Talk:US History/World War II and Rise of Atomic Age

Quality of whole "US History" book is so low that in my opinion it should be deleted, and started anew if someone feels like doing it right.

Anyway, partial list of mistakes in just this chapter:
 * After World War I, the Germans felt that they had been treated unfairly by being forced to pay reparations to the Allies. Taking advantage of German resentment for the Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler and his supporters attempted to stir up rebellion in 1923. Hitler failed and was sentenced to prison for treason.

It wasn't about having to pay reparations – the existence of reparations was agreed in armistice negotiations. The reparations in Treaty of Versailles far exceeded those agreed during those negotiations and those that were possible to be actually paid. The treaty contained many other points which tried to damage Germany beyond what was usual practice of the time. It has been analyzed many time, including the famous analysis of Keynes, so I'm not going to repeat that here. And in any case – not that was the direct reason of the putsch.

Direct cause of the Beer Hall Putsch were domestic, with change of policy of the central government under new chancellor. The putsch was also only one of many revolts that took place in Germany in years following the war. It wasn't largest, or special in any way except for involving Adolf Hitler.


 * However, in 1928, a freed Hitler's Nazi Party stood for election,

Hitler was freed much earlier - in 1924.


 * Jews and opponents of the Nazi Party were sent to concentration camps, where they were tortured or killed.

You're confusing concentration camps with death camps. Mass killings in death camps didn't start till much later – early 1942.


 * Hitler contended that Germans belonged to a race superior to other races, thus, in the minds of many German people, justifying the Holocaust, the killing and torture of Jews.

"Killing and torture" of the Jews didn't start until much later.


 * Hitler had no intention of keeping his agreement. In 1939, he took over the remainder of Czechoslovakia and turned his sights to Poland. France and the United Kingdom agreed to come to Poland's aid, but Germany signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact, which ensured the neutrality of the Soviet Union (formerly Russia).


 * On the first day of September in 1939, Germany declared war on Poland; the British and French responded by declaring war on Germany two days later.


 * The Germans used the tactic of blitzkrieg (lightning war) in Poland, defeating the Polish Army at lightning speed. By the end of the first week of October, the Germans had gained control of all of Poland. The British and French had done little to aid Poland, fearing a repeat of the First World War.

This is not a mistake – I'm sure it's a deliberate lie by the author. The pact didn't ensure neutrality of the Soviet Union, it ensured full cooperation between Germany and the Soviet Union and it divided Central Europe between the two.

Not saying a word about Soviet involvement in attack on Poland and saying instead that "Germans had gained control of all of Poland" (while about half of it was occupied by the Soviets, not Germans) just confirms my suspicions that it wasn't just a mistake.


 * Hitler's Germany was the supreme power on Continental Europe. Only the United Kingdom offered resistance.

Soviet Union's existence isn't even acknowledged. In fact the Soviet Union was the main potential danger for Germany (with which it tried to deal with preemptive strike), not Britain.


 * The Yalta conference suggested the division of Germany into "zones" after the war for the purpose of reconstruction. Also, the leaders decided to punish Nazis who had participated in war crimes such as the Holocaust.

The main issue wasn't division of Germany, and certainly not the fate of German leadership, but the division of power in Central Europe.

Claiming that the zones were meant for "reconstruction" is also highly inaccurate – at least the Soviets had no reconstruction in mind and used their zone first to take everything that was possible to be taken, and later to establish a Communist state there.

In addition to these and other inaccuracies and deliberate lies, there are many important omissions, for example of all the Soviet and Allied war crimes. The chapter presents picture of the World War II, which is neither accurate nor neutral. Taw 01:15, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

VfD discussion

 * US_History/Contents/World_War_II_and_Rise_of_Atomic_Age, and probably other US_History modules. I explained the problems with that module in its talk page, but nobody bothered to either answer or to correct the problems. Taw 03:17, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Just edit the page! Minor errors, like dates, can be changed easily. If there is a big problem, don't worry about it, just edit the page. It definitely shouldn't be deleted because it has content that isn't entirely wrong or rubbish. If it's as bad as you say it is, just edit the page. - SamE 03:47, 4 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Minor errors ? That module consists almost only of errors, half-truths and plain lies. Taw 04:55, 5 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Then rewrite the page! - SamE 14:12, 6 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Still a mess
I agree with User:Taw that this chapter is quite a mess. I am going to make some dramatic attempts to re-organize how the chapter should be designed. Currently, it reads more like a History of Germany than an American History of World War II. - Thekohser (talk) 14:34, 19 June 2008 (UTC)