a socialist. You can have social programs for some and hate on another group. He said they weren't capitalist and they weren't communist they were a third type. Just because we want to view socialism as some great thing doesn't mean another group doesn't see their form as a better version even if the rest see's it differently. What's the difference between a Monarch and a Dictator nothing much except it depends how you wish to view the leader (enemy/friend). kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3TOqop4hcaHeZo

[@snooziblu]

@@robert48044 stop participating.

[@jimbo9305]

So it was similar to the mafia. The mafia boss doesn't send a signed letter saying, "Kill so and so." He politely asks the underboss, "Could you take care of this problem?" And like the mafia it makes prosecution of their crimes much more difficult. It's a lot harder to point to direct evidence. A picture of context and unspoken rules and subtle meanings has to be created for the true culpability to be appreciated.

[@robertjarman3703]

Our best prosecution tactics for instances like this remind us of command responsibility. A leader is responsible for the actions of their subordinates. Either that, or the leader is neglecting their responsibilities. Or, the subordinates are committing illegal insubordination. And normally we assume the former in a prosecution case if we can establish some kind of command structure exists at all. Rules like the felony murder rule, and our ability to get those at the lower levels to testify in return for immunity or reduced sentences with witness protection are, when done well, brilliantly capable of bringing down a whole syndicate.

[@jimbo9305]

@@robertjarman3703 Too bad the prosecution of war crimes after WW2 was politically motivated instead of being motivated by justice. Were those principles even around 75 years ago?

[@robertjarman3703]

@@jimbo9305 There were those who had ideas for how to deal with victors justice like the Red Cross. But political expediency came before humanitarianism.

[@molieros]

Exactly. Explicit references to the Fuhrerprincipe and its mirroring of mafia-like operations were also made during the neo-nazi Golden Dawn trials in Greece.

[@RainingPiggies]

@@jimbo9305 Many of those principles have been around for hundreds of years.

[@cainsy8124]

Yeah, one of the things that struck me when I sat down to study this period was the internal conflict and disorganisation of the Nazi Party and movement in general. It's a far cry from the image and legend created around the Nazis especially from the propaganda. As for Hitler himself I got the impression that he couldn't be arsed with hard work of running a party or a state. And he was much happier indulging himself in his nightmarish fantasies of conquest.

[@dogcarman]

And architecture. He even, with Speer at his side, considered construction methods for their “ruin value” - how the buildings would look thousands of years after construction. But serious work like figuring out a sustainable economy? Nah. Let the peons worry about that.

[@mckenzie.latham91]

And yet him and his government were only able to be stopped after a world wide effort by hundreds of nations and the two front war with Russia as well as cutting of the supply lines and bombing of the nazis industrial power as well as their airbases which prevented/hindered their use of their sonic jet fighter I think the scary thing should be even with how disorganized, corrupt, incompetent and infighting the nazis party and hierarchy was, defeating them was a massive stretch that required massive effort, sacrifice and still could have gone the other way if anything went wrong.

[@mamavswild]

This ‘H’ guy sounds exactly like trump...’anti beurocratic’ (drain the swamp) yet hugely autocratic...he uses both personas to whip his followers into a frenzy...hey! Like a National Socialist!

[@TheGixernutter]

@@mamavswild gwendy .. really?

[@TheGixernutter]

@@mckenzie.latham91 Can you see any comparisons with the USA or China?

[@oscarsusan3834]

This stuff isn’t as sexy as tanks planes and big battles. It’s like logistics -without it nothing happens. It’s 2021 now and if you think this isn’t relevant today,don’t say that to my mother and father now in the twilight of their lives who still sweat bullets in their dreams.

[@metal4lifewp]

Some day there will be people debating if it really happened at all. Or they just don't know because it isn't in their interest.

[@maxhouse2409]

@@metal4lifewp Just as there was a Pharaoh that did not know Joseph, there will be Holocaust deniers. Perhaps they will have too much nuclear enrichment on their minds.

[@SigEpBlue]

Dear KZbin: Quit trying to hold my hand, or shield my eyes. I'm a grown-ass man, I'm subscribed to this channel, and I deliberately clicked on the video. Whoever "flagged" this video is in the wrong.

[@joaohumbertogomes8051]

The problem here isn't so much the flagging. It can be pertinent to give a heads-up (even though, in this case, it's quite obvious what you're getting into). What is extremely frustrating is that you can't turn that off. Even if you're a grown-ass man who is prepared to see content like this, you still have to go through that bureaucracy.

[@donfeeney6153]

I think in actuality that those that might have flagged this video may have been those who would take exception to the dim depiction of the rabid thought process of Nazism described within.

[@randylucas2458]

Anything against socialism is bad in the eyes of the socialists...

[@atheistyoda8915]

@@randylucas2458 National Socialism isn't socialism tho (Not saying I support socialism, it's a shit ideology anyways).

[@steveguild871]

@Jay Koval KZbin is run by a bunch of F'N Nazis, you moron. Get it?

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

These *special episodes* like this one are the ones that I'm really looking forward to because of its in-depth analysis and everything in between. Gotta love *Spartacus* for sharing these with us.

[@ronnietarnacke5153]

He is a great orator, he makes you feel it .

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@ronnietarnacke5153]

@@spartacus-olsson thank you

[@darkapothecary6299]

I'll be honest, at this point Nazi Germany sounds more like a crime syndicate or a bandit clan than an actual bureaucracy. It would almost be comical if the results weren't so horrifying.

