Food for Thought

Week 12: Thursday, April 15

Group 1: Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Section A: Bonaventure to Hatton; Section B: Allwarden to Furfari)

1) According to Hitler, what was the iron law of nature? What would happen if that law were violated? Why did Hitler believe the issue of race was so important for humanity?

2) According to Hitler, what particular characteristic made the Aryans indispensable to the building and improvement of civilization? According to Hitler, how were the Jews the opposite of the Aryans?

3) According to Hitler, what conditions or circumstances would ensure that only the fittest humans survived?

4) According to Hitler, in what way did the difficulties of industrialization present an opportunity for the Jews? How did they exploit this opportunity?

5) According to Hitler, who ought to belong to the nation? How should one qualify for citizenship?

6) According to Hitler, what ought to be the goal of foreign policy?

Group 2: Giulio Douhet, The Command of the Air (Section A: Hinchen to Kilcoyne; Section B: Hartford to Manchester)

1) What does Douhet think the main lessons from World War I were?

2) What does Douhet assume about future wars? What will they be like?

3) Why does Douhet claim that the best defense is a good offense? If a state defends itself by going on the offensive, what targets should it concentrate on immediately? To what end?

4) Why does Douhet advocate the bombing of civilian centers?

5) In the last passage, how does Douhet attempt to assuage detractors who find the morality of his warfare dubious?

Group 3: Charles DeGaulle, The Army of the Future (Section A: Kreutz to Snell; Section B: Miller to Ziino)

1) According to De Gaulle, with what cherished principle does mechanization clash?

2) What is the weakness of the conscript army, according to De Gaulle?

3) Douhet sees the air plane and chemical warfare as the wave of the future. What does De Gaulle see as the big invention that will change the character of warfare?

4) What kind of soldiers and weapons does De Gaulle include in his force? How will they get around?

5) How will De Gaulle's proposed force differ from that fielded by the French in World War I? What kind of people would De Gaulle recruit? What would attract them? How does De Gaulle see this army corresponding to the spirit of the age?

6) Why does De Gaulle claim that we must not rely on the past? Why will the lessons of World War I not prove particularly useful in the next war?