Rational thinking was not widely prized in those circles, of course, any more than it was in Imperial Japan, where "spirit" was going to overcome everything. Didn't work out, of course.Cult Icon wrote: ↑19 Jan 2022 02:56I meant more in terms that he was not necessarily interested in "surviving". The high risks and poor odds were obvious. He wanted himself- and his country to go down a certain "heroic/romantic" path. He found it intolerable that Germany would be just an medium-sized power, and he had to act fast, even if the chances were slim. This was related to their view that the US and SU were soon to dominate world affairs. This is was mindset in the 30s.
I think the posters here do not understand that his values, and those of the SS, nazis, or hard core German soldiers, etc. were very different from western statesmen or those hobbits from the shire
They were rather be dead or be a failure than not live on their terms.

The amazing thing is, of course, that after losing the first war to a global coalition that controlled the sea and was economically 3 or 4 times stronger than Germany, they really thought the situation had changed to their benefit by 1939...