[@mr.2083]

If it didn't come with horrying results I'm sure most extreme forms of governments as well as a huge part of the wars would actually be funny.

[@harzzachseniorgamer5516]

It WAS a crime syndicate of thiefs and murderers, only scantily covered with some crude ideology.

[@Claytone-Records]

The Nazi movement was a sort of satan’s keystone cops. Beyond horrific, however.

[@TLTeo]

That's how fascism has always operated.

[@mitchellsmith4690]

It was.

[@zendon3]

In this light, I really hope Spartacus does an in depth look into the Wannsee Conference shortly!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Tomorrow is the 20th of January. On Thursday January 28, War Against Humanity 027, which would normally cover the second half of January comes out. The first January episode (WaH 026) unusually for a half month episode covered events for all of January... you do the math. ;-)

[@zendon3]

@@WorldWarTwo keep up the great (and important) work guys!

[@kuroazrem5376]

Finally someone explains this mess in an understandable way!!! Thanks for the great job!!!

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@hiltibrant1976]

I am hugely appreciative of Spartacus' efforts in both this and the WaH series. I strongly feel that exposing the significant flaws, contradictions and outright inhuman aspects of Nazism as a system of government do so much more in duscouraging people from idolizing it than simply demonizing and dismissing it have ever done. War against Humanity, likewise, makes the evil of things like Genocide, racist policies and the Holocaust more fathomable than they have been before, at least to me.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you - it's comments like yours that keep us going.

[@SamaritanPrime]

It's not enough to say "Nazis BAD". The obvious question that follows it is "HOW exactly were they bad?" Videos like this one answer that pretty well.

[@saltmerchant749]

How quickly many of those German generals disavowed Hitler as the sole cause not just for the evils they perpetrated under his command but also conveniently dumped all of the responsibility for Germany's defeat on him too. Men like Halder and Guderian painted themselves as clean, professional brilliant Generals who were hamstrung by "a mad Hitler".

[@marks_sparks1]

The way NATO adopted the myth of the 'Clean Wehrmacht' in the 1950s to allow the creation of the Bundeswehr with the likes of Speidel has a uncanny parallel with how the Northern Union states gradually adopted the 'Lost Cause' myth put forward by the defeated Confederate leadership following the Civil War. I'm sure the NATO leadership knew the likes of Halder were writing lies about the atrocities on the Eastern Front just like the Union knew the Confederate government had seceded over slavery, not state rights,but in both cases they adopted their lies as it was both politically expedient and necessary. Counter the Soviet Threat in the former case and reconcile the nation in the latter.

[@saltmerchant749]

@@marks_sparks1 It remains a dark stain on the legacy of NATO and the US Army that Halder was given and even if death, still holds, the US Meritorious Civilian Service Award.

[@robert48044]

Well Hitler and Austrian blamed the German people for being weak and letting him down in a rant to his generals. It's not difficult to see how the proud German Generals would say enough and start seeing Valkyrie as a good idea. Once he was dead and the war was lost it became about saving ones own neck from the gallows.

[@robert48044]

@@marks_sparks1 The losers need hero's to look up to during reconstruction. That's why Lee and Rommel were made into legends. So the losing side could look back and say the war wasn't that bad as they live with the destruction of their land. It makes things easier. there isn't a good way of turning that off after the rebuild so the legends live on. I'm not saying them two weren't great Leaders but they were losers who were made legends for a reason.

[@robert48044]

@@saltmerchant749 Never heard of "Operation Paperclip"? Plenty of bad people went on to have long careers instead of the gallows

[@juliuswalsetveit329]

My friend Henning died in a tragic cabin fire on Saturday. This was is no 1 history channel

[@robert48044]

I'm sorry for your loss. May I ask if he died in his sleep or was trapped by the flames? I worry about a house fire and how I would respond.

[@JoramAppel]

I'm so very sorry to hear that. I wish you and his loved ones all the best in the time to come.

[@WorldWarTwo]

From all of us here at the channel, our deepest condolences. Spartacus

[@SirGaryofOak]

I'm sorry for your loss

[@matthewrobinett1012]

My condolences my friend and your friend will be in my prayers tonight

[@johnkochen7264]

Finally a historian who can pronounce German words and names correctly.

[@argr]

He still has to study the pronounciation of Fuhrer!

[@PierceSexingtonIV]

Really, really good video- mythbusting like this is so powerful because means its so much harder to defend aspects of the criminal regime. The work channels like you and Military HIstory Vizualised do debunking myths like this, the 'Clean Wermacht', or even the superiority of the German military machine or tank design is really important. I really hope that this doesn't lead to your channel being demonitised like the WW1 channel- stuff like this is vital in fighting disinformation.

[@celticman1909]

I think these videos are demonitized , especially the graphic "war against humanity" series. Spartacus and Indy relay on Time Ghost Army donations to make up for that.

[@WorldWarTwo]

We're not demonetised as a channel, but many of our videos are. Indeed, most of our War Against Humanity episodes are demonetised. They don't give us any revenue but more importantly their reach I surpassed by the YT algorithm - less people get to see them.

[@celticman1909]

@@WorldWarTwo Your commitment to educating on the subject is noble and needed. I fear that this history is not taught anymore as it should be. The ignorance of younger people today coupled with online Holocaust deniers is frightening. I saw a comment made elsewhere by someone that attributed it to Voltaire; Those that can be convinced of absurdities can be convinced to commit atrocities. I probably butchered the quote but you get the meaning. Very true, I must say.

