World War II

On 8 May 1995, the British prime minister, John Major, referred to the end of World War II as the end of a thirty years’ war; in this, he was correct: both sides saw this war as an attempt to complete a task left undone at the close of the First World War – the show-down which ended European global domination. The Second World War was, however, the ultimate catastrophe of modern history, laying waste the heart and soul of Europe. Here you will find contributions about this conflict, its prelude, conduct, and personalities – excluding non-military Nazi personalities, which are covered under the entry “Third Reich Era.” Also covered are contributions dealing with war crimes (and lies about alleged war crimes) committed in the course of the conflict. This does not include the “Holocaust,” which has a separate entry (and is not a war crime in the strict sense).

Hitler’s European Diplomacy

The following article was taken, with generous permission from Castle Hill Publishers, from the recently published second edition of Richard Tedor’s study Hitler’s Revolution: Ideology, Social Programs, Foreign Affairs (Castle Hill Publishers, Uckfield, December 2021; see the book announcement in Issue No. 1 of this volume of Inconvenient History). In this book, it forms the…

The War that Never Ends

World War Two ended in 1945, hence more than a three-quarter century ago. When that many years had passed, other, earlier wars were almost forgotten after an entire generation had passed. But WWII is different. It is being relived, resuffered, reenacted and kept in the limelight as if it had happened yesterday. For the victorious…

The Laconia Incident

While you’re celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, allow me to tell you another war story you’ve probably never heard (I graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a major in American History from an Ivy League school and I never had!). You may find it doesn’t fill you with the same patriotic pride as the Allied…

William Joyce: “Lord Haw-Haw”

William Brooke Joyce, also known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” holds the distinction of being the last man ever to be hanged for high treason by the British Crown. Joyce was born an American and grew up in western Ireland. He was hanged for high treason by the British Crown at Wandsworth Prison, London, in the early morning of January 3, 1946. His offense was that he had given “aid and comfort to the King’s enemies” and assisted Germany “in her war against our country and our King” by making pro-German radio broadcasts during World War II. By the end of the war, Joyce was, after Adolf Hitler, the most detested man in Britain. This article discusses the life and career of William Joyce, and whether he should have been hanged for high treason after World War II.

Otto Skorzeny: Hitler’s Special Operations Commander

Otto Skorzeny was one of the most colorful men of the Third Reich and its most successful special-operations commander. Skorzeny made it clear that, after the Allied demand at Casablanca for an unconditional German surrender, he had no other alternative but to fight to the bitter end. This article examines some of Skorzeny’s special missions and his good fortune in surviving World War II and its aftermath.

The Unfortunate Allied Demand of Germany’s Unconditional Surrender

The European wars prior to World War II had traditionally ended in negotiations between the victor and vanquished. For example, all of the 15 wars which Great Britain had participated in between the end of the 16th century and 1943 ended in negotiated settlements. The announcement in January 1943 at the Casablanca Conference that the…

Neutral Sources Document Why Germany Invaded Poland

Most historians state that Germany’s invasion of Poland was an unprovoked act of aggression designed to create Lebensraum and eventually take control of Europe. According to conventional historians, Adolf Hitler hated the Polish people and wanted to destroy them as his first step on the road to world conquest. This article uses non-German sources to document that, contrary to what most historians claim, Germany’s invasion of Poland was provoked by the Polish government’s acts of violence against its ethnic German minority.

Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II

Sean McMeekin is a professor of history at Bard College in upstate New York. Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II is McMeekin’s latest book that focuses on Josef Stalin’s involvement in World War II. This well-researched and well-written book uses new research in Soviet, European and American archives to prove that World War II was a war that Stalin had wanted—not Adolf Hitler. A remarkable feature of Stalin’s War is McMeekin’s documentation showing the extensive aid given by the United States and Great Britain to support Soviet Communism during the war. This article focuses on the lend-lease and other aid given to the Soviet Union during World War II which enabled Stalin to conquer most of Eurasia, from Berlin to Beijing, for Communism.

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