April 1942... they still thought they'd win the war at this stage.
As far as the Germans were concerned, they'd crushed France, knocked the British off the continent, destroyed 10 Russian armies and encircled Leningrad.
What could go wrong now?
Just one more push in the summer of '42, and it'd all be over. The workers could get back to producing peace-time goods and listen to Wagner to their heart's content.
Little did they know, the Russians were building 9,000 aircraft per month.
This is mostly neither here nor there, but here's a lengthy essay I enjoy quite a bit:
http://leesandlin.com/articles/LosingTheWar.htm
Sort of the story of World War II and trying to recapture the mindset of the people(s) at the time. There are discussions of art and Wagner in the middle, which is why this essay came to mind.
Furtwaengler is probably the most spastic conductor ever (to watch). He literally had a reputation for making great music and by twitching and flailing in no relation to tempo or beat.
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