When American veterans of World War II recognized Hitler as evil

[Vahe Demirjian]

Everyone knows that Adolf Hitler was evil, but I'm curious if anyone using this forum ever had the chance to ask US veterans of World War II if they knew that Hitler was evil as soon as World War II started or after they saw bodies of dead Jews and gays at concentration camps in Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, Bergen-Belsen, Mauthasen.

 

[gumbyk]

Everyone knows that Adolf Hitler was evil, but I'm curious if anyone using this forum ever had the chance to ask US veterans of World War II if they knew that Hitler was evil as soon as World War II started or after they saw bodies of dead Jews and gays at concentration camps in Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, Bergen-Belsen, Mauthasen.

They probably knew it when Hitler broke the treaty that Stalin signed with him. i.e about the same time that Russia did

 

[pbehn]

It is always important to establish the ideology of the people firing 88mm shells at you.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I'm not a grammar nazi at all, but punctuation matters.

 

[tyrodtom]

When I grew up in the 50's and 60's, most of my uncles, friend's dads, male school teachers, and my dad, were WW2 veterans.
I asked a lot of questions in my time.
But it never entered my mind to ask that question.

 

[michael rauls]

I think the answer of when people realized the true nature of Hitler depends on the individual. Some people have excellent perception when it comes to detecting the true nature of such demagogues, others seem resistant to believing the worst about people and/or organizations even when it's appropriate to do so.
I guess this is a long way of saying I don't think there is an answer to the question of when people realized. I'm sure it was collectively a gradual process with some perceiving it long before the war even started, others not realizing it until it was all over, and most somewhere in between.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

My dad saved up all through high school to tour Europe after graduation, and set sail with his dad in June of 1939 on a tramp steamer. He and his dad were awakened in Cologne at 1AM on August 29 by the sound of the Wehrmacht marching east, which lasted till daybreak. They decided to "get outta Dodge" ASAP, which turned out to be in the form of a fast British freighter out of Williamshaven for New York. They arrived on September 10 after dodging a torpedo somewhere west of Ireland.
Any doubts they may have held about Hitler's evil were dispelled by that experience and what they had observed of Nazi propaganda and discrimination against Jews, the activities of the Nazi party, the Hitler Youth, and Hitler's rhetoric and annexations.
My dad is rolling over in his grave now as he prophesied (correctly) that Barrack Obama would be a bad choice for president, as he would unknowingly set the stage for a demagogue to follow.
Cheers,
Wes

 

[michael rauls]

My dad saved up all through high school to tour Europe after graduation, and set sail with his dad in June of 1939 on a tramp steamer. He and his dad were awakened in Cologne at 1AM on August 29 by the sound of the Wehrmacht marching east, which lasted till daybreak. They decided to "get outta Dodge" ASAP, which turned out to be in the form of a fast British freighter out of Williamshaven for New York. They arrived on September 10 after dodging a torpedo somewhere west of Ireland.
Any doubts they may have held about Hitler's evil were dispelled by that experience and what they had observed of Nazi propaganda and discrimination against Jews, the activities of the Nazi party, the Hitler Youth, and Hitler's rhetoric and annexations.
My dad is rolling over in his grave now as he prophesied (correctly) that Barrack Obama would be a bad choice for president, as he would unknowingly set the stage for a demagogue to follow.
Cheers,
Wes

Populism/nationalism, both left and right, is resurgent throughout the globe right now. Should make for interesting times ahead. The world looks an awful lot like the 1930s to me right now( though not near as acute) but perhaps I stray too far into the political realm so I will say no more on the subject.

 

[Johnny Curedents]

Populism/nationalism, both left and right, is resurgent throughout the globe right now. Should make for interesting times ahead. The world looks an awful lot like the 1930s to me right now( though not near as acute) but perhaps I stray too far into the political realm so I will say no more on the subject.

I haven't noticed any goosestepping parades here or in Europe; no concentration camps; no single-party states prospering anywhere much but in China; a US president who insists on enforcing laws on the books for decades (imagine his chutzpah!); and people all over Europe and in certain parts of the US who are tired of seeing legitimate citizenship laws ignored by those charged with enforcing them. Nope. Doesn't really resemble the 1930s at all. Oh, wait, there is one thing. Here in the US there is a political party that holds dear a lot of the tactics, attitudes, and socialist policies popular with the CPUSA in the 30s. But that's really about all the resemblance I can think of.

 

[michael rauls]

I haven't noticed any goosestepping parades here or in Europe; no concentration camps; no single-party states prospering anywhere much but in China; a US president who insists on enforcing laws on the books for decades (imagine his chutzpah!); and people all over Europe and in certain parts of the US who are tired of seeing legitimate citizenship laws ignored by those charged with enforcing them. Nope. Doesn't really resemble the 1930s at all. Oh, wait, there is one thing. Here in the US there is a political party that holds dear a lot of the tactics, attitudes, and socialist policies popular with the CPUSA in the 30s. But that's really about all the resemblance I can think of.

You completely misunderstood my post. It was not pointing the finger at any particular political philosophy in particular but the advance of collectivism, populism retc., many using differences among peoples to advance agendas be it rich vs poor, cultural, or other and there is a one party state with religious concentration camps with hundreds of thousands in them and some reports of some killings in those camps that is also on the move militarily, reminiscent of say 1936 Germany. That would be China.
The similarities are obvious to me but thats Imho.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

And this forum has a no politics rule.

If you have not read the forum rules I suggest doing so. Not knowing the rules is not an excuse.