History Is Written by the Victors: An Insight into the Second World War
Disclaimer for antisemitic individuals and Nazi apologists: This is not a pro Nazi or anti Jewish article. If you wish, you may click away right now. Others, you're welcome! Please stay!
So, this quote "history is written by the victors" is not a new quote and is widely traced to Winston Churchill, though the exact source is difficult to trace. What does this quote mean? Does the winning side automatically become the bad one as claimed by the neo Nazi anti semitic people? No. Politics and wars are not a simple binary of good or bad. They do not work on idealism. Regarding World War II, the surrender by Hitler and Nazi Germany does trigger goosebumps to the Europeans, giving the effect of victory of good over evil. The German Nazis, Italian Fascists and Imperial Japanese were horrible people indeed, who committed sadistic genocides and massacres of Europeans, Africans and Asians. But, that does not make the ones fighting them inherently the "good guys." World War II was more like "evil versus the lesser evil." That is what "History is Written by the Victors" actually means: history is biased towards the winners whitewashing their crimes, not "actually.... Nazis were the good guys...!" Let us look into the other side of history that is rarely discussed.
What Resulted in the Rise of Hitler in the First Place?
After World War I, the central powers, particularly France and Britain, imposed the Treaty of Versailles on Germany, placing guilt for starting the war squarely on German shoulders. The terms of this treaty were really harsh:
- 132 billion gold marks in reparations
- French occupation of the coal rich Rhineland to ensure disarmament
- Ban on the German air force
- Significant demilitarization of Germany
- Germany could not wage war against another sovereign country
In 1929, the Great Depression hit and the German economy tumbled. Starvation, high inflation and unemployment rates became severe. Crime rates increased, corruption was rampant, businesses were damaged and despair was everywhere. Hitler saw an opportunity to manipulate a stressed population, calling the treaty unfair and blaming everything on Jews. On January 5, 1919, the German Workers' Party was founded in Munich by Anton Drexler, a locksmith, and Karl Herrer, a journalist. In October, Hitler joined the party too and by February 24, 1920, the party was renamed as the Nazi Party, Hitler being instrumental in that change. With time, his popularity skyrocketed. On January 30, 1933, he was appointed as the chancellor of German. On February 28, 1933, the Reichstag, the German parliament building, mysteriously caught fire. Hitler blamed the arson on the communists and gradually consolidated power through carefully calculated steps by August 1934.
One by one, Hitler began breaking the terms of the treaty. He began rapid militarization and even kept an air force, the Luftwaffe. Why did France and Britain not stop him? Specifically, Britain under Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was sympathetic to Germans, considering the treaty way too harsh for them. Even France was reluctant to take any action.
In March 1938, Nazi Germany invaded Austria. There was not much bloodshed as many Austrians, being ethnically similar to Germans, were victims to Nazi propaganda. The Sudetenland, a part of the then Czechoslovakia, which constituted ethnic Germans, was annexed in October 1938 under the condition that Hitler would not invade the remaining country... without even consulting Czechoslovakia. The remainder of the country was gobbled up in March 1939. Hitler was warned by Britain and France that invading another country would mean a full scale war. On September 1, 1939, Hitler, despite warnings, invaded Poland. Britain and France immediately declared war on Nazi Germany. A period of phony war began, where no real on-ground military conflict occurred. Britain and France assumed Hitler's lust for Lebensraum (living space), would end with the annexation of Poland. Still, they requested Norway and Sweden to stop supplying essential minerals to Nazi Germany. On refusal, they blockaded the naval route, bombing Nazi ships. What an intelligent move when the man in front of you is so aggressive right? Denmark, followed by Norway, was invaded on April 9, 1940. Chamberlain resigned on May 10, 1940, recognizing his inability to save the neighboring countries, and Churchill assumed power.
In short, it was France and Britain who made Germany more dangerous than before with the humiliating treaty in the first place and then even allowed Hitler to break the Treaty of Versailles later on.
A Comparison Between Hitler and Churchill
Hitler was a racist. He considered the German Aryan or Nordic race to be the most superior race, or Herrenvolk (master race). He believed in racial purity and despised race mixing. He considered Romas (gypsies), Slavs (Poles, Russians and Ukrainians), Blacks, disabled people and homosexuals as Untermenschen (sub-humans). And then came the Jews, the enemy of the race, whom the Nazis referred to as a "parasitic race:. We all know that all these so-called racially inferior people faced genocide, known as the Holocaust, on an industrial scale in concentration camps.
