A legion of WWII history books exist in the world. Certainly no historical topic has received any more scrutinous attention than the "good war." So, why should one more work on the matter interest us at all? We certainly instinctively know about Hitler's maniacal effort at genocide. A few scholars recall der Fuhrer privately disparaging the 1936 black American gold medalist Jesse Owens, believing that the "colored American runner's jungle ancestry" gave them an unfair advantage and should not be allowed to compete. But, do we know much about the fact that Hitler's intense racial prejudices literally cost him the war?
This is the underlying motif that often implicitly burrows through the pages of Andrew Roberts new compelling book The Storm of War: A New History of WWII. Dr. Roberts earned his PhD. in history at Cambridge University. He writes for the WSJ and other notable publications. In 2011, NBC commissioned him to commentate on the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. His vitae is quite impressive.
Dr. Roberts pens his work through British eyes. Yet, his assessment of the American character during the war sees with both European perception and factual reality. Indeed, Roberts savvys American policy while thinking like a Brit.
Dr. Roberts chronicles the war with silky prose that flows like multiple tributaries emptying into one big river called WWII. Each source of the single river constitutes a compelling study of its own. His vast knowledge of the numbers; men, machines, and Holocaust victims, will leave the reader walking away with enough food for thought to keep him busy for the rest of the day.
Go here and listen to Andrew Roberts talk about a few of his themes including Hitler's ideological prejudices as his downfall.
DUMBING DOWN AMERICAN HISTORY
On this Memorial Day when we gloriously celebrate our nation's military heroes, I find myself greatly concerned about the historical illiteracy among our cultural influencers of the day. A President's apology tour, John Stewart's unamusing accusations calling Harry Truman a war criminal, and the general tenor among young people today is telling. Not only are our young people naive victims of those who wish to rewrite history, but they consistently get bombarded with false information concerning the past. One such example emerges in light of our dropping the atomic bomb on Japan to end WWII. That generation's rapid extinction makes it extremely difficult to defend nefarious pseudo historians. Bill Whittle of Pajamas TV does a yeoman's's job in both contexting and presenting the facts about Truman's decision to drop the bomb. Go here to watch Whittle's simple, yet compelling analysis.
Affluent, peaceful existence stirs a legion of emotions among the culturally illiterate. We hate war and wonder why anyone, in the name of virtue, manufactures a weapon designed to annihilate our globe. Yet, one must place the horrific event, not only in its historical context, but in a humanistic framework as well. Survival serves as one of the greatest needs among people. Self preservation drives us to mindlessly surrender our reasoning powers. We want to live. The Axis Powers threatened total world domination and sought ethnic cleansing. Americans, believing their unique heritage offered the highest kind of human existence short of heaven, sought self preservation at all costs. To put it in my WWII veteran Father's simple words, "It was either me or him." Those who fail to comprehend this simple scenario may well find themselves faced with the same sort of perplexing issues as a generation gone by.
Posted by jeffreymark at 12:07 PM in Commentary, WWII | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)