Adolf Hitler
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infants born in Germany killed. This was the origin of the Action T4 program. Subsequently Dr. Brandt and Bouhler, acting on their own initiative in the expectation of winning Hitler's favour, expanded the T4 program to killing, first, all physically or mentally disabled children in Germany, and, second, all disabled adults.
In late 1938 and early 1939, the continuing economic crisis caused by problems of rearmament, especially the shortage of foreign hard currencies needed to pay for raw materials Germany lacked, together with reports from Göring that the Four Year Plan was hopelessly behind schedule, forced Hitler in January 1939 to reluctantly order major defence cuts with the Wehrmacht having its steel allocations cut by 30%, aluminium 47%, cement 25%, rubber 14% and copper 20%. On 30 January 1939, Hitler made his "Export or die" speech calling for a German
economic offensive ("export battle", to use Hitler's term), to increase German foreign exchange holdings to pay for raw materials such as high-grade iron needed for military materials. The "Export or die" speech of 30 January 1939 is also known as Hitler's "Prophecy Speech". The name which that speech is known comes from Hitler's "prophecy" issued towards the end of the speech:
A significant historical debate has swung around the "Prophecy Speech". Historians who take an intentionist line such as Eberhard Jäckel have argued that at minimum from the time of the "Prophecy Speech" onwards, Hitler was committed to genocide of the Jews as his central goal. Lucy Dawidowicz and Gerald Fleming have argued that the "Prophecy Speech" was simply Hitler's way of saying that once he started a world war, he would use that war as a cover for his already pre-existing plans for genocide. Functionalist historians such as Christopher Browning have dismissed this interpretation under the grounds that if Hitler were serious with the intentions expressed in the "Prophecy Speech", then why the 30-month "stay of execution" between the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, and the opening of the first Vernichtungslager in late 1941. In addition, Browning has pointed to the existence of the Madagascar Plan of 1940–41 and various other schemes as proof that there was no genocidal master plan. In Browning's opinion, the "Prophecy Speech" was merely a manifestation of bravado on Hitler's part, and had little connection with actual unfolding of anti-Semitic policies.
At least part of the reason why Hitler violated the Munich Agreement by seizing
Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka with Hitler in Berlin