Americans React: The Fallen of World War II | We had no idea!

[@keithlock7191]

And that's why history is important. You can understand why certain countries today, act and feel a certain way towards others. Todays generations are walking straight back into the same reasons these wars were started.

[@annabackman3028]

UNFORTUNATELY, many politicians have forgotten too many things. Such as the vain trying to gather the parts to "peace talks" (as it turned out it became "piece talks", since a great part of Europe was split up and put together in a different way). The response from the Na. is. were to send a never before even considered swarm of bombers over London. To me, and many more, the same kind of hubris of an infamous leader of the warmonger 75 years ago, isn't any different from another one today, that for no reason attacks a neighbor. "Peace" with a certain war maker of today has shown enough times that no words, said or signed, are to be trusted.

[@kinagrill]

At least the horrors of WWI and WWII has both more or less killed major levels of hostility to this level of conflict since then.

[@anthonythompson1680]

Interesting you should say that yet black folks are the only people not given that grace. We are supposed to move on without any animosity for the past. In fact we do and generally only bring up the past in relation to brutality happening in the present.

[@leno_o17]

​​@@kinagrill unfortunately, no. If you look at the moods in Europe and the situation in Ukraine, it's starting to look similar to Europe from the 1930s.

[@kinagrill]

@@anthonythompson1680 you want europeans to cry foul over the way the Barbary States treated it's enslaved captives as well?

[@finncullen]

I know you guys aren't the sort to say this sort of thing, but this is why people in Europe react with scorn to those US citizens who boast "We came over and saved your asses" Nah. The war in the west was essential for dividing German strength but the war was won and lost in the East.

[@C.CUMM1NGS]

The war was won Over England. If we had not defeated Germany in the battle of Britain, we would not have held onto Africa, there would have been no where for the Empire and American troops, to land or launch the invasions of Greece, Crete and Italy. If we had not won the Battle of Britain there would have been no where to launch the D-Day landings from and no second front to take the pressure of Russia, Germany and the other axis powers would have been able to concentrate all of their forces on Russia. If we had not won the battle of Britain would the British Empire countries have continued to fight ? would Australia and New Zealand joined in they were not attacked would Canada and the other Empire countries have joined in ? Apart from India they were not attacked. And without the Royal navy the most powerful in the world at the start of WW2 not to Mention the Combined Empire Navies helping the Americans in the Indo Pacific regions and the Empire troops fighting the Japanese in the Indo Pacific regions, would America have held out after japan got hold of all the resources in India ?.

[@musik102]

The Russians saved all our asses but the West never gives them the credit they deserve.

[@debbielough7754]

@@musik102 They did. But largely because Stalin and their other leaders treated them like fodder.

[@arnodobler1096]

so true I've read this hundreds of times here on YT alone, made me angry, as a German

[@TheJpf79]

@@arnodobler1096 I was nearly born in West Germany, my mother flew home to Scotland to give birth to me, my father was stationed there during his army service before the wall came down. Do you know what they tell 3 and 4 year old children in places like that? "Don't pick up any strange toys you find, go and find an adult because it might be a bomb" There are many things that should make people angry about war, especially what is taught to children after them.

[@michaelmiddleton8098]

Those who fail to learn their history are doomed to repeat it... Wish more people were like you and at least tried

[@harbl99]

Those who _do_ learn from history are fated to grumble "Oh no. Here we go again."

[@SiempreConTrasto]

The history has turned the whole circle. We are at the point we were in 1938. Now it's Ukraine. Next will be Baltic States, Poland and Romania. Westerners are loosing war that could have been won within 3 weeks. They chickened out. They have learned nothing from history. They betrayed Poland after WW2. They will definitely do it again.

[@КомиссарКан]

As a Russian man who knows the history of his country. Many women fought in the Soviet army. And it was not uncommon for teenagers to fight. Officially, there are 3,500 children under the age of 16, but in fact there are many more. The youngest soldier was 6 years old. If you want, search the Internet. His name was Sergei Andreevich Aleshkov, and his soldiers called him Alyosha.

[@BigTexan59]

I find the story of the "Night Witches", the 588th Night Bomber Regiment especially interesting. 23 of the women were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Amazing women.

[@annabackman3028]

I DON'T DEFEND ANYTHING THE NA-IST DID!!!! The contrary. But this you told us, tragically also tells about the respect of human lives that still is obvious in current days, when soldiers are used as "ducks", to locate their "enemy". It's so terribly sad. (BUT, there were extremely young boys fighting for our side too. Few, well.., were going to fight because they were sent to fight as they were children, but it happened, also among the volunteers from the US, that they came to the drafting offices and lied about their age. Often because they had no family left, or had a naive idea of avenging a fallen family member. Also horrible. A quote from a famous song: "WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing"

[@85parrot]

putin would be shoving 6yr olds into ukraine if he could get away with it...

