Actually, by using the invasion of Poland as a pretext for declaring war on Germany, when Poland was a lost cause to either Stalin or Hitler either way, England started the damn war. Dumb dumb dumb.
Or France and England collaborating behind their ally Italy's back to allow Hitler's appropriation of Austria left Italy no other choice but to ally itself with the Axis.
Such wonderful diplomacy!
I understand what you are saying , but I actually think that it was Hitler who was dumb dumb dumb. I say this not from a position of ignorance.
As a military commander he sucked, sucked sucked.
His most outstanding victories were his early ones. These were achieved partly thru his supreme audaciousness - no one believed he actually could be serious about what he threatened so they did not prepare properly. No one actually believed he could be so insane as to start a world war. Moreover and this is the big thing, at that time he actually still listened to his generals who were among the most professional and capable soldiers in the world. His famous blitzkreig on the continent was planned and conducted by his senior military and he followed their plan although he later claimed credit. Later he believed his own propaganda and suffered defeat after defeat (thank God.) This was probably the last occasion on which he actually listened to their advice and took it.
He attacked Britain and was within a hairs breath of defeating their airforce which was what was needed to make way for an invasion, when abruptly and inexplicably he changed his tactics and began terror bombing of London instead. He did not even complete this. Part way thru he lost interest and commenced Operation Barbarossa leading ultimately to a war on two fronts. Not only this, when he did undertake the Russian campaign he divided his forces - part being sent north towards Moscow and part east towards the Baikal oil fields. Something a soldier learns never to do. When the tide turned he refused to allow his generals to run the battles from their position at the front and tried to direct command from thousands of kilometers behind the lines refusing to allow them to even make tactical withdrawals to regroup. Leading of course to their utter destruction.
When Japan attacked America Hitler inexplicably declared war on USA with results that were predictable. This still astounds military historians. Why did he do it. So of course Germany lost. No nation could ultimately stand against the greatest industrial power in the world at the time in a war that after all was a war about logisitics - as all modern conventional wars are.
If he was a good General he would have understood this.
When the Normandy invasion occurred he held to his illogical belief that this was a diversion and refused to release German forces at a critical time of the battle , holding them back for the "real" invasion, which of course, never came. Then throughout the battle on the continent he went on diverting essential military supplies to his mad plan for the final solution instead of concentrating on winning the war. The list of Hitler's mistakes as a leader and commander goes on and on and on.
All because he had an overweaning belief in his own superiority as a commander, a mad belief in his own destiny and refused to the professional soldiers who fought for him. I think he can be accurately classified as a madman if extreme psychopathy, grandiosity and megolomania qualify someone as mad. Personally I think they do. (Or would you prefer that he was called a monster. All of these epithets are fitting in my view.)
"It seems that ridiculous people to horrible things to prove that they are not ridiculous at all."
I agree with this. If you read about say psychopathy you will see that this is a kind of feature. Psychopaths often had problems early in their life and have something to prove to the world. SO they brutalize every one they come into contact with - unless they need to charm them. And psychopaths are the ultimate charmers when they have to be. As Hitler was although I think his diagnosis would be more than simple pyschopathy. His genius - if this is the right word was that somehow he captured the zeitgeist - the spirit of the times in Germany which was a great nation but sufferred from hubris after their defeat in WW1 and the humiliation of Versailles. He offerred to restore the country's greatness and they fell for it.
