It was a part of Hitler's evil mission to draw the Germans into a trap of moral self-destruction. The bait was worldly aggrandizement based on an unscientific and arrogant racial exclusiveness, narrower and crueler than any the world has ever seen. Such a bait was eagerly swallowed. All the Satanic strength of the Nazis was concentrated on its accomplishment. The result was ruin and chaos, complete and final, for the entire German people. And over the dismal scene that was the prostrate body of a once-proud nation lay the shadow of that ruthless colossus with feet of clay--Hitler!
It may be nowadays a platitude to declare that the Germans have failed to recognize any higher moral law than "Might is right," yet it is the sad truth. The first tragedy of the Germans is their failure to learn from experience. How to revive their moral faculties which have been deadened by blind obedience to evil leaders is another problem. The Nazis with their savage mentality and terrible might, have lost their high priest, Hitler. But they have lost neither their vindictiveness nor their arrogance. They are unteachable. Every thoughtful person must feel uneasy about mankind's future. He will remember that late in 1944, when the Russian army had already invaded German soil, Hitler's Chief of Staff, General Guderian, told a gathering of cheering adolescent youths, "We shall wage war again even if we are defeated." He will remember too that when Rudolf Hess told his British captors, "If we are beaten this time, we shall fight a third war and win," he was not only speaking for himself but also for millions of young Nazis.
-- Notebooks Category 11: The Negatives > Chapter 3 : Their Presence in The World > # 197
