[Andrew Karpinski]

A friend once told me (and I feel considering the website we are posting on it is of special relevance) that psychologists say Hitlers mentality towards world war II closely mimics that of a compulsive gambler. He took some extreme risks early on in his military endeavours and was rewarded due to 'variance'. Like the gambler who hits 14 on the roulette wheel twice in a row he feels invincible and began to take more and more risks because he knew he couldn't lose.

It is important to note that for all his flaws Hitler also had some unprecedented successes. Germany was essentially hogtied by the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and he took the nation from being utterly defeated to a dominant world power in a few short years. On a similiar note, during the time period of before and following WWI, Russia on an economic and militaristic scale was the joke of the league nations. They were still primarily an agrarian nation and there military prowress, despite the vast population was something akin to Austrias. In fifty years they went from 'zero to hero' in an international sense, becoming without a doubt the second strongest nation in the world. While the costs of their forced industrialization were insane and undoubtably not worth it, it should be noted that both leaders accomplished a great deal, if via unsavoury methods.