Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, And War In The ... -

Bartov argues that the Wehrmacht was not merely a professional military but a fully politicized arm of the Nazi state. According to Bartov , the army became "Hitler's Army" through several reinforcing processes, especially during the war on the Eastern Front :

: Traditional military cohesion usually relies on small groups of comrades. On the Eastern Front, high casualty rates constantly broke these groups , leaving Nazi ideology as the primary remaining bond for the soldiers. Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the ...

: Through propaganda and indoctrination, soldiers came to view the war as a crusade of "Western civilization" against "subhuman" Bolsheviks and Jews. Critical Takeaways for Readers Bartov argues that the Wehrmacht was not merely

This guide explores the key arguments of Omer Bartov's seminal book, . It famously dismantles the "clean Wehrmacht" myth—the idea that the regular German army was an apolitical force separate from the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Core Argument: The "Hitlerization" of the Wehrmacht : Through propaganda and indoctrination, soldiers came to

: Bartov concludes that ideology was the primary force that kept the German army fighting effectively long after the war was clearly lost.

: Many soldiers had grown up in the Hitler Youth , making them pre-conditioned to accept the regime's genocidal worldview.