Hitler, Putin, Cudahy and the necessary idiot

Of all the criticisms of Tucker Carlson's recent interview with President Vladimir Putin, I stick with the one that has not been made: the deference of the European warlords to the American press. Carlson was the first journalist to interview the Russian president since the invasion of Ukraine. And an American was also the one who managed to interview Adolf Hitler when he had already invaded part of the European continent.. The difference between the two is that John Cudahy's feat of accessing the German dictator was enough to earn everyone's respect and Carlson has been beaten for the supposed lack of aggressiveness of his questions to the Russian, to be asked, according to the former Secretary of State , Hillary Clinton's “Necessary Idiot”. How times have changed.

It was on May 23, 1941, a month before Nazi Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union, when Cudahy, a former military man and diplomat, sat down for Life magazine with Hitler at his Berghof headquarters.. Axis victory seemed a real possibility at the time and Cudahy asked Hitler if he planned to send troops to the United States, just as Carlson did with Putin in the case of Poland.. The führer laughed because “the idea of an invasion of the Western Hemisphere was as fantastic as an invasion of the Moon” and certainly man had not set foot on the Moon at that time.

According to Hitler, the German army did not undertake military expeditions to show off or demonstrate that nothing was impossible for German weapons.. If the Crete venture seemed difficult, he said, an attack over some 2,500 miles of open water, as would be the case by the United States, was simply unthinkable.. He noted that he had never heard anyone in Germany say that the Mississippi was a German border, in the same spirit in which the Prime Minister of Australia referred to the Rhine as his own, hence, he added sarcastically, that he decided to send some prisoners Australians to that famous German river, so that they could become familiar with the border environment.

Cudahy pointed out the countries occupied by German military forces and asked the Führer if he could indicate, in general terms, his disposition towards such nations, given the belief among many Americans that German domination of Europe meant the suppression of languages, native national customs and institutions.

His response was that Germany had not started this war, but that war was declared against Germany by France and England.. It was strange, he said, to hear the British talk about world domination when they had millions of Indians, Egyptians and Arabs oppressed in their colonies.. Cudahy inquired about his plans for Belgium, where he had served as ambassador, and Hitler responded that his formula for the future of Europe was “peace, prosperity and happiness.”. Germany, he said, was not interested in slaves or the enslavement of any people.. “We will mend relations with our neighbors so that everyone enjoys peace and prosperity,” he summarized.

At the conclusion of the conversation, Hitler claimed to have attempted to answer all questions clearly and frankly, but expressed skepticism about the benefit of the interview in the United States.. If it was in terms of deterrence, it was of no use.. The United States entered the war six months later.