Alex Weisiger
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451867
- eISBN:
- 9780801468179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451867.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter turns to World War II in Europe. It first focuses on the sources of German expansion, which arose from the belief, grounded in Nazi ideology, that Germany faced irreversible decline ...
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This chapter turns to World War II in Europe. It first focuses on the sources of German expansion, which arose from the belief, grounded in Nazi ideology, that Germany faced irreversible decline absent the acquisition of most of Eastern Europe. By the late 1930s, Germany's rearmament and Stalin's purge of the Red Army officer corps created a situation in which Germany would never have a better opportunity to address Hitler's fears. Consistent with the commitment problem argument, Hitler had expansive war aims that he pursued through risky strategies and refused to abandon even in the face of military defeats. The chapter then analyzes the Allied refusal to negotiate with Germany, highlighting the British decision not to negotiate after the fall of France and the Allied decision to demand Germany's unconditional surrender.Less
This chapter turns to World War II in Europe. It first focuses on the sources of German expansion, which arose from the belief, grounded in Nazi ideology, that Germany faced irreversible decline absent the acquisition of most of Eastern Europe. By the late 1930s, Germany's rearmament and Stalin's purge of the Red Army officer corps created a situation in which Germany would never have a better opportunity to address Hitler's fears. Consistent with the commitment problem argument, Hitler had expansive war aims that he pursued through risky strategies and refused to abandon even in the face of military defeats. The chapter then analyzes the Allied refusal to negotiate with Germany, highlighting the British decision not to negotiate after the fall of France and the Allied decision to demand Germany's unconditional surrender.
Zoltan Barany
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691157368
- eISBN:
- 9781400880997
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157368.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter explains why politicians and generals in the six East European Warsaw Pact member states (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania) and in China reacted to the ...
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This chapter explains why politicians and generals in the six East European Warsaw Pact member states (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania) and in China reacted to the upheavals and revolutions so differently. In particular, this chapter explains why senior officers in Poland and Hungary remained inactive during the transitions there, why the Bulgarian army leadership supported the “elite transfer” in Sofia, and how the top brass in Czechoslovakia and East Germany reacted to the mass demonstrations in their principal cities. The bulk of this chapter, however, is devoted to China and Romania, where bona fide uprisings—one failed, one successful—took place, and the armed forces did turn their guns against the people, albeit reluctantly and in very different circumstances.Less
This chapter explains why politicians and generals in the six East European Warsaw Pact member states (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania) and in China reacted to the upheavals and revolutions so differently. In particular, this chapter explains why senior officers in Poland and Hungary remained inactive during the transitions there, why the Bulgarian army leadership supported the “elite transfer” in Sofia, and how the top brass in Czechoslovakia and East Germany reacted to the mass demonstrations in their principal cities. The bulk of this chapter, however, is devoted to China and Romania, where bona fide uprisings—one failed, one successful—took place, and the armed forces did turn their guns against the people, albeit reluctantly and in very different circumstances.
