YouTube video with explanations and transcripts:
<a href="https://youtu.be/WE6mnPmztoQ?si=90qzd9zrov9gvFYt" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://youtu.be/WE6mnPmztoQ?si=90qzd9zrov9gvFYt</a>
I love this recording and the longer recordings of Hitler speeches because all that is left in popular memory is the wild screams and crescendos that he would use at the end of his speeches. When you read accounts at the time people would talk about Hitler always starting quietly making you listen, and then slowly building up the pitch in the further of his meetings. They described as almost hypnotic. There’s a great fictional series that was done on Amazon – the man in the high castle – where they really leaned into this with their portrayal of Hitler.<p>There’s a lot of value in studying how leaders convince and control the masses.<p>If i recall correctly, there is also a part in the transcript where he admits he just didn’t know Russias true strength, and he never would have invaded had he known. Remarkably different language than he used at the time.
Transcript(s) : <a href="https://feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13647" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13647</a><p>I have no affiliation and no idea of the reputation of this site.
Ah, I haven't come across this recording in some time - it's good to be reminded of it. The phrase is overused but given the rarity of hearing the man in anything other than full-tilt harangue, the recording really does represent the "banality of evil," comparatively speaking.<p>Put another way, it truly is strange (and a bit chilling, almost) to hear Hitler without mustache.
So this article claims the conversation was <i>covertly</i> recorded, while the Wikipedia-article claims the opposite : the clearly visible microphone was used for an official recording and the recorder(!) kept it running afterwards.
FYI this was recorded in secret, which is why you'd find nuances commonly uncharacteristic to Hitler. He was "out of character."<p>Edit: there's a wiki about it: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_and_Mannerheim_recording" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_and_Mannerheim_recordin...</a>
Back in 1812 Napoleon overestimated the abilities of his army which was perfectly suited for fighting in Western & Central Europe (Grande Armée) but had virtually no experience in the middle of the East European plain [0] the horrific outcome is one of the best studied in the history of military campaigns [1].<p>So, obviously Hitler and his military advisors were well aware of the huge risk, nonetheless they took it.<p>The explanation given in the recording (Who could have known that they could have produced over 35.000 tanks? Of which we have destroyed 34.000.) is an obvious exaggeration (the total number of <i>all</i> armored fighting vehicles was around 25.000 [2] at the time of the invasion) to deflect from major failures in strategic considerations e.g. underestimating the ruthless adaptability of the Soviets given their gigantic resources of land, oil and fighting men.<p>Because it is only when the Soviets got invaded they really began to ramp up the production of the legendary T-34 (from 3000 in 1941 to 15.000/year (!) until the end of the war in 1945) and their vast geography helped them to relocate more than half of the production sites from the West to the Ural Mountains way out of the reach for the Germans. So, the Blitzkrieg which worked brilliantly in Western & Central Europe got stuck at Stalingrad into a slow grind. Resulting into the broadest land front in military history with about 10 million military deaths on the Soviet side and about 5 million on the German/Axis side.[3]<p>Again, why the high risk? The necessity to secure oil fields?[4] Yes, but only paired with the pathological paranoia towards anything "bolshevik" as is evident in the recording.
So the recording is not only superficially remarkable as we hear Hitler's normal voice but also quite revealing about the rationalization taking place at a crucial point on the Eastern Front in 1942.<p>[0]<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_European_Plain" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_European_Plain</a><p>[1]<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia</a><p>[2]<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_combat_vehicle_production_during_World_War_II" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_combat_vehicle_produc...</a><p>[3]<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)</a><p>[4]<a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kVo5I0xNRhg">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kVo5I0xNRhg</a>
I believe there is a renewed interest in Hitler's speeches due to alleged support of Palestine/Arabs and the encroachment of US/UK interests in the middle east/north Africa pre-ww2, for example, take this speech from the Reichstag in 1939: <a href="https://archive.is/BsJ1T" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://archive.is/BsJ1T</a>