What January in World War II Taught Us
Quick answer: What lessons does January in World War II hold?
John walks through Januaries from 1939 to 1945: Hitler's threat of genocide before the Reichstag, the Casablanca Conference, the Wannsee Conference, the Anzio landings, the end of the Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of Auschwitz. His lessons include confronting problems early and preserving the record of what happened.
January is a hard month, and during World War II it was a month when the future was forged. On January 30, 1939, Hitler stood before the Reichstag and openly threatened the annihilation of Europe's Jews, while much of the world chose appeasement. John's first lesson: problems ignored grow worse. In January 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Casablanca to agree on a strategy for winning. On January 20, 1942, at Wannsee, Nazi officials coordinated the murder of millions with the efficiency of a business meeting, showing how methodical evil can be. The Anzio landings came on January 22, 1944. The Battle of the Bulge officially ended on January 25, 1945, and two days later Soviet troops reached Auschwitz-Birkenau. On New Year's Day 1945 the Luftwaffe's Operation Bodenplatte struck Allied airfields in a last gamble that cost it pilots it could not replace. John closes with Eisenhower, who ordered his troops and the press to see the camps after his April 1945 visit to Ohrdruf so that no one could later deny them.
Why it matters for leaders: Hard problems tend to grow while leaders wait, so the time to act is usually earlier than feels comfortable.
Q: What was the Wannsee Conference?
A: A January 20, 1942 meeting of senior Nazi officials near Berlin to coordinate the deportation and murder of Europe's Jews.
Q: Why did Eisenhower visit Ohrdruf?
A: Ohrdruf, visited on April 12, 1945, was the first camp he saw. He insisted soldiers, officials, and journalists witness the camps so the evidence would never be denied.
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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation