I recently was reading an article (I can’t find it now) about Jews leaving Europe in record numbers and going to Israel. Apparently there is an upsurge in Anti-Semitism in Europe, especially in France. A lot of factors were given, but it got me to thinking.
What if there was never a holocaust? A lot of the tolerance for Jews in Europe seem to have come out of guilt about what happened to them (perhaps I’m wrong about this?). So, what if Germany’s bid for world domination was nipped in the bud, if Hitler had of fallen from power and the Nazi’s with them? Certainly if there was no war (and no expansionist Germany) then there most likely wouldn’t have been a German holocaust…or would there have been?
Some things to consider for the debate:
-
What would Europe be like today if WWII hadn’t have happened, or at least if Germany’s war of aggression would have died still born?
-
What would the Soviet Union be today if they had never been invaded by Germany? Would they still be there stronger than ever, or would they have collapsed in the 40’s or 50’s? Would THEY have launched a war of aggression into Europe? Poland perhaps?
-
What would the US be today without WWII? We were an isolationist neutral nation until Europe (and admittedly Japan) dragged us into the war. Our military was a joke and our orientation would have been to keep it that way…why pay for a military when there are other things you can spend your money one? What would be today without a strong military, and how would the world be different?
-
What would France and Britain be today if they hadn’t been so ravaged by war? They were both still colonial empires before WWII…would they still be? They were both world powers before the war, but afterward they were so ravaged that they couldn’t maintain their status and fell. What would countries like India and Indochina be today…still under British/French domination, or free nations?
-
What would have become of Germany if Hitler and the Nazi’s war had of been squashed by the allies and they would have fallen from power? Would they still be militaristic? Would the old republic re-asserted itself with Hitler’s fall? Would the nation go communist?
-
What would the plight of the Jews be today? There would probably be no Israel (or would there?), so no ‘Jewish homeland’. Would Europe have grown more tolerant of the Jews or less? What would their current status be?
-
What would the Middle East be like today without WWII? Without an Israel, what would the various ME nations be like? Would it be peace on earth, or would they be basically tearing each other apart?
Feel free to diverge from the above all you like. I’m interested in peoples thoughts on what the world would be like if there never was a WWII (at least, not a WWII in the late 30’s through mid 40’s between the axis powers and the allied powers…feel free to speculate on OTHER wars and other alliances).
Regards and hope its an interesting debate,
XT