Hitler, Churchill and the Unnecessary War

[ralphwiggum]

I've read this book twice and Was wondering what you folks thought of it

[stona]

Britain had to find a way into WWI. A Europe dominated by Germany was unacceptable to Britain but I don't have time to write a book on it.

About the only thing I agree with him about is the treaty of Versailles and the results of its terms on Germany and eventually the rest of us. I don't agree that Churchill had anything to do with the harshnes of those terms.

If we had allied ourselves with,or even turned a blind eye to the nazi regime and allowed Hitler to extend his Reich eastwards unchallenged I would be ashamed to call myself an Englishman.

Steve

[Trilisser]

Buchanan's book is excellent! And unfortunately Steve's commentary reflects the perversion of applying so totally different standards to Hitler in comparison with Stalin. I think Lenin himself considered this useful idiocy. And it proves how effective bolshevik propaganda really was. Hey, I have no problem if the fellow subscribing to ideas like Steve's is a card carrying leftist and/or green (just look how many die hard Stalinists of the 1970s are now staunch green) believing in dictatorship of the proletariat, but if a person proclaiming to be a staunch supporter of individual freedom (Finnish premier and staunch Anglophile Edwin Linkomies stated that Bolshevism is like a plague that must be resisted with every cell of one's body) does the same it basically invalidates that person from the ranks of rational thinkers.

As for the "Britain had to find a way into WW1" simply proves the failure of the British foreign policy in its failure to realize that the true threat to the British Empire came from North America, not continental Europe.

BTW, an excellent book relating to this topic is Russell Grenfell's "Unconditional Hatred". Also Niall Ferguson's "Pity of War" reaches the conclusion that it would have been better for Britain (and Europe) to keep out of WW1.

[stona]

It's not about a greater or lesser evil.
Churchill himself professed that,if forced to choose,he would have chosen nazism over communism in 1937.

I've read Grenfell. Interesting opinions to which he's entitled. He was better writing about naval matters,he knew more about them.

I've not read Ferguson's book though I am aware of most of his arguments,hardly surprising as he is one of the most famous historians living. He's rarely of the television or radio here. I'm not qualified to argue with him but many who are take exception to some of his propositions.

Germany could easily have paid reparations had she wanted to? I don't know.

Steve