"The Ghosts of World War II Still Haunt Asia" Topic

"The 70th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War later this year is an opportunity to review what we learned from the war and why lingering bitterdness continues to perturb regional politics. It is an occasion for a complex combination of mourning the victims, celebrating the 70 years of peace with Japan that followed the war, and searching for ways to reduce current tensions. A few points might guide our thinking about this commemoration.

The historical importance of the war can hardly be overstated. It re-set Asia. The Japanese invasion of China probably saved the Chinese Communist Party from annihilation. Imagine postwar China under Kuomintang instead of Communist rule, a giant Taiwan. Imagine also a united Korea and the absence of the North Korea problem. The war caused Japan to change from a traditional great power (with a strong and unshackled military) to a "civilian" or economic great power. The European powers lost their colonies in Southeast Asia. The war made deep US involvement in Asia a permanent and bipartisan US policy, to the extent that the United States now describes itself as a "resident power" in Asia. The war also produced grievances that remain unrequited: Okinawan complaints about hosting a disproportionate number of US military bases, foreign plaintiffs stonewalled in their attempts to sue the Japanese government for compensation, the controversy of the atomic bombings, and the "history issue."…"
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Amicalement
Armand

And instead of referring to murderer Mao Zedong, people would talk about murderer Chiang Kai-shek.

'The typical American believes several self-serving myths about the war: (1) that the United States won the war and D-Day was the climactic battle; actually, while the US did most of the work in the Pacific, in Europe it was the Soviets who ground down the Nazi armies;'

Of course, the Pacific was only part of the war against Japan as well. Most of the Japanese divisions were fighting the Chinese; likewise, British and Imperiual forces fighting in the Burma campaign totalled over a million men. In Europe, well, on D Day as the climatic battle, again most of the ships involved were British or Commonwealth, as were most of the troops going ashore.

Unless Japan "comes clean" about its actions in WW2, I guess the tensions are going to remain for decades to come.

The Typical American today doesn't even know who fought who in the war. Why does it matter who did what? We were all Allies and we all defeated the Axis powers.

Exactly … Plus Americans may know who won last night's game and who is divorcing who in Hollywood … But history really alludes many …

I laugh the most at the Russians thinking they were the most stalwart opponents of the Hitler regime. Nonsense, the Soviets were shipping resources to Germany while the Brits were fighting them.

Tuscaloosa, So true. Let us not forget that in 1939 the Germans attacked Poland heading east (Starting WW 2) and the USSR attacked Poland from the west. (Every one forgets that bit of history).

Oh yes, many do forget how the Nazis and USSR basically divided up Poland to suit each ones' needs … And don't forget the Russians executing 4000 Polish officers in the woods[whose name alludes me now …] And some/many members of the Free Polish units, in the Western Allies forces. Were from Pole POWs released by the Russians in like '41 or so, over to the the UK, etc. …