General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: Doenitz, and an outcome tangent
Posted by:
Fin Bonset
()
Date: November 28, 2000 06:02PM
<HTML>Hi kpp,
Thanks for that post, it makes complete sense and to my knowledge is true as I did a little more research today. I\'m surprised Doenitz asked for the 300 figure so late. But, no one in Germany could predict when or if England would engage in the war. I know for fact, like you pointed out, that Hitler thought the English would easily subject themselves to Nazi ideologies as he considered the English fellow Aryans. They were wrong of course (and this is where the British Bulldog Spirit came about, kudos to MPC for pointing that out). The same is with the Dutch. As I have just discovered from several former Dutch Waffen SS sites, the Dutch were considered and deemed more Nordic and Aryan pure than the Germans themselves in many cases (I guess per capita). Hitler showed a lot of mercy to the Dutch because he thought they would easily capitulate and subscribe to nazi ideology. They were wrong again. The Dutch resistance and anti-nazi mentality, although not as famous and large as that of the French, was very active and only very few Dutchmen subscribed to the beliefs (mostly NSBers).
The predictions were wrong on both sides. England did the right thing in declaring war at that stage. Probably the smartest move of the war.
Best regards to all,
Fin Bonset
</HTML>
Thanks for that post, it makes complete sense and to my knowledge is true as I did a little more research today. I\'m surprised Doenitz asked for the 300 figure so late. But, no one in Germany could predict when or if England would engage in the war. I know for fact, like you pointed out, that Hitler thought the English would easily subject themselves to Nazi ideologies as he considered the English fellow Aryans. They were wrong of course (and this is where the British Bulldog Spirit came about, kudos to MPC for pointing that out). The same is with the Dutch. As I have just discovered from several former Dutch Waffen SS sites, the Dutch were considered and deemed more Nordic and Aryan pure than the Germans themselves in many cases (I guess per capita). Hitler showed a lot of mercy to the Dutch because he thought they would easily capitulate and subscribe to nazi ideology. They were wrong again. The Dutch resistance and anti-nazi mentality, although not as famous and large as that of the French, was very active and only very few Dutchmen subscribed to the beliefs (mostly NSBers).
The predictions were wrong on both sides. England did the right thing in declaring war at that stage. Probably the smartest move of the war.
Best regards to all,
Fin Bonset
</HTML>
