Hitler assassinated!

I would doubt that history would follow a similar course, leading to a world wide war, etc., but perhaps pogroms towards Jews would have continued for a while. But, most all of his henchmen were even bigger idiots than he. Perhaps he would have been the only one capable of engaging a crowd of people to perform extrodinary acts?

I would doubt though that the war would have started as early as 1939 without him, that is unless one of his supporters would not have parachuted into England for his various reasons. He might well have taken the reins of power, and settled into the rule of the Reich?

Do you know of whom I speak?

Regards,

PS, the weapon shown is called the model "PO-8", by George Luger, but improved before the adoption by Germany! A very expensive pistole to manufacture however! The folding link action, designed to absorb the recoil of the cartrige, is an exacting thing to both manufacture and then fit to a receiver.

Edited by opuslola - 28-Jul-2011 at 19:29

I don't think Hess had the required leadership abilities. He was even crazier than Hitler

That Luger was a great looking piece.  Jammed at the drop of a hat and had no stopping power.

Rohm was just a street thug who lacked the intelligence and charisma. I'd have thought Goring would be a more likely successor

If this happens after the night of the long knife then there's no Rohm, but if it is before hand it might have been a fight between Rohm, Himmler, and Hess. I would say Hess being deputy for a while would have a good chance of taking the leadership, with the chicken farmer, Himmler becoming deputy. Rohm still gets taken out in my opinion.

The 3rd Reich was a 3-tier model by 1939.  Rich industrialists poured money into it since years, to buy Hitler the seat and keep him going.  The Nazis were somewhere in the middle winding up the crowds, which by 1939 had already been wound up to the extend that Hitlers replacement wouldn't have had to worry too much about propaganda. Another thing is that Hitlers economic success relayed on credit, which would have to be paid back by war. That's way the business rich needed war, because it was the sure way to get their money back. However, I don't think that in 1939  things were going in a controlled way. It was more like a runaway. Anyone who seized power could take the crowd to hell and back.

So there would be war regardless of Germany's choice in leader?

I don't think Himmler had the charisma. He was a cowardly little man, unlike the colorful war hero Goring or the skilled propagandist Goebbels

I wouldn't underestimate Hitler. He was not only a good orator. He was looking with a sound perspective into this mad world he helped to create. People like Himmler, Hess, Goebbels, I am not sure they knew what was going on on the big scale. Goering was scheduled to take over in case of Hitlers death, so he seems more serious. He also was close with  big business where decisions would have been made, had Hitler died prematurely. Hitler gone nuts when the eastern front came to a stop, which is sometime in November when a delegation came back from Russia and told him the war could not be won anymore by military means. Before that he was doing right things.  His replacement could have done better or worse depending what could be called better or worse,

Originally posted by claymore hitlers trouble in russia was he always had to attack, never defend. before kursk his commanders said,we can bleed the red army to death he would have none of it

Perhaps it was a good thing Hitler wasn't assassinated. His arrogance contributed in no small part to Germany's defeat