[@PierceSexingtonIV]

@@WorldWarTwo I'm glad to hear its not the whole channel, just a couple of videos. Really frustrating to see the algorythims stife your work- am a history grad and am just so impressed with how well researched your videos are. I spend a deal of my time trying to deradicalise people online and being able to counter their narratives with hard facts like those you put out is invaluable. It's only by engaging with their talking points that you can make headway, not just calling them nasty names and banning them from places.

[@tyvernoverlord5363]

@@WorldWarTwo Maybe in the future you guys could make a CD box collection or do something to get a wider and more mainstream reach across more people. Cause the people that helm google and the KZbin division are on a warpath against informative information that isn’t coming from the mainstream super media corporations. This series as a whole with WWI, WII, War Against Mankind, and the interwar period have really helped me learn even further than just learning more into the minutia of what I already knew.

[@doubledouble4g379]

Wow, last time I was this early, Luigi Cadorna was only on the 4th battle of the Isonzo River ;)

[@kaltaron1284]

Let's hope he keeps going. I'm not out of popcorn yet.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Wow, that's really early!

[@polyhistorphilomath]

99 Battles of Isonzo on the wall.

[@doubledouble4g379]

@@polyhistorphilomath Problem with that song is that it (and friendly casualties) keep going up...

[@Professor_sckinnctn]

These special episodes are what makes World War Two better than the series on World War One (which I loved, btw): the moral certainty of Spartacus is absolutely justified, putting lie to any claims of the Nazis as a beneficial force for Germany let alone the rest of Europe and the world. Thanks, everyone… this is some of the best stuff on the internet and it's most appreciated.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thanks

[@hoopsmcgee8272]

Couldn't have said it better. Well done Sparty! And of course the entire crew of Timeghost

[@jokerman9623]

​@@davidw.2791I know this is really late but look up the great war Indy neidell

[@LuGer212]

gosh, Sparty was born for this. the segments are getting better and better everytime!

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you!

[@dogcarman]

Agreed. Gripping, informative, not a second wasted. Love it.

[@stevenleslie8557]

When the wicked rule, the people mourn.

[@eddykelly4082]

Noooooo they suffer.

[@steamengine4719]

just like the "democratic USA" right now, people are poor and in heavy debt-enslavement and resort to fentanyl imported from the communist China to cope for it.

[@dentoncrimescene]

In not trying to be funny at all but hitler sounds a lot like my boss and how he works (doesn't work).

[@tomservo5007]

work ? That's what you are for

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

Sound like you work in the White House?

[@cardenasr.2898]

We've all have that kind of manager who wants everyone to work hard as hell but never does anything, good for giving orders but incapable of having order in their own acts

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@cardenasr.2898 "Don't just stand there, do something" is not particularly good order to give.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

This sounds like the movie "Office Space".

[@gefilte86]

Isn't it ironic that Gobbles's "Eternal Jew" exhibition in late 30' depicted faithfully the Nazis themselves?

[@yomama9538]

How so, exactly?

[@thechekist2044]

@@yomama9538 depicting genocidal power hungry people trying to take over the world.

[@Made_In_Heavenn]

@@thechekist2044 sounds like communism...

[@thechekist2044]

@@Made_In_Heavenn Ok nazi weeb vermin.

[@NoahBodze]

@@thechekist2044 You identify as a chekist, you absolute fuck. You'll never be right about anything, stupid.

[@ivarkich1543]

The main principle of the legal system of the Third Reich was: The law is above everything... unless it is not contrary to the fuhrer's personal will.

[@Valdagast]

I've read _Mein Kampf,_ and - ideology aside - it is not a well-written book. It's a rambling, meandering, stream-of-consciousness text with little to indicate that it was carefully planned and composed. It appears that Hitler just sat down and talked about whatever he wanted to talk about that day and then left the editor to form this into a semi-coherent screed.

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

I wonder where you can read it? 🤔

[@zendon3]

@@luxembourgishempire2826 you can obtain "study versions" of it fairly easily online, which include a foreword by academics

[@Valdagast]

@@luxembourgishempire2826 It was published in Swedish in the 1980s because it was considered an important historical document.

[@timothyhouse1622]

Sounds like Atlas Shrugged.

[@tomservo5007]

@@luxembourgishempire2826 archive . org

[@lausenteternidad]

I spent more than a year making my moustache pointy and when I look at Spartacus' glorious moustache, I can see that he is a man of character, determination, perseverance and strenght of will. Your moustache points are the pins that holds the memory of humanity's history in our minds.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Poetic!

[@lausenteternidad]

@ ?

@@lausenteternidad Chill Winston.

[@SaturnStarOfDavid]

Try corn starch. Good for making pointy cooch staches and keeps the ball bag dry from sweating.

[@tomgjgj]

One shudders to imagine what may have happened to europe if there had been a succession crisis.

[@alexandercaires5921]

The New Order and Thousand Wek Reich mods allow you to play through that situation....it's a mess *edit: Hearts of Iron 4 mods

[@hughbowden5696]

@@alexandercaires5921 TWR > TNO

[@Claytone-Records]

Infernal460, Putin would love to give us a hand, eh?

