Between 1939 and 1941, Hitler’s Third Reich was unstoppable. France fell in weeks. Britain stood alone. The Soviet Union was unprepared. Japan joined the Axis. From a military standpoint, Hitler was winning. His mistakes were significant, but they were made in the pursuit of expansion, not in a desire to collapse. Declaring war on the United States after Pearl Harbor was reckless, but it aimed to unify Axis power and preempt American influence. Invading the Soviet Union followed long-standing German ambitions. These were high-risk moves, not suicidal ones. Many forget how close he came to changing the world. If Moscow had fallen, if Britain had been starved into surrender, if Allied codes had remained unbroken, history could have taken a darker turn. None of this happened by accident. Hitler did not want to burn the world. He wanted to shape it. And for a time, he did.
Between 1939 and 1941, Hitler’s Third Reich was unstoppable. France fell in weeks. Britain stood alone. The Soviet Union was unprepared. Japan joined the Axis. From a military standpoint, Hitler was winning. His mistakes were significant, but they were made in the pursuit of expansion, not in a desire to collapse. Declaring war on the United States after Pearl Harbor was reckless, but it aimed to unify Axis power and preempt American influence. Invading the Soviet Union followed long-standing German ambitions. These were high-risk moves, not suicidal ones. Many forget how close he came to changing the world. If Moscow had fallen, if Britain had been starved into surrender, if Allied codes had remained unbroken, history could have taken a darker turn. None of this happened by accident. Hitler did not want to burn the world. He wanted to shape it. And for a time, he did.