I only ever took one class on WWII, but there is a lot of misguided statements in this thread...hitler didn't actually even really want war with france or the UK, destruction in france was kept to a minimum, and despite what english hisotyr textbooks wil tell you, hitler allowed the escape at dunkirk. in every country the war was conducted slightly differently, in the east though hitler saw russians as "barbarians"...and he was going to get his living space for the german people from russian territories. this means he attempted genocide (or at best ethnic cleansing) against the russians as a people with only slightly less vigor than he exterminated jews.
he anhillated civilians and civilian targets w/o discrimination and, in fact, it was a matter of policy. roving death squads operated behind the front to kill (civillian) adult males, rape and then kill women, and enslave children.
Has anyone on this board talked about their sister and mother being grang raped by half a platoon? what about actual family assets destroyed or appropriated while the nazis "foraged"? all crops burned/stolen? house burned? father shot in the back of the head and buried nameless with 50 other people? the youngest chldren in ur family abducted and never heard from again. the family dog eaten by your neighbors down the block due to starvation from endless shelling? Nah you all haven't.
imagine Sherman's march through georgia and south carolina, only difference is nobody that i know of has accused sherman of being genocidal because he wasn't, and he mainly restricted his damage to implements of war. not so in the east. Soviet POWs could expect very different treatment than american or british POWs.
the wars on the western front, in N. africa, and in italy were conducted much more conventionally, following traditional rules of war. atrocities committed on those fronts were the actions of rouge commanders or individual regulars operating of their own accord. not at all a matter of policy (generally speaking). In the east there were no rules.
this is why the red army entered germany with such vengeance and determination. to this day--though distasteful--russians hold parades of their capture of the Reichstag and ultimate victory over germany. we don't, and there is a reason.
Not trying to belittle the heroism, sacrifice, and accomplishments of anybody's relatives in this thread. but if any of you ever visit europe, never talk about any war of any kind to anyone. you'll come off as an ignorant american.
