Democrat Violence was Predictable

[Mister D]

I certainly agree that this was how it was perceived, although I don't think that the general population ultimately realized the full extent of Hitler's true agenda. Having worked with Germans for many years, I have come to understand their cultural predisposition to authoritarianism mixed with a quixotic dedication to socialism. It's a strange (from a N.A. point of view) mixture of beliefs.

Oh, I agree on all counts.

[Common Sense]

No doubt the Nazis used terror but two facts are salient, IMO: 1) there was no civil war in Germany and the Nazi use of terror was relatively limited. The former suggests to me that a large majority of the population either actively supported Nazism, were lukewarm or indifferent. The latter demonstrates that if you stayed out of politics you were pretty much left alone. That's not to suggest that the regime didn't make itself felt everywhere. It did but the state simply did not embark on the paranoid purges and massacres that came to characterize communist regimes. They didn't need to constantly reinvent the enemy.

True enough, but they did lay most of the blame at the feet of the Jews and all the groups that they associated them with. They basically blamed them for every issue Germany faced. Not to mention you'd be left alone if you were a so called Aryan German. If you were disabled, a minority or gay you weren't so lucky.

But it's true, the Nazis weren't as indiscriminate as the Communists. Even Pol Pot's regime culled their so called undesirables with a broader sword.

[Dr. Who]

No doubt the Nazis used terror but two facts are salient, IMO: 1) there was no civil war in Germany and the Nazi use of terror was relatively limited. The former suggests to me that a large majority of the population either actively supported Nazism, were lukewarm or indifferent. The latter demonstrates that if you stayed out of politics you were pretty much left alone. That's not to suggest that the regime didn't make itself felt everywhere. It did but the state simply did not embark on the paranoid purges and massacres that came to characterize communist regimes. They didn't need to constantly reinvent the enemy.

Germans are culturally predisposed to authoritarianism. As a result, the majority would have just put their heads down and got on with it. It's not really surprising that they allied with the Japanese who have a similar cultural philosophy. German people would not have rioted against the status quo. They are not fundamentally all that emotional.

[Mister D]

True enough, but they did lay most of the blame at the feet of the Jews and all the groups that they associated them with. They basically blamed them for every issue Germany faced. Not to mention you'd be left alone if you were a so called Aryan German. If you were disabled, a minority or gay you weren't so lucky.

But it's true, the Nazis weren't as indiscriminate as the Communists. Even Pol Pot's regime culled their so called undesirables with a broader sword.

No doubt but in that case we're talking about a small spectrum of German society. Overall, people felt secure enough to go on with their daily lives whether they liked the Nazis or not. In a communist regime, as you noted, you just never knew where you stood. You could be denounced and find yourself in the cross hairs at any time.

[Mister D]

Germans are culturally predisposed to authoritarianism. As a result, the majority would have just put their heads down and got on with it. It's not really surprising that they allied with the Japanese who have a similar cultural philosophy. German people would not have rioted against the status quo. They are not fundamentally all that emotional.

If the two powers had cooperated in a material way we might live in a very different world today.

[Captain Obvious]

For the record, I've been saying the left will go militant since day one.

Being right all the time isn't an easy cross to bear, trust me on that. The villagers revolt against what they don't understand. Torches and pitchforks and all that $#@!.

[Common Sense]

For the record, I've been saying the left will go militant since day one.

Being right all the time isn't an easy cross to bear, trust me on that. The villagers revolt against what they don't understand. Torches and pitchforks and all that $#@!.

LOL...let us know when that happens.

[Dr. Who]

If the two powers had cooperated in a material way we might live in a very different world today.

True, but fundamentally (at least for me) a bit problematic or even dystopic.