[@3dcomrade]

@@hughbowden5696 TWR= TNO. TWR have far less content for now

[@CausticSpace]

@@alexandercaires5921 Those mods are very historically inaccurate. They are fun great mods, but not something to go off of historically.

[@greenkoopa]

Nazis were and are monsters. Let us never forget 🙏

[@greenkoopa]

As an aside: I am truly...not impressed, but...the fact that they were so successful for so long when the bosses at the top were always at each others throats and throwing each other under the bus. Overlapping commands and areas of influence just to keep them fighting for the number 2 spot. The fact that they could maneuver through all this shows how deeply they wanted to murder people

[@Masada1911]

The worst Nazi was still a human being. Calling them monsters is wrong and reductive.

[@zaxxxppe]

no, no they were not. That is the mistake people make with understanding history and human behavior. It is the longer, yet more honorable path to be truthful to yourself and acknowledge that such people were not monsters, yet humans. It is much more sobering to understand that humans are able to do such things to one another then to label them as "monsters"

[@eck3319]

By de-humanizing them as monsters, one will not recognize the nazi in oneself. How can you be a monster, right? You know you are a human only with best intentions.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Remember this German philosopher's insight before labeling people: "“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster . . . when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you”.

[@Gronk79]

Was not the decentralized, sometimes chaotic and contradictory actions of his multiple subordinates a form of "Coup Defense" for Hitler? That is with so many multiple, and competing ideas and policies by his subordinates, they would never be able to agree on one course of action against him; and keep it secret? Thanks...

[@DennisRay99]

Sounds reasonable since he should of been pushed out years before his death.

[@Artur_M.]

Great episode! We tend to have the stereotype of the Germans as obsessed with order and imagine the totalitarian Third Reich as some precise bureaucratic machine. The reality, as usual, is more complicated. This whole system of "controlled" chaos and encouraged rivalry is for example the reason why gauleiters Arthur Greiser and Albert Forster were realizing the task of germanizing the incorporated into the Reich Polish territories under their rule with different methods and policies towards the ethnically Polish (and Kashubian) population.

[@maciejniedzielski7496]

Greiser was worse?

[@Artur_M.]

@@maciejniedzielski7496 Pretty much, or at least Forster was more pragmatic and less racist, so under him you could be pressured to sign the Volksliste, instead of being simply kicked out of your house and deported to the General Government (for Greiser this was a heresy and crime against the purity of the German blood or something and he complained about it to Himmler and Hitler). Of course this ment that now you could be conscripted to the Wehrmacht. I'm also not knowledgeable to tell under whom you would be more statistically likely to be simply shot or send to a concentration camp.

[@susansinsua5583]

Shouldn't it be demonised not demonetised?

[@jangelbrich7056]

Hitler was the opposite of Stalin, who crunched stacks of document files everyday until late night and signed many death sentences personally, which can be found in the archives in abundance. But it does not matter how they both ordered mass murder. They are both equally guilty.

[@sam74mumm]

Which was probably a waste of time in Stalins case. He should have concentrated on more pressing concerns(like the destruction of his country).

[@nikolaoskal7438]

Not equally. Stalin is responsible for TENS of millions of deaths of his own people. Hitler looks like an innocent puppy compared to him.

[@3dcomrade]

@DanRage47 communists rule the world? Sure, that's why my mom still works for someone with a higher rank than her. Wow so much communism indeed

true but stalin was 10x more effective at mass murder hes the real monstor poster child for genocide (never loss sight of the backstory of ww2 it was the nwo genocide mandate version 1.0...we are on the verge of v2.0 GENOCIDE IS GENOCIDE IS GENOCIDE!!!! LETS CALL A SPADE A SPADE SHALE WE ???

@DanRage47 communist are 100x worse then the fascists could ever be the genocide agenda is much more efficient in the Communist system and the purpose of both is genocide it's like Cub Scouts vs Boy Scouts and the CCP are Eagle Scouts

[@timothyhouse1622]

Spoiler: I suspect this is a lead in to a War Against Humanity Special for January 20.

[@morisco56]

Why?

[@hadewanto1898]

@@morisco56 just search what happened in january 20 1942

[@DavidChipman]

@@hadewanto1898 Wansea (sp?) conference?

[@airborne31582]

Wansee conference

[@matthewrobinett1012]

🤫 shhhh

[@Daniel-kq4bx]

You are doing an extraordinary job Sparty.

[@KOMEKON67]

I have noticed Spartacus' right thumb trembling. I wish him all the best and good health. His analyses are excellent. Thank you.

[@spartacus-olsson]

I have a benign but rather irritating congenital condition that causes my hands to tremble, but thank you for the concern and the kind words.

[@gawaineross7607]

Historians have said that Hitler was lazy. That makes sense considering his aversion to paperwork. Your take paints him as less than a politician and more as an idol or prophet, which also makes sense. After all, prophets are not rational.

[@alexandershtumpf9373]

And this makes sense. Scholars tend to compare National Socialism (and Bolshevism and Italian Fascism for that matter too) to religious movements.

[@filipkopec525]

You know, managing to annex 2 countries in Europe without the breakout of war requires some political skills

[@jamestheotherone742]

That is not an accurate characterization. Hitler and his henchmen knew what they were doing was unethical, immoral, and illegal, which is why there was a lack of paperwork trail, not that he was too lazy to do it. He had plenty of people who could have done the paperwork for him. They were German after all. The mob doesn't take written minutes of their meetings.

