Holland&Holland wrote:
That tends to be a convincing argument. Though if my history lesson serves me correctly, by the time anyone thought to resist, too many had already volunteered to give up their arms.
I'm no expert, but I do have an interest in that history, as I lived in a small German town that eventually had a concentration camp established in their midst.
For the Germans, gun control came with their WWI defeat, as a condition of the armistice. (coincidentally, the reason the world's best air rifles were designed in Germany, as they were allowed)
Even later, the pre- hitler German Weimar Regime maintained strict gun control
Post WWI Germany was an economic disaster.
My speculation is that most who might have somehow owned guns, and could not hunt to sustain themselves, likely had long before traded them away for necessities.
While firearms ownership in Germany was generally prohibited, and minimal, it actually increased, once the Nazis were in power, as gun ownership was allowed for some party members.
Some estimated there were 10% of the population supporting national socialism, and it is suspected 1/2 of that support was pragmatic- for reasons of safety, and economics, etc
Most people had been simply attempting to survive, and feed themselves to be politically involved, but the Nazis were highly motivated and anti-semitism, nationalism did resonate with some due to the state of destitution
I'm sure fear, and indifference played a role, as well.
Politically, things were subtle, and incremental until the critical mass was achieved.
Once the regime was in place, it was pretty much over for the will of the people
Where there was wholesale gun confiscation was following the German invasions of the non-German countries, and it was at gun point.
An acquaintance from Sweden, recalls his Grandfathers house being searched, and the family's revolvers confiscated by German troops.
