The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Theme of Foolishness and Folly

You could think of the whole Nazi enterprise as a national folly where an entire country lost its mind and allowed itself to be fooled into believing that a raving lunatic could restore their lost glory. The Nazi leaders, with their rigid, stereotyped behaviors and attitudes and their silly salutes, are easy targets for parody exactly because they seem so foolish underneath all their murderous ways. Think about the "Soup Nazi" or Dr. Strangelove, or the countless internet Hitler parodies, and you'll know what we mean. Monty Python made their livings parodying Nazis. Then there's The Producers.

In The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Shirer emphasizes the countless times when people were fooled by Hitler, when they missed crucial opportunities to act against him, and when they were inexplicably oblivious to the short- and long-term consequences of the Fuehrer's schemes and plans. Although he recognizes that he writes with the benefit of hindsight, Shirer reveals his frustration with the ineptitude and obliviousness foolishness of those who might have stopped the madman if they'd been been more attentive to what was going on.

1. How would you characterize Shirer's view of the British government between 1936 and 1940?
2. According to Shirer, which international statesmen had the most accurate impressions of Hitler?
3. In TRFTR, Shire describes Hitler himself as having many "follies." In Shirer's view, which of Hitler's "follies" were the most significant to the rise and fall of the Third Reich?

Shirer thinks that the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was the biggest fool of all.

Hitler's follies nearly brought down Western civilization.