Richard Suchenwirth

Historical Turning Points in the German Air Force War Effort Richard Suchenwirth

This study examines the Luftwaffe's defeat and indicates its major causes, the so-called "turning points." The turning point of a war is that certain point at which a decisive change occurs. This change may be for the better; or it may be for the worse, pointing the way to defeat. Dr. Richard Suchenwirth, a well-known and somewhat controversial German and Austrian historian, author, teacher and lecturer, was born in Vienna in 1896. A lieutenant in World War I, he served as an aide to an Austrian general and learned much at firsthand concerning the problems of leadership. In the ten years preceding the original publication of this study in 1959, Dr. Suchenwirth probably interviewed more of the highest ranking officers of World War II than any other historian. In his own words, Dr. Suchenwirth's interest in military history "... lies not in any affection for militarism, but rather in the realization of the extent to which freedom and the greatness and fate of a people are dependent on military decisions; of how many human lives, how many brave soldiers and people behind the front are affected by good or bad leadership in time of war."