Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, And War In The ... Apr 2026

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 :

: The Wehrmacht maintained order through draconian punishments, executing approximately 15,000 of its own soldiers for minor infractions. This internal brutality mirrored and encouraged the external atrocities committed against civilians. 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