On the 8th May 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. On the 9th May 2025, Russia is holding a grand commemoration – a “Victory Day” for the 80th anniversary of this event. How dare they? I know, from my extensive cinema history, that the Americans won World War 2.
Many exciting and entertaining movies have been made, over the decades, glorifying the courage and success of the good soldiers on the good side – several allied nations, notably the British. But my favourites were always from Hollywood. There were so many, and of course, I haven’t seen them all.
From early on, there were movies like The Story of G.I. Joe, Dive Bomber, So Proudly We Hail! and Sahara. And During World War 2, Disney made films for every branch of the United States Armed Forces and government.
Hollywood downplayed the efforts and contributions of the other Allies. But some films grudgingly acknowledged the United Kingdom, who kept the hopeless fight alive until the USA joined in and saved the day. Non-European Allies are mostly never even mentioned, especially China, with its pivotal role in the war against Japan. The Soviet-German war on the Eastern Front, if mentioned at all, is sometimes portrayed as a sideshow.
Some movies based on real events, such as the film U571 are about real persons who were not American, depicted them as Americans. U571 (2000) is about American submariners. ‘Red Tails‘ (2012) is a great exaggeration about American airmen. In some movies, we learn that WWII only began only on December 7, 1941, when the United States entered the war. Some movies are such fun, even if fictional, for example the Americans killing Hitler in Inglourious Basterds.
Many movies are about the overall war effort, but focus on America’s involvement. Some of these films include Saving Private Ryan (1998) Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and the mini series Band of Brothers (2001). Films on the D Day landings give the impression that the American landing on Omaha Beach was the decisive turning point that led to Allied victory in Europe.
Now, I know that I’m pretty right, in claiming that the Americans won World War 2. In our democratic culture we accept the opinions of the many. The more common view is now that the Americans were the primary reason for the Nazi defeat, with 40-52% in America and Europe saying so. (But Britons do think it was the UK). But back to when the war ended:
“In 1945, 57% of French citizens believed Moscow “contributed most to the defeat of Germany in 1945” – just 20% named the US, and 12% Britain. By 2015, less than a quarter of respondents recognised the Soviet role, with 54% believing the US to be Nazism’s ultimate vanquisher. Today only 17-28% of Europeans and Americans suggest that the USSR did the bulk of the work in bringing down Hitler.”
If you go to Encyclopedia Britannica, or Wikipedia, or many history sites, you are told some extraordinary facts and figures about the role of the Soviet Union in World War 2. And they attribute the defeat of Nazi Germany as being mainly achieved by the Russians, with substantial input from Britain and the USA.
For example: “The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of operations in World War 2, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany The decisive battles were Stalingrad, Kursk, and the Battle of Berlin.”
You find this sort of information: “The Soviet Union lost at least 26 million in World War 2, Considerably more than any other country. Russian casualties were 60 times the number of American casualties… More Russian died at Stalingrad than Americans and Britons died in the whole war.”
D Day 6 June 1944, was a big day in bringing the war towards the end. Approximately 156,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, of which nearly half were from the USA. Additionally, smaller contingents of troops from other allied countries were also involved. So at least the various historical records agree that the USA was strongly involved in the eventual victory, even though they joined in the war effort only in December 1941.
But now, it’s time to correct the records on who defeated the Nazis. Britain and Europe are doing their best, holding VE Day celebrations, in which Russia is excluded. And now, Donald Trump has issued a proclamation designating Thursday as a day for the United States to celebrate its victory in the war: “… we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II.”
President Donald Trump is busily correcting historical records, taking over the National Archives, or as he puts it; RESTORING TRUTH AND SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY.
So, between the entertainment culture, the political views of the Western Powers, and finally, no less a history expert than Donald Trump himself, we can hope that all that nonsense about Russia winning WW2 can be put to bed.
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His pal Putin should slap him down on that.
Came across this the other day — “there is a floor to reality which is why its called reality….that floor is the fact it does not go away even when you deny its existence.”
The US really does believe the Hollywood hype.
Remember the incident just a few years back when a bunch of drongos who thought they were in a Rambo movie sailed down to Venezuela to kidnap the President?
They were rounded up by Venezuelan security before they got their feet wet.
And just today US naval power had to call for a truce with Yemen after attacks on US navy vessels caused the loss of three fighter jets falling overboard.
Not to mention Yemen downing about twenty drones valued at about $30million each.
Reality is that which does not go away.
Americans keep choosing to forget and/or deny historical fact! The reality is that WW2 started on 1st September, 1939 when Hitler’s horrendous Nazi regime decided to invade Poland!
The FACT is that WW2 was raging for nearly SIX LONG YEARS before the Americans even saw a minute’s combat. The Yanks didn’t seem to give a rat’s behind that the Nazis invaded Poland; the TRUTH is that the Americans turned their backs, shrugged their shoulders and left Europe to its “own devises” NOT bothering to get involved in World War 2 right up to and until December 8, 1945 the day AFTER the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour. Needless to say that the American “involvement” in WW2 didn’t happen until almost THREE YEARS after 19 February, 1942 when the Japanese bombed the northern Australian city of Darwin!
