Top 10 Biggest Misconceptions of World War II
Popular memory of the Second World War is a stack of half-truths reinforced by a century of films. This ranking pulls the worst offenders into the open. Top of the list is the idea that the Nazis were the only people who committed war crimes; the Soviet conduct in Eastern Europe, the Allied bombing campaigns against civilian centres, and the colonial policies of multiple Allied powers all sit uncomfortably alongside the obvious atrocities of the Axis. The notion that the United States caused the Allies to prevail is the next big one; the Soviet Union absorbed roughly eighty percent of German military deaths, and the war was effectively decided on the Eastern Front before D-Day. Speaking of which, the third entry is the persistent belief that American forces led D-Day; the operation was Allied, with British, Canadian and other forces taking equal-or-larger sectors of the beaches. The fourth is the idea that the Nazis were always punished for their crimes; thousands of perpetrators escaped via ratlines, found refuge in South America, or quietly resumed careers in postwar Europe. The fifth, that France folded against Germany, ignores the brutal six-week defence in 1940 that inflicted significant German losses. The list rewards corrections that have actual historical evidence, not contrarian takes. Vote based on which myths you have heard most recently in serious conversation.
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#1
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The Nazis were the only people who committed war crimes
#2
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The United States caused the Allies to prevail
#3
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American forces led D-Day
#4
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The Nazis were always punished for their crimes
#5
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France folded against Germany
#6
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Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack
#7
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The bombing of Pearl Harbor was what made the United States join World War II
#8
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American soldiers were eager to Join World War II
#9
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The death toll of World War II was six million
#10
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German kids were used to detect bombs
#11
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Gulags were Russian concentration camps
#12
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Only the US was working on nuclear weapons
#13
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Axis soldiers never set foot on American soil
#14
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Pius XII was a Nazi
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