Was World War II Worth It?

[Toffler]

I thought this was a thought provoking argument.

http://www.theamericancause.org/a-pjb-050511-ww2.htm

[Rearden]

You thought wrong...

Most Historical analysis agrees that while USSR domination of Eastern Europe was tragic and regretable the Russian front (their efforts against Nazi Germany) did much to help the Allied cause. Yes, the Allies at the time realized that the USSR and Stalin represented a huge threat and were indeed pretty rotten but as Chuchill said (paraphrasing his words here) "I'd atleast give him (Satan) a favorable speech in the House of Commons (for aid against Hitler)". The issue was dealing with the problem at hand... stopping Nazi Germany at almost any cost.
War is hardly often black and white and even in a fairly clear cut and justifiable conflict like World War Two (what some historians have called "The Last 'Good' War") certain points can be argued (the most common recently being whether the A-bomb was militarily needed or whether Japan would die on its own accord) but to bring into question a war against two regimes that stood for racial dominance and are still today regarded as prime examples of out and out evil is a bit absurd based on concessions made to an Allied nation (at the time) who contributed a whole lot to helping defeat Nazi Germany. Perhaps in hindsight too many concessions were made at Yalta by the other Allies; but overall I think it'd be horribly inaccurate and incorrect to question the validity of World War Two.

[stealyourface]

Lots more Jews, Gypsies, catholics, homosexuals, etc. would have been killed if the Allies didn't intervene.

[hurlyburly]

I think that's what Pat's getting at.

[andyfox]

Pat doesn't explain how Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot and Castro murdered tens of millions in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Finland.

[Cyrus]

And I'm 50 Cent.

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If Britain endured six years of war and hundreds of thousands of dead in a war she declared to defend Polish freedom, and Polish freedom was lost to communism, how can we say Britain won the war?

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Because, dufus (can I call Pat dufus? it's a term of affection...) the war started with Poland as the cause but was subsequently fought over much more than that. As all the leaders involved knew it would, and as every school child who knows his History knows.

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When one considers the losses suffered by Britain and France – hundreds of thousands dead, destitution, bankruptcy, the end of the empires – was World War II worth it, considering that Poland and all the other nations east of the Elbe were lost anyway?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, it was, dufus (can I call Pat a dufus twice in the same post? it becomes more affectionate with repetition).

The European nations should not have allowed the situation to come to that, yes. And the ways to avoid it, although much speculated upon, can be outlined, in hindsight. But, having found themselves, for whatever reason, forced to choose between continuing German aggression and potential domination of Europe by that aggressor, the Allies' hand was forced: All in.

See the many examples of hands in Harrington's poker book, where he explains tactics step by step: The hero is supposed to follow tactic A in step 1. He does not, though, in the example, and follows a wrong tactic instead, so he is on step 2. The proper tactic at that point is a tactic B, because our hero faces that specific, new condition.

Does Pat play poker, by the way ? He looks like one of those blustering, blabbering "town champs" who make great donors.

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Those countries [liberated by the Red Army] are, presumably: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Finland.

[/ QUOTE ]
A perspective, which is far above Pat's greased head :

We should be reminded that a significant number of those countries had adopted Nazi-style governance and engaged in vicious anti-semitism (eg Poles were sometime surprising even the Germans with their brutality). Romania was practially a Nazi copy cat. Bulgaria's ambition was to be the Balkans' Germany, so it attacked almost all its neighbors! Well, the Soviet soldiers put a stop to all that -- and, yes, hanged and shot tens of thousands of collaborators, blackhirts, sympathizers and black marketeers in 'em. Good f*cking riddance, I say.

Oh and the record of our current beloved "small and brave" Baltic nations, i.e. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, is particularly odious. Why, the statue of one of the most notorious war ciminals (who was also supposed to be an anti-communist "freedom fighter") graces the central square of one of those nations' capitals, as we speak!

Pat Buchanan is as qualified to offer an opinion on World War II as I am on gumbo recipes. Go to sleep, dufus.

[FishHooks]

Also something that no one has mentioned which is one of the most important outcomes of the war is that it got us out of the depression. We had to put eveyone at work in order to prepare for this war and wartime economys historically boom, and thats what happend in WW2. In my opinion its the biggest factor for getting us out of the depression.

[imported_anacardo]

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Also something that no one has mentioned which is one of the most important outcomes of the war is that it got us out of the depression. We had to put eveyone at work in order to prepare for this war and wartime economys historically boom, and thats what happend in WW2. In my opinion its the biggest factor for getting us out of the depression.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not a justifiable reason to enter a foreign war. It is merely a bonus. I suppose you're free to add it to the "worth it" tally, though, since there's no particular evidence to suggest that it entered our calculations at all at the time, so far as I know.

[lastchance]

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Also something that no one has mentioned which is one of the most important outcomes of the war is that it got us out of the depression. We had to put eveyone at work in order to prepare for this war and wartime economys historically boom, and thats what happend in WW2. In my opinion its the biggest factor for getting us out of the depression.

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This is not a justifiable reason to enter a foreign war. It is merely a bonus. I suppose you're free to add it to the "worth it" tally, though, since there's no particular evidence to suggest that it entered our calculations at all at the time, so far as I know.

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Well, yeah, your argument holds up. But remember what happened to put America into the War: Pearl Harbor. I doubt America's decision to join can really be criticized considering the situation.

And Hitler was going to run over France and Britain anyway. Knowing that, you gotta move.

[BadBoyBenny]

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Pat doesn't explain how Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot and Castro murdered tens of millions in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Finland.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought this was funny too. Not only is there a huge geographic disconnect, but also the way he phrases it makes it sound like each one killed tens of millions.