History has shown that America only gets involved when its OWN self-interests are impacted or threatened – they rarely, if ever, get involved in wars that threaten other hapless nations. As such, the self-centred, fictitious American DELUSION that they, single-handedly, won WW2 is a load of unadulterated BS! Australia, the UK and most of Europe are NOT buying it because, unlike America, WE WERE THERE defending Poland, the UK and most of Europe for more than SIX LONG YEARS when America was NOT!
The chest-beating arrogance and ignorance of deluded Americans, like that pompous megalomaniacal psychopath, Trump, is staggering! Americans continually choose to live in their own parallel universe; believe their own lies and twisted, self-promoting, fictional view of the world and its skewed view of history. Sadly, Americans are so quick to believe all the crap they inhale from their biased media; so easily manipulated by the excessive, rather nauseating, level of flag-waving nationalism and very quick to take credit for the hard work, risks and life-threatening combat that courageous soldiers from OTHER nations have undertaken in many conflicts that have threatened the world. America and Australia only get involved in distractionary wars – like Vietnam and America’s ILLEGAL invasion of Iraq – when the right-wing war mongers in the Republican movement and their sycophantic allies in Australia’s LNP – want to take attention away from their own appalling level of self-serving corruption! The fact that the American puppet, John Howard, was so willing to sacrifice the lives of young Australians to appease that internationally-discredited war criminal, George W Bush, has brought shame and notoriety to our nation!
America is a nation that consistently PROVES the truth in the foresightful quote from Aeschylus which states, “In war, truth is the first casualty”.
Let’s hope that Australia NEVER AGAIN blindly follows America into senseless wars and needless combat with nations that do not directly threaten us.
Kathryn, I think you’ll find that Pearl Harbour was 1941, so 2 years into the war not 6.
Churchill asked Roosevelt for help in 1940, and the USA agreed to send more destroyers to Britain in exchange for a deal on bases for 99 years. He announced to the American public that they would NOT be entering the war as combatants. They only joined in when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in order to cripple the US fleet so their expansion into the Pacific would be easier.
We cannot deny that the involvement of the US in both European and Pacific theatres made a difference to the defeat of both axis powers, but their denial that any other effort was secondary is disingenuous. The Russian front was the beginning of the end for Hitler.
What bothers me the most about WWII is that the Allies all knew what was happening to Jews very early in the war, and they ignored it.
It’s also important to provide the context that the Soviet Union sided with the Nazis to start WW2
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. It’s another fact often glossed over.
In this context its also reasonable to point out that Putin is on the record as justifying/rationalising Hitler’s position in starting WW2
A non-aggression pact started WW2?
It looks as though it’s not only Hollywood re-writing history.
An agreement to divide Poland, which allowed the Nazis to invade, started WW2
You can blame Stalin for that, AC. Any general who tried to warn him that the Nazis couldn’t be trusted was taken out and shot.
It’s also worth remembering that after war broke out in Europe the American sentiments were with Germany. Some wealthy Americans were even funding them. One such benefactor spawned two American presidents.
Yes, there were plenty in the US that either wanted to keep out, or overtly supported the Nazis.
There’s no denying those facts.
It also seems to be the case that plenty of people are either ignorant about the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact, or gloss over it.
But can you imagine the outrage in any other country if the contemporary leader provided support/context/justification for Hitler’s rationale?
To Kathryn, While I sympathise with much of your argument, you do need to do a bit of fact-checking with your dates and events. Otherwise righteous Western Russian-haters will enjoy shooting you down in flames. Of course it was not 6 years before the USA entered the war – as it started in 1939,and they entered after Pearl Harbour in 1941. And this discussion is only about VE Day – the ending of the war in Europe.
In December 23 , ‘The Atlantic’ reported that Trump insisted he had not read ‘Mein Kampf’. In 1990 Trump admitted to having a copy of ‘Mein Kampf’ though his first wife – Ivana- said that it was a copy of another book : ‘My New Order’ – a collection of Hitler’s ravings and speeches during which he ranted about “Immigrants destroying the blood of our country.”
Toned down a bit but sounding familiar with Dutton and predominantly, Nigel Farage in the UK. A ‘them and us’ division is eagerly endorsed by nutters and extreme right wing groups of assorted misfits with massive problems about equality and human rights. In the USA – it’s not just immigrants but it is all and every person who doesn’t fit the mould required.
Frankly – beyond even George Orwell’s predictions from his book of fiction.
Interesting, but why go back in history to find something negative about the US and promote USSR Russia?
Further, this ‘Russian casualties were 60 times the number of American casualties… More Russian died at Stalingrad than Americans and Britons died in the whole war.”’
Now Russia, but the then USSR was not ‘Russian’, but many nationalities including Ukrainians too, fighting in Stalingrad, Ukraine etc against the Nazis or Wermacht.
However, nowadays the more ethnic white Christian and/or western Russians dominate Russian elites and Putin’s regime, over other ethnicities and newer citizens from former Soviet Republics; with admiration of US MAGA white Christian nationalists?
This is not the first time that AC has condensed the decades of manipulation behind the start of WW2 into a single sentence.
