Turning points. Key decisions in World War II
Turning points. Key decisions in World War II (Engl. Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 ) is the title of a book by British historian Ian Kershaw from 2007. In it are 10 key decisions of the Second World War, described to those adopted by the participating powers in 1940 and 1941 and had a major impact on the course of the war. Kershaw analyzes in detail the decision-making processes in governments and the motives of the people as well as their backgrounds.
Description of content
Kershaw describes how the British government under Winston Churchill reached the decision not to attempt a peace treaty with Hitler-Germany , but to continue the struggle. In several meetings of the War Cabinet between May 25 and 28, 1940 it is stated that the aim of all those involved was the preservation of the freedom of Great Britain . The two sides were represented by Lord Halifax , who was a supporter of the appeasement policy , and Churchill, who early on called for rapid rearmament and military action against Germany. While the British public hardly noticed the threatening situation, the future of the British Empire was decided in a group of five . Kershaw points out that the decision on war and peace was by no means discussed in a democratic manner on a broad basis, but that only a handful of people were actually privy to the situation and had to decide on the basis of the information available.
Looking at the war in Asia, Kershaw describes the Japanese political system as complex and intricate. In 1932 a trend-setting change took place there: the parliamentary-controlled government ( Taishō democracy ) was replaced by a " government of national unity ", which mainly consisted of the military and bureaucrats. Although there was a parliament, it had little control over the executive and military. In general, a consensus was formed in the government apparatus that provided for an expansion of Japanese power. But the way there was heatedly disputed: moderate voices called for negotiations with the western powers, radical voices called for an alliance with Germany and attacks on the western colonies to secure the supply of raw materials for the empire. Kershaw portrays a fatalistic mood that considered war inevitable: negotiations would undoubtedly be detrimental to Japan as the Western powers would not renounce their influence. On the other hand, if war could not be won quickly, it would in all probability end with a defeat for Japan, which would bring death and annihilation to the country.
In America, President Roosevelt had long tried to keep America out of the war. He wanted to make this possible by giving Great Britain massive military support, but this turned out to be extremely difficult due to the legal situation . Sometimes he tried to circumvent the legal hurdles, sometimes he used them as a pretext against entering war. Kershaw describes Roosevelt as vacillating between reluctance to expose one's own soldiers to the dangers of war, and clever tactics of delaying participation in war with material support in order to advance one's own armament. According to Kershaw, only a military incident at an appropriate time should induce America to participate in the war.
After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor , Adolf Hitler declared war on America. This decision, often seen as inexplicable, is based on strategic reasons, according to Kershaw. It enabled him to use the submarine fleet without restrictions in the Atlantic. He also speculated that America would first focus on the Pacific War , which should give him time to successfully end the Russian campaign and thereby consolidate his rule over continental Europe. Kershaw makes a fundamental fallacy of Hitler's here: Although he assumed that a major confrontation between a Europe dominated by Germany and America would one day take place, this would only be the case after his lifetime. He massively overestimated Japan's ability to occupy America for a long time and to inflict corresponding military damage.
In addition, other important decisions in World War II are discussed in the book:
- Adolf Hitler's decision to attack the Soviet Union
- Benito Mussolini's decision to attack Greece
- Josef Stalin's decision to ignore warnings of a German attack
- Adolf Hitler's decision to murder the Jews
Reviews
Rainer Blasius of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes Kershaw's work as a " brilliant representation of the powerful in the anti-Hitler coalition in London, Moscow and Washington as well as the Hitler coalition in Berlin, Rome and Tokyo ". Kershaw knows how to " not only teach history buffs, but also to entertain brilliantly ".
Kai Köhler from Literaturkritik.de notes that the results of Kershaw's conception run counter to his titles. "None of these events were 'turning points', nor is it, as the subtitle of the English original proclaims, a bit screaming, 'Ten Decisions That Changed the World'". Koehler does not see this as a mistake, however, but recognizes that individuals act within their possibilities. "The supposedly history-defining role of the individual is the sore point of the otherwise impressive book."
Ulrich Teusch of the Süddeutsche Zeitung attests to Kershaw's study a particular strength in the fact that “regardless of all fixation on the 'great men', it never loses sight of the structural dimensions. [...] Since these are very different structures, i.e. democratic, authoritarian and totalitarian systems of different origins, the investigation consequently leads to a highly informative 'system comparison'. "
Rüdiger von Dehn from hsozkult.de says, “Kershaw's keen eye for the essentials lets events, the description of which already fill libraries, appear in a new light. [...] From side to side, the drama is approaching its climax, the European perversity of horror. ” He states that the course of the Second World War was by no means predetermined. Kershaw makes it clear how tempting mind games can be, but shortly before speculative abysses he pulls the reader back into the real world of the sources. "Nothing was really taken for granted in the greatest of all wars fought - neither in Europe nor on the Pacific scene."
literature
- Ian Kershaw: Turning Points. Key decisions in World War II. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-421-05806-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rainer Blasius: A completely different world. Frankfurter Allgemeine, October 30, 2008, accessed June 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Kai Köhler: Historically powerful personalities? LiteraturKritik.de, January 22, 2009, accessed June 1, 2016 .
- ^ Ulrich Teusch: Historical fork in the road. Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 17, 2010, accessed June 1, 2016 .
- ^ Rüdiger von Dehn: I. Kershaw: turning points. December 8, 2008, accessed June 6, 2016 .