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Originally Posted by Random32
WTF. That is the only thing that I can think about this statement...
How exactly was Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan's actions in any way justified as "neccessary"? I might be able to see the "We have to become an Imperial power else we get colonized by Europe" for Japan, but even that is stretching it A LOT.
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What? That's the only thing? Turn the chessboard around, please.
World War 2 didn't just involve Hitler and Imperial Japan. the war was because the other nations of the world opposed their aggression. It had to be fought because well, millions more would die. Fighting is bad, but they had no choice but to do so.
Some wars are ambiguous on which side was the wrongdoer, but the fascist aggressors are the closest to being objectively evil.
There was no diplomacy that could be used against Hitler. Appeasing him merely made the problem worse, though some may argue that bought some time. This is why I contrasted World War 2 with World War 1. World War 1 was a multinational pissing context, made worse with leaders using outdated tactics thanks to them embracing the romanticism of war in an extremely reactionary fashion that led to the kind of ultranationalism that sent millions in the meat grinder to furfill the imperialistic needs of the rulers. They could have paid attention to the brutality of the American Civil War that happened half a century ago, but alas...
"Charge! Charge! For glory! For the country!"
/gets wiped out by artillery and machine fire
Once they saw the death and suffering, they realized that war being glorious was just merely a fantasy, and everyone wanted to avoid war at all costs for quite a while. As of recent times, this romanticism is becoming dangerous again. Why was the United States so reluctant to enter World War II? They didn't want to be involved in the imperialistic bloodfests of Europe and the world. I'll just say that it's something to think about today, too, given the US government's actions in the past few decades. It's quite the irony that WW2 lies in the American fantasy as World Police. But people fought the war so that future generations could avoid war. And now certain chickenhawks want war?
And ultimately, even a war like World War 2 simply ended with losers with the tens of millions dead and empires bankrupt. The ones that lost the least could be considered the victors. This is what I mean by there being only losers in war. This is why I think romantic fantasies of war are dangerous.