[@Rapid1453]

interestingly, stalin was the polar opposite of hitler. stalin constantly reformed the state agencies & believed it was perfectly possible to run a state through documents. he would read hundreds of documents (incl written remarks & signoff) during 16 hour workdays. even when he had his 2-3 month summer vacations in sochi he would still receive hundreds of reports daily. he finally reached his limit during the great terror, when he had to appoint plenipotentaries & send them to the republics because he couldn't review all the execution lists himself anymore. (source: 'Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941' by S. Kotkin)

[@YekouriGaming]

@@jamestheotherone742 They knew it was illegal and other powers, such as the Allies who had signed the Hague convention would execute them all on the spot, even worse with the Soviets. It is why they tried to burn and conceal everything.

[@peterbinkley7545]

I always feel like I've done something wrong after watching Sparty at the end of these videos. I'm so sorry!

[@TheCimbrianBull]

You naughty boy!

[@DarkCylon]

If Sparty has kids, I'd imagine they're well behaved.

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@DarkCylon my daughter is by now a wonderful grownup woman, and she has always had good manners, but 'well behaved' is certainly not a way I would describe her, neither as a child nor a grownup. Her mother says that our daughter has always had me twisted around her little finger - I love her to bits just as she is though.

[@thebog11]

@@DarkCylon You will get to meet her once COVID vaccines are widespread!

[@Lukegriz77]

Never thought I’d hear Strasser described as a “centrist” or “left leaning”

[@WorldWarTwo]

You can check about "Strasserism" for more details

[@Darwinek]

I wonder if there was any family relation to Julius Straßer of Völkischer Beobachter "fame".

[@WorldWarTwo]

@@Darwinek you’re thinking of Julius Streicher and “Der Stürmer” - VB was Rosenberg’s publication.

[@Darwinek]

@@WorldWarTwo You are totally right of course. I got lost in that mess myself. :)

[@NoahBodze]

You should always hear them that way. They helped write the 25-point plan which is decidedly left wing. I mean, replace "jew" for billionaire in that plan and it's too lefty for even moderate Bernie Sanders fans.

[@medplutonium8932]

Thank you guys for making these videos they always interest me

[@hoopsmcgee8272]

Best channel on KZbin. Here is a nice comment for the algorithm.

[@thexalon]

When you study this stuff, it sure looks like people who think of themselves as "uniquely gifted" are actually pretty dumb. Bear that in mind when you encounter people who think of themselves as "uniquely gifted".

[@TheRetu81]

It's the Dunning-Kruger effect running in full force.

[@Aradim90]

It's easy to think that when you haven't achieved anything in your life and cherry pick only the bad, some of the people that have have claimed to be gifted have achieved a lot and just by cherry picking the bad doesn't mean they were stupid for thinking so. That's especially true for the Germans who we owe much of the scientific advancement of the entire 19th and 20th century, on top of that they joined a war against overwhelming odds 20 years prior and it was actually close, just 40 years after becoming a nation. After so many amazing achievements, thinking you are "gifted" is actually a pretty modest reaction.

[@TLTeo]

Absolutely. My Master's thesis supervisor (an astrophysicist who pretty much revolutionized his field) always said "Either you're Martin Rees, whose work speaks for itself to the point where he never has to brag about it, or you're not, in which case there's someone who is far, far smarter than you. Either way, there's no reason to show off". For context, Martin Rees is arguably the greatest theoretical astrophysicist of the second half of the 20th century.

[@thexalon]

@@Aradim90 I didn't call the Germans dumb, I called the Nazis dumb. And some of the brightest minds of Germany, such as Albert Einstein, were hated by the Nazis for being Jewish.

[@TLTeo]

@@thexalon or even somewhat related to Jews, like Enrico Fermi.

[@tannhauserr]

Hitler is like that one kid who doesn't do give any effort to the group work but give the order and advices to his colleagues and let them sort it off by themselves

[@FlagAnthem]

that's EXACTLY how he is remembered by close staff members

[@mbryson2899]

Thank you for this series. It's hard to watch, but it must have been much harder to film. Never forget.

[@girininkasable]

Recently I am very interested in how Third Reich was governed. Very informative and objective video, thanks!

[@nureyevhaas1299]

This man is fantastic. Truly a worthy cohort alongside Indy.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@Mouzekiller83]

i'm german. and here's a lil fun fact:"mein kampf" is not longer banned in germany.it's not allowed to sell it. but it's totaly legal to own and read it again(like in a library etc).it was an big news over here as this was happen. because the time of the banning for that book was getting to an end(every bann of media like book,music,games,movies etc becomes a number of years in which it is banned. and not avaible to the public)

[@DerEuropaer]

It is actually not correct, that it is forbidden to sell it in Germany. Since 2016, its critical Edition with scientific commentaries is freely available from every book seller out there.

[@michalmaixner3318]

@Phi6er as long as you are exposed to that interpretation. No one forces you to accept it.

[@varana]

@Phi6er But you can only form an adequate interpretation yourself with a certain amount of knowledge about the the time of origin, the author, the society he lived in, his predecessors, and so on. This is not a literary work where you can argue with "death of the author" or things like that. You read _Mein Kampf_ specifically to find out about a certain ideology, rooted in time and place of its origin. You cannot separate the text from its context. That is the point of commentary like that. It helps the reader interpret the work in question. Reading a historical work without knowing about its context is _not_ how any historical work should be read. Your own imagination and conjecture are not a replacement for knowledge and scholarship. :)

[@GuitarMan22]

I didn't find it a good read anyway. Jibberish like his speeches.

