I notice a phenomenon here that is common on most discussion boards dealing with recent history, that is, attempting to defray or mitigate guilt for the deeds of countries like Japan and Nazi Germany by accusing Allied Nations and most particularly the US of equally reprehensible actions.
Certainly there are legitimate instances of heavy handed and in a very small number of cases criminal deeds that occurred in the course of a long and brutal war that was forced on the accused by the aggressive actions of the Axis nations. In this alone we have someone who accuses the U.S. and Britain of causing the war with Japan while steadfastly refusing to address Japan’s aggressive and criminal actions which led to the supposed provocative actions of said nations.
Another phenomenon that is common on WW 2 discussion boards is that it’s almost mandatory to denigrate the US and it’s contribution to the war effort. Surprisingly this attitude is limited to a few right wing kooks or neo-Nazis but is prevalent even among Europeans who benefited immeasurably from US our efforts to liberate Europe. It seems to be more common to see criticism of not only the US as a nation but even of the soldiers who were fighting and dieing their way across continental Europe in actions that saw the removal of an oppressive and murderous occupier. Why the resentment?
I understand that in today’s world many see the US as a bully because of it’s willingness to assert it’s economic and political and military power. That however is a completely different discussion. Perhaps it’s just too difficult to separate the two issues?