[@yaroslavurshu2732]

As a Ukrainian, I will tell you, do you know how the Nazis differ from the Communists? What was the first to judge.

[@КомиссарКан]

@@yaroslavurshu2732 не чем просто коммунисты пытались убить выгодой для себя

[@Kari_B61ex]

My grandad was a POW - he was in Burma and taken prisoner by the Japanese. He was 6 ft 3 and when he arrived home he weighed 7 stone. He was presented with the Burma Star. He suffered badly after his return with malaria and PTSD (although PTSD wasn't recognised back then) He died 10 years ago.

[@SeanHendy]

My grandad landed on the beaches on D Day and served through till about '46. My memories of him are from the 1980's, he passed in '91. Regardless of everything he did and saw, typical of veterans, his empathy went to the SE Asia Veterans like your Grandad. His entire life he never bought anything that was Japanese.

[@alanmon2690]

My father was RAF ground crew in Burma. I read his diary that he wrote after training before he went to Burma - he was a happy chappy, pubs, girls etc. That was not the father that I knew.

[@DesertRoamerUK]

My uncle became a POW after the Japanese took Singapore. Records show his group of POWs were transported to a remote Pacific island to build an airstrip, so he could have died by being thrown overboard on the journey, executed and buried in a mass grave after the airstrip was built, or died of disease and hard labour sometime in between. I'm named after him. Fortunately my father had a relatively easy war as an RAF mechanic in Nigeria, spending most of his war collecting butterflies, teaching boxing to the local lads and staring at topless local women. Of course my father also survived the Battle of Britain and likely saw some horrific things but he never talked about that.

[@angelahawman4263]

My respects to him and your family for their sacrifices. The effects on families and the whole communities is not focused on enough. My Great Grandfather was a POW in WWI and my Mum's cousin, Uncle Harry, lost his arm during the D day landings.

[@lucylindsay3442]

My grandfather was at Burma and didn't speak about it at all until his last few days. He obviously didn't want to speak about it all but I wish I'd been able to ask him more.

[@wessexdruid7598]

_'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,_ _For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.'_ Epitaph in the cemetery of the 2nd British Division, at Kohima, NE India.

[@cdeford2]

That was a brutal battle.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@cdeford2 The equivalent of Stalingrad, for the Far East.

[@markmuller7962]

That still a pro-war statement with old fashioned hero propaganda attached to it

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@markmuller7962 How is it pro-war? It's an epitaph - and, it's true.

[@pierreo33]

@@markmuller7962 it's not pro war propaganda.

[@wolverine9787]

You should show Lindsey The Tower of London Poppies. "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."

[@LilMonkeyFella87]

I have an excellent documentary up on the poppies. The poppies weren't just limited to London, they was across the country "Britains Poppies: The First World War Remembered FULL DOCUMENTARY - 2018 HD"

[@Jamie_D]

hmm i swear i remember seeing her cry to a poppies video

[@jeffwhite-ri5th]

Two wars that had nothing to do with Britain Europe loved WW1 so much they allowed Germany to mass arms for WW2 all Europe give the UK is illegals migrant criminals freeloaders & terrorist

[@brigidsingleton1596]

We _will_ remember them. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤️🇬🇧

[@brigidsingleton1596]

I think Steve may have watched the 'Tower of London Poppies' and I'm fairly sure he watched the video about how the Cenotaph in London was inspired and created, and the telling of the story of 'The Unknown Warrior' .... Not sure which of these Lindsay has seen. I have watched both...and the figure of _888,246_ Commonwealth servicemen who lost their lives in "The Great War" is burned into my brain. I was lucky (though, as my now late Grandad suffered terribly, having endured mustard gas, which wrecked his lungs, plus having half his face/ jaw being shot away and requiring surgery to rebuild and replace his jaw, mouth, teeth and facial features, (at least ?!) he came home ...or Mum and I would probably not have been born... R.I.P. Grandad: July 1894 to Jan.1983, R.I.P. Mum: March 1917 to Oct.2015.

[@strange4you]

As a Dutch person, we learn this at primary school.... Did you know that at the beginning of the war a group of Jews fled from Germany to America? But this was sent back by USA ???.

[@stetomlinson3146]

To be fair, that happened with other countries too. Britain refused refugees, adults and children. There was also a Nazi plan to send Jews to Palestine, (now Israel), but that was vetoed by the British, who controlled Palestine at the time.

[@kyle381000]

Did you also know that the Dutch Queen spent much of the war in Canada, and that when she gave birth to one of her children the hospital room was declared Dutch territory. You probably also know that it was the Canadians who led the liberation of The Netherlands at the cost of thousands of soldier's lives.

[@jolanjump]

@@kyle381000 Sorry. But the Germans liberated us. The allies bombed us to hell.

