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Aside from the existential questions plaguing me (like what am I doing on this planet), one question that has always intrigued me is how was a whole nation (Germany) brainwashed into causing worldwide annihilation.
From what I have read, the debate is still on. There is no clear-cut answer as to how Hitler convinced an entire population to follow his vile agenda. Was the whole nation enamoured by the idea of the establishment of a German empire that they willingly condone the mass killings of innocent people?
This article is not about the developments of World War II but more about human behaviour. It seems that low morale, on a mass scale, is a very dangerous thing. It is a dormant volcano, but instead of being activated, it can be manipulated.
One argument is that most Germans supported Hitler because of the belief that he was going to be their saviour, from the economic aftermath of the Great Depression and its defeat in World War 1. Hitler had a charismatic personality but he also had at his disposal, a nation on the brink of poverty, experiencing economic uncertainty and at its most fragile state.
At our most vulnerable, we are more inclined to make bad decisions, take shortcuts and be mesmerised by glory. At our most desperate, we would do anything to get out of the…
