West European Studies

The World War II that dates back to September 1st 1939 was characterized by massive deaths and casualties of enormous magnitude. The invasion of Poland by the German soldiers remains in history books and in the minds of many as an act that instigated the deadliest military conflict in the world. German soldiers under the leadership of Adolph Hitler attacked Poland as a first step in fulfilling what the leader had termed as the foreign policy agenda. However, this invasion was met by opposition from France and UK which retaliated by attacking Germany hence generating a full-blown war Ripley (2004, 177).

In 1933, Adolph Hitler embarked on a system that ensured all the soldiers underwent military training which systematically shaped them into compliant followers of the dictatorial leader. The leader had planned the attacks long before the World War II under the umbrella of Nazi extermination policy. The German soldiers were therefore used as tools of the system to fulfill the Nazis ideology which put the Aryan Germans superior above all other remaining races Ripley (2004, 177).

German soldiers (usually referred to as Wehrmacht) were subjected to thorough and intensive military drilling which not only changed their physical well being but also their perceptions. According to Heer, Naumann and Naumann (2004, 330), the soldiers became hard, indifferent and heartless due to the training they underwent. The three writers further lament how the soldiers were forced to readjust to unfavorable situations. These situations right from the military bases to areas of operation turned the soldiers into hardened beings. Furthermore, the orders issued by their leaders subjected them to inner change as well as installing an ideology into their minds. This transformed the soldiers into gross, senseless and ruthless beings who could thereafter participate in the Nazi genocide without fear Heer, Naumann and Naumann (2004, 330).

The Nazis developed the one hundred soldiers allowed by the member nations under the Versailles treaty to a fully-fledged officer corps of two hundred thousand soldiers. This was secretly done since the soldiers were only allowed by the member States for internal security purposes alone. Additionally, Heinz Guderian and other leaders invented tactics that were used to break through the territories of Germanys enemies including France, Poland and other small countries like Denmark as well as part of Russia. The aforementioned are some of the reasons that boosted the morale of the German soldiers in the World War II amid series of defeats Martel (2004, 3).

The leadership of Wehrmacht was another precipitating factor in the Eastern front. It had a record of longstanding professional military officers whose experience dated back to the Franco-Prussia war of 1871. This dictatorial leadership had installed a strong belief in the minds of the soldiers that the war was a life-or-death struggle and had to be fought in whichever way. A minority of the soldiers were upset by the leadership of Hitler and therefore made several unsuccessful attempts to kill the leader. The vast majority however remained loyal and continued to serve their leaders amid enormous atrocities committed by soldiers in the war Mitcham (2008, 71).

Conclusion
Hitler initiated a youth program which emphasized on the group loyalty as well as nationalistic ideals. These factors together with high degree of personal loyalty to the leader made Germany gain its reputation of being unconquerable. This helped the Germans remain in the war as stereotyping scared away the opponents and many countries feared attacking Germany.