Here is a more detailed, yet still incomplete summary.
On January 1, 1970, when the British Cabinet papers for 1939 were published, the Guardian wrote,
“The Cabinet papers for 1939, published this morning, show that the Second World War would not have started in that year if the Chamberlain Government had accepted or understood Russian advice that an alliance between Britain, France and the Soviet Union would prevent war because Hitler could not then risk a conflict against major powers on two fronts.”
So on March 18th 1939 we have USSR pleading with the West for action to stop Hitler. Russia was clearly told to go at it alone.
On April 16th 1939, Stalin in desperation proposed that Russia, France and Britain make a pact that would bind their three countries to declare war on Germany if they or any nation between the Baltic and the Mediterranean were attacked. Britain and France refused.
The USSR was left with few options. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed August 23rd, 1939, has gone down in history as notorious.
However, an important fact is often left out which completely changes the character of the popular interpretation of the Soviet compromise with Nazism.
This notorious pact was signed a full 11 months after UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the appeasement deal with Hitler on September 30th, 1938, known as the Munich Agreement (aka the Munich Betrayal).
The usual account of the Munich Agreement has it that the British government agreed to partition Czechoslovakia only as a desperate measure to avoid a greater European war. This view is based on the idea that Germany was already an overwhelming military power that could easily crush Czechoslovakia’s weak defenses.
However, this idea is patently false.
Created in 1919, Czechoslovakia was the most prosperous, most democratic, most powerful and best administered of the states that emerged from the Habsburg Empire. The idea that the Germans had a military advantage and that Czech’s security was weak were both fabrications of a sustained propaganda campaign, which was orchestrated by the British media and government representatives to mislead the British and European public. In terms of quality, armaments and fortifications, the Czech army was known to be the best in Europe and was superior to the German army in every way except for air support.
On September 3rd, 1938, the British military attaché in Prague wrote a cable to London, stating: ‘There are no shortcomings in the Czech army, as far as I have been able to observe…’
Czechoslovakia did in fact capitulate without resistance, but this was not because her defenses were weak. Rather, it was because her government had been given false promises and was ultimately played in favour of Germany by the treacherous scheming of Britain’s secret diplomacy.
The Munich Agreement subsequently allowed Hitler to acquire Czechoslovakia’s superior army and transformed Germany into a colossal military threat that would be much more difficult to defeat. Germany had been allowed to become an ultra-supreme force through direct British intervention.
It was only 11 months later that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed by the Russians as a means to forestall what was clearly the inevitable; a German attack on Russian soil, with the backing of Britain and France.
In addition, the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements, through BoE Governor Montague Norman, allowed for the direct transfer of 5.6 million pounds worth of gold to Hitler that was owned by the Bank of Czechoslovakia.
So with Hitler being viewed favourably in the West for destroying communism in Germany, with the West giving him easy money, it’s easy to see why Hitler assumed that his military adventures would meet with little resistance from the West.
About non aggression pacts. The Soviet Union was concerned about Nazi Germany’s expansionist aims, and Stalin feared that Russia might become isolated. In the late 1930s Stalin did ask Britain to join a military alliance, But Britain dallied, and in fact, the UK government sent their reply by very slow sea mail. That is the background to why Russia did sign the non-aggression pact with Germany in August 1939.
I’m not sure why there is a need to debate the cause of the start of WW2.
The Soviet Union and the Nazis signed a (secret ) Pact, that (among other things) allowed Germany to invade Poland (and Russia to occupy other parts of Poland)
That was the start of WW2.
It’s also a fact that Putin is on the record as justifying Hitler’s rationale.
As Stalin has been mentioned, here’s a view of Stalin from one who knew him.
Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons on 8 September 1942. From Churchill, The End of the Beginning (War Speeches 1942), London: Cassell, 1943, 216-17:
It was an experience of great interest to me to meet Premier Stalin. The main object of my visit was to establish the same relations of easy confidence and of perfect openness which I have built up with President Roosevelt. I think that, in spite of the accident of the Tower of Babel which persists as a very serious barrier in numerous spheres, I have succeeded to a considerable extent. It is very fortunate for Russia in her agony to have this great rugged war chief at her head. He is a man of massive outstanding personality, suited to the sombre and stormy times in which his life has been cast; a man of inexhaustible courage and will-power, and a man direct and even blunt in speech, which, having been brought up in the House of Commons, I do not mind at all, especially when I have something to say of my own. Above all, he is a man with that saving sense of humour which is of high importance to all men and all nations, but particularly to great men and great nations. Stalin also left upon me the impression of a deep, cool wisdom and a complete absence of illusions of any kind. I believe I made him feel that we were good and faithful comrades in this war – but that, after all, is a matter which deeds, not words, will prove. One thing stands out in my mind above all others from this visit to Moscow — the inexorable, inflexible resolve of Soviet Russia to fight Hitlerism to the end until it is finally beaten down.
Except for the late entry of S.Davis, there has been poor comment, inaccurate rubbish, untenable assertion. Ask Putin, who knows this well. And, Trump remains the world’s leading ignorant arsehole. Churchill “understood” Stalin, who “understood” Hitler…