Over the weekend, I spoke to a couple of knowledgeable observers who both expressed the view that the European Union, and Germany in particular, had deliberately instigated a confrontation to bring about regime change in Athens.
Who is at fault for the Greek debt crisis: Greece or Germany?
The rule of thumb in economics is that a growing economy reduces debt much faster than any other “solution.”
What was the general moral belief among German troops during World War II?
I served in the U. S. Army for 27 years, with my service starting with the war in Vietnam and ending with Operation Desert Storm. Since my primary area was Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, I got to speak with or interrogate soldiers and intelligence operatives (spies, if you will) from many other countries – the Soviet Union, the various countries which were part of the Warsaw Pact (Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, etc.), Cuba, North Korea, Iraq as well as American allies like England, France, Italy, etc.
The one thing common to just about all was the belief that they were patriots serving their country.
I have no reason to doubt that the average German solider in World War Two felt the same way.
What kind of peace would Germany have imposed on France had it won in 1918 in WW1?
Direct annexations were to be kept to a minimum, since the politicians didn’t want to make millions of non-German speakers into citizens of the Reich. Instead, the idea was to set up vassal states on Germany’s borders.
These would be nominally independent, but allied to Germany – with German troops stationed in their territory and controlling their fortresses and strategic railways. Likewise their economies would be subject to German supervision, with German control over their tariffs and customs policy. This was the fate that awaited Belgium, Poland and the Baltic States after the war, had the Germans won. France, however, was considered too large to be subjugated in this way.
Instead, France would be forced to pay a huge war indemnity. The amount contemplated should be large enough to pay off Germany’s entire national debt, and leave France economically weakened and unable to afford to maintain an army for several decades to come.
.. Germany also envisaged making colonial gains, but here their eyes were set on the Belgian Congo as the main prize to be acquired. Not only was it believed to be wealthy, but its possession would link up the existing German colonies in Kamerun, Ostafrika and Südwest Afrika.