[@michalmaixner3318]

@Phi6er If the book is so poorly written that its conclusion is so unclear it can be completely changed by just adding a commentary, then the interpretation of the book will be given by your own prejudices and not by the will of the author anyway. Commentaries can at least put it into proper context.

[@andrewrolfe4334]

Thank you. Wish I could add an intelligent review of this but unfortunately I’m a man of limited linguistic skills. Love your channel and am so glad that you and some others like you keep this very interesting history alive and fresh in our minds. We must not forget and learn from history.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Don't put yourself down so much Andrew, and anyway, a comment such as yours is the best possible we could receive. We really appreciate your kind words, keep up the support!

[@ernestbatiy1070]

It is so important to understand this. The hybrid of extreme organization and chaotic banditry seems incongruous but it worked as a terrifyingly unpredictable government

[@richiew71]

The quality of this channel is superb, it makes history, discovery and other huge productions looks like amateurs

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you!

[@metparker]

It sounds so much like the US today

[@frankc.2869]

Scarily similar. Fortunately the voters voted narcissistic orange man out of office, despite his and some GOP's blatant grab for power. Democracy is very fragile. It takes courageous people to defend it.

[@mamavswild]

We stopped it at the last second...our system worked, but barely. Trump is the same as ‘H’...hugely anti-beurocratic (drain the swamp!) yet also hugely autocratic, and using the ‘demagogue princip’ of both to whip is his followers into a frenzy.

[@philbydoodle6199]

Or was going to be under the past government

[@doribellan]

These commenters below are confused by propaganda much like hitler enabled. I see the facts pointing to a one-sided political system, hungry for power and revenge. The historically highest number of non-legislatively produced executive orders in the first week of presidency, the unconstitutional attempt to impeach the last president for things not supported by reality, and the complete absence of the left to work bipartisanly in congress, are all happening today and mirror hitler’s rid of the legislative and judicial branches. The rhetoric is used on propaganda and implemented for censorship of anyone voicing facts against this party. There is a sickness of people spouting orange-man-bad. Ask any of them to support their position with factual information... only the intellectually honest people will read the transcripts, look up the sourced information, and understand the truth that the left works so hard to hide or deny. No time in history has the side who censors, uses skin color, and limits information out of favor, been the side that is supported as correct. Never.

[@davidbrawn2828]

Trump followers are fascists.

[@ggsay1687]

Conclusion, he was facade of nazies, one human can't control every aspect of totalitarian government.

[@ggsay1687]

@@Marinealver exactly same thing happend in Russia, in 2000 when Putin was elected as president he replaced all key figures, his old friends became billionaires or heads of government owned corporations. He is unstoppable with new constitution adopted in 2020.

[@varana]

"Facade" deeply underestimates his role. A facade is something that plays no actual role and is just used to hide the reality behind it. That is not what Hitler was. As they said in the video - doing what Hitler probably wanted, was the goal of Nazi institutions and leaders. The reason they were doing things was because they thought these things were pleasing him, and in line with his wishes. That is not a facade.

[@ClaireR3]

Lol at least in the intro the closed captioning and what Sparty is saying is definitely not matching

[@andyreznick]

Yeah, I kept bouncing back and forth between the two and missed both.

[@el_rod]

Even here in Israel where studying the holocaust is mandatory in high-schools doesn't reach the same level of detail and feeling this show gives me. Keep it on guys! Let me and the rest of us remember to live on for those who have been perished, not repeating the mistakes of the past.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@sturmkindtraum]

mad respect for Spartacus. covering the most horrible aspects of ww2 in such a sharp, yet elegant and intelligible way, conveying the heaviness and somberness at all times.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@erichaynes7502]

A side note: I'm not positive but I think when Hitler was in prison he recited Mein Kampf to his loyal Rudolf Hess, who typed it up for him. Amazingly Hess lived 42 years past the end of WWII, killing himself in prison in 1987.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Yup, Hess was his personal secretary at the time and actually co-wrote the whole madness.

[@D.Appeltofft]

As a historian I tip my hat. This was as brief anyone can get without losing in accuracy. I must admit I could expand on this for hours without being able to add anything essential - and I ' ve probably done so in the past...

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you, from one of our peers that means a lot.

[@mudcatfrank7537]

In Churchill's "World War II: Their Finest Hour" he made a memo to avoid situations caused by vagueness: "To make sure that my name was not used loosely, I issued during the crisis of July the following minute: '. . . Let it be very clearly understood that all directions emanating from me are made in writing, or should be immediately afterwards confirmed in writing, and that I do not accept any responsibility for matters relating to national defense on which I am alleged to have given decisions, unless they are recording in writing.'"

[@dyerex54]

Mr Olsson I wish I had you as a history teacher in school

[@ashcatthedude]

I truly have a deep appreciation for the work that you guys have done in order to provide us with a compendium of the human atrocities that took place in the two World Wars. I was hooked to Indy neidell's game show host/ radio announcer like delivery in 2014 during the Prelude to World War in the Great War Channel. Thank you all very much from the bottom of my heart.

[@WorldWarTwo]

And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your faithful viewership.

[@riddleof]

Excellent episode Spartacus ! Very well put together, delivered and with great comments.

