Ideologies at War 
The imperialist world order died on the battlefields of the Great War. From its ashes arose three forms of socio-political organization that would, in the span of twenty years, initiate an even bloodier war aimed at determining which of the competing ideologies would govern the post-imperial world. Under the banners of democracy, communism and facism, armies once again marched into battle.

The Führer 
Adolf Hitler, a nondescript Austrian volunteer in the Imperial German Army in 1918, with the rank of corporal, rose to the position of Chancellor of Weimar Germany in the space of 15 years. Roughly six years later he was on Time magazine's cover as "Man of the Year" for 1938 -- a grudging acknowledgment of Hitler's importance.

Pearl Harbor 
On December 7th, 1941, at 0755 local time, a Japanese force of carrier aircraft began a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was a brilliant tactical victory for Japan.

Munich 1938 
In September 1938, an international crisis developed around the future of a little known area of then Czechoslovakia, populated mostly by ethnic Germans, and known as Sudetenland. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, believed he could defuse this crisis through direct negotiations with Hitler.

OKW versus OKH 
OKH remained beyond Adolf Hitler's control in 1939. The traditional independence of the Army generals proved to be impossible to overcome and lengthy arguments over policy and strategy were inevitable to bring about Army compliance. Hiter found a willing alternative in OKW.

German Command and Control 
One of the most important weaknesses inherent in the armed forces of the Third Reich lay in the peculiar military command structure that evolved during the course of the war. The Byzantine organization that developed under Hitler's leadership created the complete lack of strategic direction that became a hallmark of Nazi militarism.

America Prepares For War 
America was engaged in a massive rearmament program, provided military aid to the British and their allies and generally provoked German, Italian and Japanese retaliation before their official entry into the war.

Willing Executioners? 
Goldhagen is readable only when he expresses his heartfelt moral outrage towards the "German" perpetrators of the Nazi genocide of European Jews during World War II. When he attempts to provide an analysis of those feelings, however, Goldhagen retreats into an ivory tower language that covers up his sophistry with syllables.

The Battle of Kursk 
The greatest tank battle in history occurred at Kursk. It began on July 5th, 1943 and it ended ignominiously eight days later. This was the last major offensive launched by the Germans on the Eastern Front.

Suvorov's Icebreaker 
According to Viktor Suvorov, Stalin masterminded the outbreak of World War II and he intended to attack Nazi Germany, probably on July 6, 1941.

The Genocidal Mindset 
The psychological distancing individuals achieved through the bureaucratic and technological developments produced during the war made genocidal behavior universally conceivable in the context of a modern industrialized state at war.

Trap at Stalingrad 
When the battle of Stalingrad began at the end of August 1942, the Red Army was nearing defeat. Brilliant Soviet street fighting tactics, daring operational thinking and serious German errors combined to reverse Soviet fortune. By the end of November the Soviets had trapped the powerful German 6th Army inside Stalingrad - it was more than they expected.