this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2024
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It takes a lot of mindlessness from the mindless masses to go from
to
and the utter destruction of many countries. Which is where these right-wing tendencies stampede straight towards.
We can't even begin to fathom what Europe would look like today if republicans instead of Democrats were at the helm in Washington, as the Marshall Plan surely would NOT have happened.
Not sure whether you mean “mindless obliviousness” or “mindless rage” here, because I think reality was much closer to the latter. The Nazi party went from nothing to hundreds of thousands of members and 44% of the vote in parliamentary elections in less than a decade. They were extremely popular and their brand of ethno-nationalism resonated with a German public that was disillusioned by the humiliation they all felt (due to the treaty of Versailles) and the economic disaster of hyperinflation (deliberately created to pay down the old war debts as well as Versailles-imposed reparations).
Today most people think of Hitler as a devil single-handedly responsible for the Holocaust and all the invasions of neighbouring countries but that’s an oversimplification. There were tons of other nasty, ideological men in the Nazi party who would’ve done the same or worse had Hitler never existed. The conditions for a wildfire existed, Hitler just happened to be the spark which became ground zero of the blaze.
This is really well said. Thank you
Germany would be weaker and poorer than now. And more national-socialist, of course.
Basically Central and even in some parts Western Europe would be more similar to Eastern Europe today than we can imagine.
At the same time - if USA wouldn't create this tendency of swaying societies full of unreformed evil to their side by forgiving everything and everyone and giving money, maybe the world wouldn't be that bad.
Anyway, Marshall plan not happening would mean Soviet ideology being more competitive, European militaries of the Cold War being less formidable. It would change the balance. It's possible that USSR would be able press through a somewhat more leftist Austria and a unified Germany somewhat dependent on it. It's also a question what role would Turkey play, same with Israel. Without restoration of Europe would they be more attractive as western assets or less, and thus what relationship would the rest of the Middle-East have with the former allies.