What an intriguing German compound. Feind is akin to the English "fiend", meaning enemy, but with a demonic overlay that implies more than just military opponent or rival. Mächten has the same root as "to make" but really translates as power or force, only mächten is plural, and macht is singular. So you can say the word means "enemy forces" (which is not as catchy or quippy as the English counterpart "axis"
, but the emotional heft of Feindmächten is so much weightier than just that. It carries a darkness, a lurking ominous threat, like a troll under a bridge or a witch in the Schwarzwald designing a gingerbread house in order to capture and eat the little blond Hansels and Gretels who venture too far from the clearing.
I think this helps to explain Hitler and the Nazis a bit better. When the threats from the outside are so dark and omnipotent, it makes sense that it's better to burn down the whole forest rather than trust that the Other who lives outside our Kultur is a rational human too. We do have our own little Hitlers in our society, but they rarely get bigger than a high-walled compound and a fleet of limos bought from the "love offerings" of the suckers they bamboozle.
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