9. Far Fetched Reasoning to Explain a Seemingly Inexplicable Act
In late May of 1940, some German panzer formations were just a few miles from the disorganized British milling about the beaches of Dunkirk. That was when Hitler ordered them to halt for 48 hours in order to rest and refit. The Fuhrer’s generals loudly protested the halt, but to no avail. What happened next proved them right: the British made use of the breather to organize a defense that eventually allowed them to evacuate about 338,000 Allied soldiers to safety.
Casting about for an explanation for a seemingly inexplicable act, some have claimed that Hitler deliberately let the British go to demonstrate that he did not wish them ill. However, credible mainstream historians give short shrift to the fanciful notion of a merciful Fuhrer letting the British go as a sporting gesture: there is no evidence to support the assertion. Nonetheless, crackpot revisionists have persisted in peddling the false notion that Hitler intentionally let the British escape in order to look magnanimous, and thus draw Britain into peace negotiations.
