How Hitler Lost the War

I recently wrote a term paper on the topic of this video, and then discovered this video at my local library after having almost completed my research and written the majority of my paper. This video gives a very good, brief outline of Hitler's trail of mistakes, so for someone mildly interested in this topic, or who is just looking for an introduction to this topic, I would highly recommend it.

Since it is limited to just over an hour, and because it begins with an introduction to Hitler's rise to power, it doesn't really have enough time to discuss any of Hitler's mistakes in depth. However, the film has actual interviews with several WWII veterans from both sides of the war, a few of them who knew Hitler as personally as any one could, that offer their interpretations of Hitler's actions, and their theories behind his reasoning. Since many of these veterans are no longer alive, I think this is a fairly valuable resource, and I would recommend it to those interested in this area.

A lot seems to be missing here. Most historians agree, and there can be little doubt, that when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, the die was cast. While this documentary does cover Operation Barbarossa to it's end at Moscow, it goes no further. But there was still 3 years of heavy fighting ahead for the Wehrmacht in Russia. It fails to mention the Battle of Stalingrad that turned the tide, the Battle of Kursk which marked the last German offensive, or Operation Bagration which decimated Army Group Centre. Incredibly, 80-90% of the Wehrmacht was tied down in Russia.

While the US entry into the war and the D-day invasion were important moments in the war and brought the war to a quicker conclusion, they were not crucial to the defeat of Hitler. There is way too much time spent on the Western Front, secret weapons etc. and too little time on the real reason Hitler lost the war. Obviously this documentary was produced in the west and you can tell since it sees the war from an American and British perspective.

If you want to see a better documentary on Hitler and the war, I would recommend the War of the Century, The World at War episodes 3,5,9,11,17,19,21 and Apocalypse, the Second World War.

While the basic facts of Germany's role in World War II are well known among older Americans, Europeans and other Westerners (but not Asians), there are some fundamental misconceptions.

I guess some of these arose during the war, when the public had no direct insight into what was going on in Germany; all we saw were the early successes and how dangerously close Germany came to total victory, which would have been complete if it had successfully invaded Britain. And some undoubtedly resulted from Germany's own propaganda machine portraying Hitler as a strong, brilliant leader.

It is ironic watching "The Bunker" 1981 seeing Goebbels in his last hours before committing suicide ranting about how the Jews were to blame for Germany's downfall, again. Germany's loss in WWII was due largely to the incompetence of Hitler, whom Goebbels' propaganda had built into a god. That's the case this documentary makes, convincingly.

Hitler pulled Germany into a larger war in Europe it was not ready to fight by invading Poland, which was supported by mutual defense treaties with other European nations. This led to war on several fronts, but not with the USSR, with which it had a treaty. And so what does Hitler do? Invade Russia, too, while still trying to bomb Britain into submission. And the invasion of Russia came too late in the year, bogging the Nazis down in the Russian winter, without winter gear. Not very bright, Adolph.

Yet, Hitler still could have won the war. The Germans were the first to get jet aircraft into battle. But Hitler felt they should only be used offensively, for bombers, not defensively, as fighter aircraft. This, of course, was backwards. Could you imagine what jet fighters would have done to British and American prop planes? There is even evidence, presented in another documentary, that a prototype jet aircraft the Nazis built may have been an early stealth jet, designed to minimize radar detection. It was not used.

This documentary goes through a long list of such gross errors, deflating the mystique of infallibility surrounding Hitler. As such, it is must see viewing to correct our common misconceptions about Hitler and the Nazis.

Another must see documentary is "Victory in the Pacific" 1995. You cannot understand Japanese and Allied actions during the war, especially the use of nuclear bombs on Japan, without seeing this documentary. I think many Asians have a severely distorted view of this period of history. And many Westerners have an overly simplified view.

"How Hitler Lost the War" is not a dry, academic treatise. It is full of surprises and holds your interest. And it has an important lesson we should remember: Seemingly invincible tyrants can be incompetent.

This documentary analyzes the mistakes by the German Nazis during World War II including invading Poland which they regarded as a war with Poland and not with France and Britain. It was the ultimate straw for Britain and France that the Nazis were after more countries to invade and occupy for their own. The Nazis invaded Poland to wipe out the population of Jews and Slavs which were also regarded as inferior. Poland was also on the way to the Soviet Union, the jewel in Hitler's crown. If he could invade the Soviet Union and win that battle, he could win the war. But Hitler's miscalculated Stalin who was his equal in destruction of his own people as well. Stalin became allied with President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to win the war for the Allied Forces. Without Stalin unfortunately, the Allied Forces wouldn't have been as successful. Hitler miscalculated the Russian front of it's harsh weather conditions, Soviet resistance, etc. It was probably Hitler's biggest error was to invade Stalin's territory.