From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis@siriusfiction.com>
Subject: (urth) tangent: resources tied up by Final Solution
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 17:44:45 

Hey gang,

Recently the discussion of alternate history touched on Hitler, and the
question of "what if a less irrational/idealistic/insane leader had led
Germany into WWII and beyond?"

Which is something I myself had been mulling over, off and on, over the years.

What if the leader had the sense to stop while he was ahead, rather than
going for total victory?  (Well, that's a dicey one, really -- the
"rubicon" I tend to think of is the invasion of France, but there are all
sorts of complications.  Obviously, if the leader thought that the western
democracies were decadent and weak, and the early victories seemed to
support that, and sudden victories are needed, well--blitzkrieg would seem
like the only way to do it.  Give them enough time and the democracies will
shift production, etc.  Nevermind the stupidity of invading Russia.)  What
if the anti-Semitism wasn't so pronounced (even shifted into the "Give the
Jews Madagascar" scenario, picked up by Janet Berliner a few years back),
could that have helped the Nazis develop the atom bomb (Einstein pressed
into service: the bomb for Zion/Madagascar)?

But here's the one I really puzzle over, and I'm sure it has been addressed
somewhere in Holocaust literature a few times at least: IF the leader had
not used the resources (rail, police, army, etc.) on the Final Solution,
and if these resources were then applied to military use, how would that
translate?  There must be ballpark figures out there somewhere, like it
would've been worth this many more panzers or stukas or cold cash or
what-have-you, and if anyone reading this right now knows such a figure or
answer to the question, please send me email.

That is: the Holocaust was a military drain, and I'm curious as to the net
military effect if Germany had not been engaged in such infamous "monument"
building.

I'm actually not a fan of alternate history works, but certain thoughts
occur to me from time to time.

=mantis=


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