Th e author has always been interested in military history, especially that of WW II. Th e fact that the relatively small nation state of Germany, still suff ering greatly from the effects of a lost war in 1918, a vicious run-away infl ation in 1923, and the world wide Great Depression that aff ected them most drastically, could, in 1939 and 1940 militarily defeat the combined eff orts of the most powerful nations of Europe, was a puzzlement that had to be explained. Th is examination revealed more than a German nation of war-like propensity engaging in bad behavior - much more.

Th e hard-over dedication of the people of Germany to the program of Adolf Hitler was fueled by a combination of historic and contemporary eff ects that all peaked in a social chaotic wave in the 1920s and 1930s. But the most important of these eff ects was the creation, by Adolf Hitler and others, of the new religion of Naziism in Germany, starting weakly in the 1920s and gaining power and scope throughout the 1930s. By 1940, thanks to the Nazi religion incorporated into German life as the "society of the German people (the folk)" and a splendid and overwhelming German military machine, the full belief in Adolf Hitler as the modern Savior of Germany by the large majority of the German people was a reality. Hitler took full advantage of this fact, and the dedication of the German fi ghting man to the modern German Messiah resulted in a personal fanaticism and dedication to duty seldom seen in history.