Onderwerp: WWII

ya think? :)

Yeah, sometimes I think you have to take these professors' theories with a grain of salt. When I was in college, one of my roommates took a Civil War class (War of Northern Aggression for those of you in the South). Anyway, the professor claimed the war was all about the oppression of women somehow. Go figure right?

Oh and guess what...she just happened to be a professor in the women's study department, but since they didn't have enough students in women's studies, she was teaching some history too. You think she looked at the world in kind of a jaded manner?


Steve

When WWII started?

haha now that is a question...with japan its 1941...

although some japanese scholars argue that it started long before then. Some say it bagan with commodore Perry and his gunboats, and ever since then Japan's course in history was a result of not becoming another China (carved up in spheres of influence)

WWII started 2 years early, I think... Why here in US @ schools kids learn that WWII started after Pearl Harbour? At this time US just joined to the anti-axis coalition.

WWII started in 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. Italy "joined" the Germans in 1940, and USA i believe as you said in 1941 when a German submarine "accidently" destroy a US Ship (i think it was a Merchantile one, can't rememeber properly) in the Atlantic

I know, but why others didn't know? If somebody didn't read (or watch at current times) more about WWII start to thinking about Pearl Harbour as a beginning of WWII.

i would say that kids think WWII started in 1941 becuase that is when the US joined the war..?

Yes, something like that.

yeah the youth of today is both naive and misinformed on important issues....

More about WWII topic and new Wolfram Alpha - Google search engine killer:

http://www29.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=september+1%2C+1939

hmm, nothing about WWII

but

http://www29.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=december+7+1941

wow - there was an attack

and

http://www29.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=second+world+war

more interesting - no Poland involved!

Edit: They fixed last point - Poland was added.
(gewijzigd)

There's an interesting book about the U.S. entry into WW I called _The Zimmerman Telegram_. There was a lot of attempts by Kaiser Wilhelm to stir up fear of "The Yellow Menace." He made a painting about it and sent it to Czar Nicholas (who he referred to as "Nicky" in their correspondence).

But racism? There's an element of racism in the government propaganda at the time, but I don't think it's that much different than referring to the Germans as "Huns" or German depictions in American propaganda.

I went fly-fishing with a British Jew the other day. He said, "America is a profoundly racist society, look at what happened to New Orleans!" I told him, "America is a classist society... it wouldn't have happened like that if they were rich black people."

I think any of the perceptions of the Japanese from WWII which would be considered racist today has to be looked at in the context of the time, and also one must remember that it's natural to dehumanize your enemies in war. If we were engaged in total war now, we would likewise probably dehumanize our enemies in some way.

Re New Orleans

1) Don't underestimate the extreme stupidity of the government in Louisiana. They are not racist. They are just incompetent. That was a factor as well.
2) Racism is regional. They are racist in Louisiana in a whole different way than in other parts of the country. There wouldn't have been issues with responding like that if the disaster was in Harlem or South Central LA.