[@spartacus-olsson]

thanks

[@riddleof]

@@spartacus-olsson Thanks for the whole series ! Lived in Stockholm for a number of years and new Indy. Not sure if we ever met.

[@artawhirler]

One of the best episodes of the whole series! Thanks!

[@snakehead404]

Phenomenal emotion in this one, conveyed really well.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thanks

[@rabihrac]

A rare eye-opening episode that reveals how Hitler's & Nazi minds and spirits work and shed light on human nature too. Keep up the great work Spartacus! From a viewer who comes from a country, Lebanon, that were never reached by Hitler's armies

[@kingotime8977]

This might be one of, if not the best, video on this channel! Great job Spartacus!

[@spartacus-olsson]

That is a huge compliment - thank you.

[@cardenasr.2898]

Not giving written orders and giving contradicting orders to various people meant that Hitler could always blame others for the failure, since they didn't "understand his intentions". I always thought it was a miracle how this mess of a "government" ever got things done but your explanation of how the Nazis sort of implanted their people in pre-existing institutions helped me understand how that happened. Very nice video.

[@RaymondCore]

This is a super well-made series. Thank you.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for your appreciation, a lot of work goes into each episode.

[@gregwalker1913]

Excellent piece Spartacus! I also thought that the 1941 Einsatzgruppen squads were disastrous for the German cause because it turned millions of people like the Ukrainians, the Baltic States, etc into ardent anti Nazis. They hated the Communist regime in Moscow and could have been used to fight them. Instead, many of them joined partisan movements against the Germans.

[@jeremiahhuckleberry402]

Those who present themselves as 'uniquely gifted' rarely if ever are gifted in any way. Most of the world's geniuses, like great athletes, allow the quality of their work to speak on their behalf, not words of self-glorification. A braggart's words mean nothing to a keen observer of human nature. It's a sure sign of a narcissist, however, who too often believe that they're the brightest bulb in the shed when all evidence points in favor of the opposite argument. Kudos to Sparty, Indie and Astrid for the overall excellence of their work. What an amazing group of gifted people you are. The high quality of your videos continues to amaze me. You seem to raise the bar with every new video series you make.

[@lynnwood7205]

The novel, Night of the Generals, explains in backdrop to its story, the fractured and often battling components of the Nazi regime.

[@GreaterGermanRepublic]

Truly a fascinating video glad you covered this topic it was quite interesting.

[@andyreznick]

Well done, Mr. Olsson. Somehow I always presumed the Nazi government was a relatively well-oiled machine. This ran counter to most everything I took for granted. Excellent video, sir.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@toastytoast9800]

it was a huge slow, inefficient bureacratic machine

[@alundavies8402]

As an English person I am told never forget every November and I obey that rule as we must never forget ever

[@alundavies8402]

11. November it’s Remembrance Day for all of the fallen that fought so that we might be free they have nothing but my deepest respect

[@PlatYellow]

Sparacus you were a pretty damn good host when I started watching you on these videos, but you have somehow gotten better.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

It doesn't matter as to who gave the order, because as chief executive of the German government it was Hitler who bore ultimate responsibility. If he was not the one who gave the order then he must have been aware of what was happening, and if he wasn't then he was too lazy to be kept informed of all the things that were being done in his name, and that would make him criminally incompetent. He therefore remains the chief culprit. If a cruise ship sinks with massive loss of life after hitting some rocks while the captain is having sex with a hooker in his cabin, he is still responsible for the consequences, even if it was someone else who steered the ship to the rocks.

[@JoramAppel]

This video doesn't seek to pin (ultimate) responsibility on anyone, or to take it away from anyone. It attempts to for a part explain how the mass-murder of the Jews, Roma and Sinti was able to happen, how it spiralled and why there were no breaks as to the depths that the nazis descended in - despite the lack of detailed instructions from the very top.

[@nefersguy]

Outstanding insight, rational deductive interpretation of history. As an historian I can say this is one of best and most accurate commentary on Nazi policy implementation.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for your nice words colleague!

[@derin111]

Even when it is explained, it is still completely confusing and opaque !

[@Scrubbiestscrub]

8:44 Spartacus either deepens his voice by 3 octaves or burps when saying "well" xD

[@WorldWarTwo]

Your choice...

[@michaelkovacic2608]

Very interesting video! This leads us to the question of whether Hitler was a strong or a weak dictator. I would love to hear Spartacus' or Indy's thoughts on this.

[@zoomonkeydotcom2005]

I like this guys vocal intonation... he’s not boring

[@Dev_Six]

Freedom of speech and press, presumption of innocence fly out of the window.

[@Goldenspiderducck]

11:15 The “Well...” that follows is loaded like a gunslinger in an old western who has been insulted for the last time, downs a shot of whiskey, pushes his stool back from the bar, and flicks his eyes in the direction of the poker playing villains. Love it. Keep up the fight, Spartacus & crew.

[@spartacus-olsson]

We do our best to cowboy up as needed - thanks.

[@rtsgod]

yay youtube didn't block this video (yet at the time of writing this) man, context is totally lost on the algorithm.

[@toastytoast9800]

it is just a algorithm, not the best at this job

[@literallynothinghere9089]

This intro statement was savage

[@lamarepository248]

Suddenly “anarcho fascism” doesn’t seem so strange

[@tomchastain7931]

You mean it sounds exactly like the operation of the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT?!!!!!

