I remember reading Solzhenitsen's "Gulag Archipelago" (no. 1) where he wrote about how the USSR's being a WWII victor was a misfortune, mainly in that no lessons were learned and no reform was therefore possible. Only in the defeated countries could there be introspection and repentence and reform and renewal.
That caused me to wonder if German Nazism would not have gradually become ossified as a result of a German victory which would have been interpreted as a vindication of the Fuhrer and his system. But with the progressive attainment of its goals, Nazism's raison d'etre would progressively subside and therefore its focus. At the same time, returning war vets would be bringing back tales of horror and nightmares from the occupied lands along with perhaps some antipathy towards the Nazi Party.
It might be an interesting question how German Nazism would have fared following a German victory over Russia with Germany in control of most of Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals. My opinion is that Nazism could not have survived a generation or so. |