Account for the military defeat and collapse of Nazism

Essay by gwendoline August 2004

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Account for the military defeat and collapse of Nazism.

The collapse of Nanism was highly unexpected by the German people especially with the initial euphoria that was associated with Blitzkrieg. Because of Germany's rapid penetration and defeat of the Polish in 1939, Germany reached an all time combined euphoria and it could be assessed that at this time Hitler reached his Zenith of popularity. Because of this popularity Hitler experienced he and Germany became dependent on quick results and was not able to deal with the home front requirements of producing sufficient supplies for a long war. This inability to deal with production is the initial downfall of Nazism.

The turning point towards the military defeat of Germany came with its overconfidence and the launch of operation Barbarossa in 1941 and the invasion of the USSR. When the German armies advanced into Russia expecting to capture it with same speed and precision that they had when taking France and Poland there was much they had not prepared for.

Initially the German army proceeded with the gained momentum, but this would soon end because of poorly prepared leaders and Hitler's need to surge forward in order to gain much needed money for the failing German economy.

After the German army had successfully conquered France there was no stopping, Hitler wanted to push forward. It could be analysed that a critical mistake was made on Germany's behalf by executing this move. By not staying in the acquired territories and working on the captured infrastructure and using it to advantage the German army it set the wheel in motion for the demise of the German army and the end of Nazism.

The tanks that had been plundered from France were inadequate and inferior to German Panzers and Germany was poorly prepared when...