Democracies Against Hitler

This work examines the response of political democracies to the phenomenon of Hitlerism, beginning with democracy in Germany itself in the 1920s and 1930s, and ending up with Britain and US in the 1940s. Contrary to mythology, this response was far more a failure than a success. The alleged capabilities of democracy, advocated from the time of John Stuart Mill to that of Gabriel Almond, have been greatly "oversold" Self-indulgent escapism dominated the democracies' behaviour. Free discussion was not much help. Until the mistake of Barbarossa, victory was in Hitler's grasp. democracies were very slow learners and mediocre battlefield performers. The Jews of Europe were abandoned by the democracies to their fate and exorbitant territorial and political concessions were made to Russia in order to shift the military burden from the democracies in the 1940s. While the author identifies with democracy's moral values of human freedom, dignity, and the rule of law, he sees deplorable past tendencies as all but certainly affecting the course of world future.