When you hear “World War II”, what do you first think of?
A. The Western European theatre. Nazis, Hitler, D-Day, Churchill, Battle for Britain, fighting in French towns.
B. The Russian front. Snow, more Nazis, scorched earth, Stalingrad, Russian army with more men than weapons.
C. The Pacific war. Japanese, Iwo Jima, Midway, US Marines fighting on little islands.
D. Something else entirely. What?
Please also list your age and nationality.
A and C typically. I usually think of A first, but around December my first thought would be the Pacific War.
35YOM, Washington DC area.
I’m an idiot…you said Nationality…duh…American
D. All of the above.
44, Israeli
“D”. Honestly, the very first association I make isn’t about war at all, but rather photos taken of the celebrations after the war. Just reading the “World War II”, this is what instantly popped into mind.
After that, I suppose I think of one of Hitler’s speeches or choreographed Nazi marches–“A”. Japan never comes up, I wouldn’t have considered them at all if they weren’t mentioned in “C”. I don’t really think of Russia (“B”), either. I realize they played a major part in WWII, but in my mind, they’re strictly relegated to WWI and the Cold War.
I’m 25, American.
A.
21, American.
A or C, but even more often D, the effects of the war on life in America (ration books, blackouts, Japanese internment, Rosie the Riveter, and so forth). My father served in the South Pacific but didn’t speak of it, ever. My mother experienced the war here in the US while she was a teenager, so she had some pretty vivid memories. Those stories and stories of the Depression were all around me while I was growing up.
I’m 48 and American.
A.
25, Canadian.
Mostly A, but with more emphasis on the homefront: victory gardens, air raid drills, ration cards, metal drives, the propaganda posters (loose lips sink ships!), the service cards in the windows, USO canteens.
38, American
All of A, B, C, and D - the land side of the fight against the Japanese. But then I’m British.
A - cause of the enduring question of the Nazis- How did such a bizarre aberration come to power
and
C - cause my father was in the US marines, got wounded and shipped out to Australia where he met my mother. (which also raises the question to me, if the US hadn’t dropped the bomb, but had invaded the home islands the hard way, what are the odds of me and my siblings existing?)
American / Canadian male 45
A (Assuming A also includes the Mediterranean campaigns.) & C to begin - only places where naval forces were used.
On further thought, B, and D - the fight against the Japanese on the mainland, starting back in 1933-34.
39 YO Male, American.
A. The European theater has been far more publicized than any other theater. Plus, as I believe William Manchester pointed out, most people have at least a vague familiarity with Western European geography. If it hadn’t been for WW2, who amongst us would have ever heard of Palau or Tarawa?
32, American.
