Second World War

Summary

Dominique Pagani approaches the Second World War first as a question of memory. He starts from two opinion polls: in 1945 the French mainly credited the USSR with the Nazi defeat, in 2004 the United States. For him, this is a sign that legend has covered over history1. He often comes back to Munich, where Chamberlain saw Hitler as a gentleman. He presents the German-Soviet pact as the outcome of ten years of British and French refusals, drawing on Ivan Maisky23. With Jacques Pauwels and "The Myth of the Good War", he argues that the United States declared war on Japan, not on the Reich, because of rivalry over raw materials. In his view, the 1944 landings aimed to prevent a Soviet Europe, and the Hollywood narrative has replaced the history lesson43. He also dwells on Heidegger, who saw the motorisation of the Wehrmacht as a "metaphysical act", and even more on his lack of guilt after 19455. Finally, he links this memory to present-day tensions with Russia, "the country that suffered most in the last war"4.

1. 1Is history a subject?9 Mar 2017
2. 2A balance in nature?31 Mar 2021
3. 3Too late?14 Aug 2024
4. 4#10.6 War and peace: “The death drives advance in silence…” (Freud)8 Dec 2021
5. 5Heidegger, or panzer-philosophy21 May 2021

Introduction produced automatically from the 8 sessions on this theme, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the sessions.