In this SDG we will follow the recent book by Elizabeth Samet “Looking for the Good War,” a discerning new book about the gauzy mythology that has shrouded the historical reality of World War II.
According to Elizabeth Samet’s narrative, the mythology of the Second World War includes six main elements: that the US joined the war in order to rid the world of tyranny and Fascism; that “all Americans were absolutely united” in their commitment to the fight; that “everyone” in the country sacrificed; that Americans got in the war reluctantly and then waged it decently; that the war was tragic but ended on a happy note; and, finally, “that everyone has always agreed” on the first five points.
We will try to understand why the glib treatments of World War II have done real harm distorting our understanding of the past and consequently shaping how we approach the future. As “the last American military action about which there is anything like a positive consensus,” World War II is “the good war that served as prologue to three-quarters of a century of misbegotten ones.”
