[Leica] Geesh - and we though camera people had it tough

[doubs43 at cox.net (Walker Smith)]

>
>
>Among other things, a curiously blinkered view of history. One example would
>be the role of Wilson and the US in the shortcomings and failures of the
>Treaty of Versailles which played a big part in "giving us WWII".
>
Next you'll be blaming Wilson and the US for August, 1914, and the clash 
of the European powers. What kind of revisionist "hate America" 
historian did you read? The purpose of the Allies - primarily the French 
and British - was to humiliate and keep Germany economically strapped 
while extracting as much in reparations for the war as possible. The 
Germans suffered economically long before the Great Depression brought 
other powers to their knees. The French, in particular, used the 
Versailles Treaty to inflict as much damage on Germany as humanly 
possible. They didn't need Wilson or the US to assist in their vendetta.

Had the European Allies gathered the courage to send a single division 
against Germany when they began their demands in the late 1930's, there 
would never have been a WW2. The Nazi General Staff was shaking in their 
boots at Hitler's audacity, many considering him to be foolhardy. Hitler 
bluffed and the Allies in Europe caved. It was all he needed.

Many historians consider the years 1919 through 1939 to have been a 
breather while both sides gathered their strength and resources to fight 
yet again. IOW, WW2 was a continuation of WW1 with a lengthy half time. 
The internal feuding between European nations needed no help from the US 
to ignite WW1 or WW2. They managed on their own quite well, thank you. 
The Europeans threw their little party twice and dragged us into it both 
times. ANY attempt to lay blame for either war at the doorstep of the US 
is absolute road apples. Only someone wishing to revise history would be 
silly enough to put forth such drivel. Blaming the US may be fashionable 
but it's historically inaccurate and wrong. What would the European 
landscape look like today if we had remained isolationists in either 
war...... or both?

Walker