West Wall or Siegfried Line Hitler ordered the construction of western defensive fortifications and work began in 1938. The line itself ran from the Dutch border to Switzerland and was composed of elaborate bunker systems, tank traps, minefields, etc. I want to know why Hitler poured vast sums of money, resources and manpower into what, from the Nazi perspective, represented an unusual undertaking. Remember that the armour plating for the bunkers could have gone into building more tanks, u-boats, etc. I also find the allocation of 500,000 men from the Todt Organization no minor thing. The few historical sources that I have looked at, including a brief blurb in wikipedia, argue that the West Wall represented a propaganda effort to lull Britain and France into thinking that Germany was concerned with defense and not offense. Or, that Hitler wanted to keep Allied forces at bay while he crushed Poland. But, in my opinion, these arguments fail to explain the dedication with which the Nazi organizations promoted and subsidized the project. Why not "pretend" to build a line and make the concrete and armour plating 2mm thick, with lots of dummy artillery emplacements and that sort of thing. That would constitute propaganda. What do forum members think? I have no idea.
Or, that Hitler wanted to keep Allied forces at bay while he crushed Poland. That sounds pretty plausible. Also keep in mind that in 1938, the French army was viewed as a very formidible force
Funny, I've just been on that site. Were you looking for those Panther blocks from the Shadock site too? Or linking from the Pantherturm. I was wondering what the hole in the wall was...
