Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, And War In The ... -

Bartov argues that the Wehrmacht was not merely a professional military but a fully politicized arm of the Nazi state. According to Bartov , the army became "Hitler's Army" through several reinforcing processes, especially during the war on the Eastern Front :

: Many soldiers had grown up in the Hitler Youth , making them pre-conditioned to accept the regime's genocidal worldview. Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the ...

: The Wehrmacht maintained order through draconian punishments, executing approximately 15,000 of its own soldiers for minor infractions. This internal brutality mirrored and encouraged the external atrocities committed against civilians. Bartov argues that the Wehrmacht was not merely

: Bartov concludes that ideology was the primary force that kept the German army fighting effectively long after the war was clearly lost. This internal brutality mirrored and encouraged the external

: Through propaganda and indoctrination, soldiers came to view the war as a crusade of "Western civilization" against "subhuman" Bolsheviks and Jews. Critical Takeaways for Readers