[@CausticSpace]

@@tomchastain7931 this has to be ironic

[@gardreropa]

Brilliant and masterful analysis! Thank you Mr. Spartacus and Co.! Never forget!

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thanks

[@lincolnhaldorsen5649]

Hitler was economically centrist, not reactionary. The National Socialist economic program was not laissez-faire capitalist.

[@NoahBodze]

Hitler was reactionary, but to communism, which is a reactionary idea itself. His movement was a reaction to a reaction, like fascism, but still left, not centrist. Collectivist societies - ones based on the state, not the individual - can not be politically, right wing, or even centrist, either. Even fascism is left wing, and National Socialism is to the left of that. If you took the Nazi 25 point plan and replaced "Jew" for Billionaire, then it would be to the left of Bernie Sanders, though Sanders people would still love it. Even WEB Dubois, a black American intellectual, sitting in Berlin in 1936, called Germany the "great exemplar of marxian socialism" second only to the soviet union.

[@lincolnhaldorsen5649]

@@NoahBodze When I’m saying centrist here, I’m just trying to note economic policies. The collectivist nature of national socialism was meant to parallel Marxian socialism though.

[@lincolnhaldorsen5649]

@@NoahBodze The nazis were certainly a radical movement, not a conservative or reactionary one.

[@hoodoo2001]

Nice in a nutshell video. Whether or not accurate, it fits my perception of Nazi Germany (the narrator says it better than I ever could) so I really enjoyed it. It shakes the general arguments "I was only following orders" and "I didn't know" to the core. Nazis liked being Nazis because being in the club had great benefits, even freedoms, as long as you stayed within the Nazi playing field. No person of conscience could do it, but it was a license to steal and murder for those with no empathy or sense of personal guilt.

[@jliller]

"Will no one rid me of these meddlesome people I don't like?"

[@magnoliamike]

I absolutely love that custom shelf behind you!

[@aryehyehudahajzenberg9503]

As a Jew who had family members that perished in the Holocaust, never in my Jewish school days I had a THAT clear explanation of who was my enemy really was as I had in this episode ! EXCELLENT VIDEO ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH ! SPARTACUS: YOU ARE THE RIGHT MAN FOR THIS JOB ! YOU MADE ME CRY (LITERALLY !) MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY ALWAYS !

[@sephirothprime8403]

@10:40 man...I just got flashbacks of 45 running America. CoS: sir your security briefing is- 45: do I have to read anything CoS: sir there’s always paper and a pre- 45: I’m going to mar a lago cancel my appointments for today CoS: sir were already here and they can hear you Me: (o_O)

[@jamestheotherone742]

@14:35 This can't be overstated. The diversion of resources and manpower into operations in the rear areas along with the resulting loss of any chance of winning the populations (esp in Ukraine) led directly to the failure of the best (only) chance they had of Barbarossa succeeding. The same psychotic motivation of the enterprise was its own downfall.

[@toastytoast9800]

it was ingrained in their ideology, the nazi party belived in the stab in the back idea, so they didn't want a repeat

[@jamestheotherone742]

@@toastytoast9800 Nazi antisemitism and general selective racism was a rationale that justified (to themselves) the immoral theft of territory and property, which was their principle motivation.

[@thegunslinger1363]

I got "The Holocaust: A New History" but I haven't got round to reading it yet. It's scary that the majority of those involved in the Holocaust. Had very normal upbringings.

[@mamavswild]

‘Those who have been made to believe absurdities can be made to commit atrocities’ ...Voltaire

[@paulcombs-bomuse6172]

Some of this sounds uncomfortably familiar.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Trump?

[@peteranderson037]

I've always considered him to be more like Mussolini than anyone else. There are others who are far more efficient at being Hitler, Stalin, or Tojo than him, complete with concentration camps, forced labor for certain minority groups, and everything else. One of them is even trying to establish a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The difference this time is that they've read the same history books that the Time Ghost crew have and know that the best way to defeat their Western enemies is by getting them to fight amongst themselves.

[@SATMathReview1234]

@@TheCimbrianBull Bringing the troops home, renegotiating trade treaties, restricting immigration=literally hitler

[@dannyc8876]

This channel rules, the way this man transmits historical information is very engaging

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks, Danny!

[@tomjustis7237]

"...keep the memories of our past mistakes and successes alive." Has there ever been a more profound sentiment? It seems to me that today many people (here in the U.S.) want to focus only on our past mistakes while completely ignoring our successes. IMHO, that is as much a departure from the truth as focusing only on our successes while ignoring our mistakes. We must see and accept both, and accept them both honestly, if we are going to advance. Otherwise we will eventually fall into the same trap that devoured Germany, one side gaining supremacy and forcing their beliefs onto the other. I am sure there will be those who say I am a paranoid who sees monsters under his bed. To those I give this quote; "Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it." If you really pay attention, REALLY pay attention, you will see we have not learned and are truly repeating history.

[@georgewilliams8448]

Another excellent video showing that a lot of time and care was taken in researching, writing and filming it!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks George, we're glad you appreciate the hard work :)

[@ZugloHUN]

Great episode! Made me uncomfortable!

[@mensax8054]

Wow Spartacus really turned it up in this episode

[@BunyipToldMe]

He says them German names real nice.

[@SilentHotdog28]

You have a really calming voice. Love history, especially WW1 and WW2, so this channel is a great fit for me.