Analysis Of Hitler's Army By Bartov

In the 1960s and 70s, just a few centuries after World War II, many historians believed that the Wehrmacht had nothing to do with Hitler and Nazi ideology, instead they believed that the soldiers were doing their job. Many historians also believed that the Wehrmacht used to be a regular army distinct from the SS. Throughout the book, Hitler’s Army, Omer Bartov examines the question, was the Wehrmacht Hitler’s Army? Bartov addresses to what extent did propaganda and Nazi ideology serve as a driving force for the Wehrmacht on the Eastern front. While the Wehrmacht was fighting on the Eastern front, they found themselves facing new and strong attacks. Bartov comes to the conclusion that the Wehrmacht believed in the same ideals as Hitler, therefore they were Hitler’s Army. There are four main theses that compose his argument, in which he …show more content…
He explores the contradiction found between the Wehrmacht’s representation as a modern army and the extensive modernization that defined the Eastern Front. Before the fighting on the Eastern Front the Wehrmacht relied on Blitzkrieg. So Hitler wanted to defeat the Soviet Union using the same tactics, which were so effective on the Western Front. Bartov uses primary sources from officers and soldiers, explaining the daily life on the Eastern front to defend his argument. Bartov states, “It (The Eastern Front) stresses that as of winter 1941-42 the majority of Germany’s soldiers were forced into trench warfare highly reminiscent of the Western Front of 1914-1918, while facing however, an increasingly modernized enemy.” Therefore, most troops experienced a return to the trench warfare, similar to the Great War, which was worsened by the enemy’s growing technological advancements. Bartov argues that the changing character of the war on the Eastern Front did not only bring about apathy and fatigue, but also a new image of