I’m Telling You, There’s No Military Solution To Nazi Germany

By Zahava Gal-On, Meretz

You’re not going to hear this from your right-wing government, but as a member of the Opposition it’s my job to confront everyone with the unpleasant truth: despite the Allies’ superior military capacity, there is no military solution to the Nazi conquest of Europe.

I am aware of the indignance this assertion will generate, given what we know about Nazi ideology and practices. But we must be realistic: you can’t solve every problem by force. Even if the Allies invade Europe and occupy territory, all that means is assuming responsibility for millions and millions of people who will then live under Allied occupation – and occupation, I need not remind you, is the root of all evil.

Even if the Nazis suffer an initial defeat on the battlefield, who is to say they will not remain underground, regroup, and fight a guerrilla war with the support of the local population? Allied reprisals will turn the people against them, and the Allies will end up pouring more and more resources into suppressing the guerrillas, which will simply escalate the cycle of violence. Don’t we all want to avoid that?

A better approach than the massive loss of life that an invasion would entail is offering Hitler some plum concessions. Give the Nazis something to lose and they’ll moderate their attitude. It’s really only because Germany has been oppressed for so long that they’re making trouble. The militaristic narrative of our current government makes people deaf to the legitimate grievances that Germany has.

Has anyone seriously considered the merits of the Nazis’ arguments that they were stabbed in the back during the Great War? If you let go of your right-wing ideological blinders and take an objective, compassionate look, you’ll see that not a centimeter of German territory was taken during the war. Naturally, they feel they suffered penalties and humiliations out of proportion to the military defeat. Who wouldn’t?

And you and I might find Nazi antisemitism unpleasant, but they need someone to blame for their misfortunes – and we can’t have people believing their troubles are their own doing. That simply will not do.

Well, except for the Jews.

A negotiated solution is the only solution. A final one.