But Churchill was no less of a racist either. He considered the Anglo Aryan race to be the superior one and despised Indians, Blacks, Chinese and the other so-called racially inferior groups. In his famous quote, he said, "I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion." This sentiment was echoed during the Bengal Famine of 1943, which should in fact, be termed as a genocide. Three million people died, just half the number of European Jewish deaths. Such a huge scale of death is not unintentional. It was a pure racist ignorance. He even blamed the entire famine on Indians, claiming they "bred like rabbits." Since World War II was at its peak, food supply was directed more towards British soldiers. He did not view Blacks favorably either, making "higher-grade race" remarks which put whites at the top, using derogatory terms for the Sudanese and racial slurs during the Boer War in South Africa. He even considered China a barbaric nation and advocated for its partition.
And the irony? Churchill became the hero and Hitler the villain! On the points discussed above, Hitler and Churchill actually agreed to a great extent! Mid war, Hitler had no interest in Britain but wanted a peace treaty. He was even uncomfortable to see India as an independent nation due to his racist beliefs. However, when the war raged on, he supported the Indian freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose by sending him to Japan in a submarine. Bose is a different personality, and his journey was spectacular. But do not get him wrong. He was not a Nazi. He was a socialist, an ideology which Hitler hated. Bose just prioritized India's independence. Anyway, back to the topic.
Violence by the Allies
Germany, Italy and Japan committed immense violence throughout continents, much of it racially motivated. But so did the Allies, attacking innocent civilians. On September 8, 1943, Fascist Italy surrendered and switched sides by October 13. But during the invasion of Italy from the South, which prompted the surrender, numerous civilian casualties occurred.
When Hitler was at the pinnacle of power and overconfident, he invaded the city of Stalingrad in USSR on July 17, 1942, and suffered a decisive defeat on February 2, 1943, putting Hitler on the back foot. The USSR began marching towards Nazi Germany from the east, with the other allies from the south and west. When the war was impending, a lot of Germans were killed and civilian infrastructure was demolished. Well, they are part of war, so we can do nothing about those, right?
Well, during the Battle of Britain, the Nazis bombed civilian areas in London. In retaliation, Churchill bombed civilian infrastructure in Berlin. This was really unnecessary for obvious reasons as you do not stoop to the same level as your enemy. B-but... it was a necessary evil?
Oh really? Then hear this out. When Soviets stormed Berlin, they raped German women. Now, even the most evil woman in the world does not deserve something as horrible as rape. If you think otherwise, what is wring with you? Want to know a surprising, under discussed event? On June 6, 1944, the Normandy landings occurred to liberate France from the Nazis. This day is considered to be really iconic especially due to the risk involved in the entire operation, except that it became a trauma for a few French women. The Americans raped French girls and women! They were from an allied country! Imagine how entitled a man has to be to sexually assault women on your own side. The US forces committed sexual violence against girls and women in Japanese occupied territories in Asia as well while "liberating" them. And all of us are aware of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Who Really Started WW2?
This is not a really popular opinion. While the negligence of France and Britain allowed someone like Hitler to become powerful, there is another factor which turned the war into a world war. France and Britain had heavily colonized the world, along with other colonizers like Italy, Belgium, Portugal and Spain. There were intense competitions to acquire the colonies. The African theater of war between Italy and the Allies was primarily driven by colonialist ambitions. Moreover, soldiers to fight the Fascists and Nazis were recruited, often forcefully, from the colonies by the Allies. Had the colonies not existed, World War II would probably have been a regional war. Even though Japan was in alliance with Germany and Italy, it had minimal role in Europe. So it was not Hitler who started World War II. Sure, he started a war, but World War II was started by Europe collectively through its colonial system.
Final Thoughts
The narrative of World War II as a simple struggle between good and evil is a convenient myth perpetuated by the victors. The reality is far more complicated. The Allies committed atrocities, engaged in strategic bombing of civilians, and perpetuated colonial exploitation even as they fought against fascism. Churchill's racism directly contributed to millions of deaths in Bengal. Allied soldiers raped women across Europe and Asia. The nuclear bombings of Japan killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. This does not diminish Nazi and Japanese war crimes, which were systematic, ideological and horrific. But it does remind us that war itself is an evil that corrupts all participants. The lesson is not that the Nazis were right or that the Allies were equally bad. The lesson is that we must critically examine all historical narratives, especially those told by the powerful. True justice requires acknowledging all victims and all perpetrators, regardless of which side they were on. Only then can we hope to prevent such horrors from happening again.
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