Wolfram Wette

This is a very informative review of Germany's militaristic ethos from its unification in the 1870s to its collapse in 1945. The author reviews how dominant military men were in imperial Germany and how they refused to submit to the civilian authorities of the Weimar republic. The old generals were more than ready to revive and implement their all-conquering ideology of victory-or-death when the national socialists called them into action in the 1930s. It is astonishing to learn that the show more spectre of a military independent of parliamentary control was still being publicly defended by uniformed old men in West Germany in the 1960s. This seems like a case study in the durability of ideologies - they stay alive until their final proponent dies.

The author also analyzes other elements of society, particularly how women adapted and in some cases contributed to military pursuits. He also discusses critics, from philosophical writers in imperial Germany to Weimar politicians who tried to stop the militaristic movement but were usually just run over. All in all this book provides good background particularly for understanding how the Nazi party was able to build a warlike society so quickly. The military had been waiting for a cause since the previous war ended. show less

Une mise au point essentielle... La légende de la Wehrmacht "propre" est une forfaiture.

Un évidence qui aurait du, devrait être évidente.