Could Hitler have been stopped? | Niall Ferguson and Lex Fridman

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GUEST BIO:
Niall Ferguson is a historian at Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of 16 books on the history of money, war, power, and catastrophe.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[CristianGarcia]

Regular historians: stick to their branch of the wave function
Niall: goes of to explore the history of the many worlds

[MM-yizn]

Niall Ferguson is a treasure for those who are truly curious about history.

[Randsurfer]

What a coincidence. I just saw "The Pity of War" at a friend's house yesterday. Gonna read it.

[kalleblomqvist]

Very interesting, appreciate it. Btw, Mr. Ferguson's pronunciation of German words is spot on.

[hotboxxer]

Mandella Effect is REAL. In my other universe we DID stop Hitler.

[maryrudelich]

I’ve listened to Niall Ferguson for hours, I’ve hung onto that coveted book he wrote, ‘Wars Of The World’. He’s also a very good actor. And he remains relevant in debate over current issues at University.

Niall Ferguson is such a brilliant man, and historian and writer. Thank you for your innumerable contributions to the human race.

Retired Trucker,

Mary

[irszgatti]

The REAL question is, could the treaty of Versailles been more considerate of the German people?

[marcayres]

1916 was the Battle of Verdun which was a slaughter for both the French and Germans. If Britain had not started the Battle of the Somme to relieve French forces then I can't see France standing for much longer after that. History would of been very different.

[Nozawachter]

Everything Ferguson says makes sense, but I also feel things work like forest fires. Let’s say WW2 in it’s current form is averted by Germany winning Against the Russians in WW1. Maybe nuclear weapons don’t exist by 1945 in such a universe, BUT maybe they do still exist during a delayed Alt universe WW2. Maybe that war ends human kind.

No way to know, but I do love these “what if” thoughts.

If anyone hasn’t watche Man in the High Castle, I recommend it.

[b.alexanderjohnstone]

A victorious Germany might well have been tolerable at first but with no rivals on land it would've eventually controlled the seas. Britain depended on imports. Fascinating discussion though, really admire Niall Ferguson. It's important to think about these things.

[martiansurgery]

The real question is WHY DID HE GET PROPPED UP to begin with? THATS a more intelligent question . What was really happening in the world whereby he would gain so much favor? Look at the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, look at the people and leaders of that, AND how it related to Germany. NOW youre asking some intelligent questions

[MundaneDave]

UK's army was tiny, but it was still the world's naval superpower. Since WW1 was entirely about convoluted alliances, the effect of UK breaking from France/Russia (and that tiny side note, Japan) is anyone's guess. I mean you could go forward to 1918 and say "let's change history where Germany isn't screwed over, the end."

[careyfreeman]

Absolutely. If Stalin stands with England and France instead of doing "Russian things" like divide up Poland with the Nazis. This why the "Russian Sacrifice" stuff falls flat for me. It was a "sacrifice" they could have easily avoided. But, you know, Russia's gonna Russia.

[evgenysavelev]

Well, the problem was not Hitler or Stalin. The problem was that there were enough people who were willing to follow the orders. And looking at today's China or North Korea, or looking at what USA has done in Middle East, we have not learned anything from history. We are still the same species capable of committing terrible atrocities in the name of selfish goals.
There would have been another war, there would have been another Hitler. Look, in about 20 years past the first world war, the world happily jumped in at the opportunity to have another.
These theories of what would have been, if you could prevent this or that triggering event from happening, do not address the main issue: the triggering event only have such huge consequences because the conditions were ripe for it. The consequences were inevitable. The trigger would be something else.

[vitogenovese]

Watch "europa the last battle" on Rumble. History is written by the victors and never as black and white as we are lead to believe.

[makhuphukamnguni]

Thanks for a different point of view. It refreshing to think about something new about WW1

[worldssickestmedia]

None of these kind of "what if" or "historical recount" discussions about WW2 and Germany ever bring up Nathan Rothschild or where the money to build the most advanced war machines in the world came from.

[tejjy]

People always talk about if Hitler could’ve been stopped, but he was stopped. Not soon enough obviously but he was stopped.

[shakthidhasan]

This guys always has profound ways of making me think. Fantastic books, fantastic historian.

[falldog]

Thanks, please have Dr Ferguson on again!