[@elmerdeleeuw1569]

@@kyle381000 Is this supposed to be a shocking revelation? Because, spoiler, to the Dutch it ISN'T something obscure.... WE actually have to learn this stuff if we want to successfully finish basic education.

[@lauchlanguddy1004]

and UK , no news. US had a very deep nazi philosophy in some places. Same as UK

[@Mandosami]

"Why do I not know about that?" simple...you live in America and everything you're seemingly taught at school is via a giant American-centric lens only.

[@AstroLonghorn]

Devils advocate: Am American. Knew of this because I paid attention and like history. But you make a great point. Our entire educational system has been hijacked by our government and is essentially worthless. Outside of what we teach ourselves, we don’t learn exclusively about things that matter

[@JB-yb4wn]

Though they seem to skip the part where the White House got torched by the British in 1813.

[@dirgemage]

Not even American. It came from a place that starts with an "I"

[@BenjWarrant]

It's not dealt with in English schools either.

[@Martin_Daniel]

@@dirgemage India? Italia? Must be those shady Icelanders...

[@derekbennett5317]

Don’t forget the U.K. had to pay the USA for there involvement in WW2, a dept we only payed off in 2006 and I dont think any other countries incurred this dept. The USA made a lot of money out of the U.K.

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

We only paid back a small amount of lend lease. Our own expenditure was the big cost.

[@Joe_Sheffield]

And the USA still operates multiple military bases on the UK mainland as a consequence of the deal struck with the USA for their support. RAF's Mildenhall, Menwith, Fylingdales, Lakenheath to name just a few. They were handed over on a MINIMUM 99 YEAR lease.

[@stetomlinson3146]

Russia did too, but only for a few years because Stalin just refused to keep paying!

[@lloydcollins6337]

@@Joe_Sheffield Plus post-war deals for island bases like the Chagos islands or Ascencion Island in the Atlantic.

[@johnbruce2868]

@@lloydcollins6337 + Antigua; Bermuda; Jamaica; St. Lucia; British Guiana; Trinidad.

[@enemde3025]

" Why do I not know that ? ". Because YOUR government only teaches you what THEY want you to know !! In the UK we were taught this as part of our modern history lessons at school. You need to react to the FOOD RATIONING in the UK during WW2. You will amazed at how little food we were allowed.

[@Markus117d]

​@kennethbowry1521 Not just Labour, The UK asked the US for an extension on the lend lease loans, So the UK could rebuild its economy somewhat first, But the US rejected it..

[@SpeccyHorace]

​@@kennethbowry1521Oh good lord.

[@dannycostello]

Although the UK population is reported to be the healthiest and fittest it ever was during the war due to eating exactly the right amount and the mental health reasons are still being researched

[@ffotograffydd]

@@kennethbowry1521🙄

[@Jill-mh2wn]

They could have seen films ( movies) about being a prisoner of war ,many of which were excellent . `The Bridge on the River Kwai' ,about prison camp life in Mayanmar ( Burma) under the Japanese . Even `Von Ryan`s Express', rather slight but still showing the way camps were run by the prisoners on military lines .

[@joealp8196]

Categorically, for Germans, civilian or military, your best chance to survive the war was to surrender to the British. Germans in British captivity suffered a mortality rate of only 0.03%

[@christinewright110]

Many Italian POW's in the UK, stayed when the war ended.

[@SirHilaryManfat]

I always remember stories about Germans wanting to surrender to the Brits or Americans rather than the Russians, who were absolutely brutal.

[@Roz-y2d]

@@christinewright110And German pows!

[@ThePalaeontologist]

And that includes all the deaths from 'self-game ending', and horrible accidents as well. A lot of that 0.03% was disobedience and attempts at breakouts (with the guards doing what they were commanded to, in that case) though there were a number of them who were traumatised by the war and otherwise depressed. I think there was a case where 3 Germans died doing bomb disposal duties (dealing with bombs the Luftwaffe had dropped) That was about it as far as I can see. It's something like 1,248 in total with a lot of that being breakout attempts (and mostly by hardliner fascists not the majority of the prisoners) Britain had about 3.3 million prisoners and so did the USA (Britain and the USA shared them equally according to the Alphabet, taking '13 letters each') and ALL of them were processed through Liverpool before going to New York. Some British POWs went to prison camps in then British Arabia aka what became Saudi Arabia, and some went to Canada with agreements with the Canadian government. The British provided well for the German and Italian prisoners, and tens of thousands stayed back in the UK, knowing things were bleak back in Germany in many cases (though most prisoners either went to return back to Germany; West or East) Many who went East regretted going back, of course. The British even allowed German prisoners to join British families at Christmas during 1946/47. It's very emotional imagining this, because some of those English villagers whom were being asked by the British government to show such kindness to the Germans, may well have lost sons and loved ones during the war.

[@je9301]

​@@SirHilaryManfat yea, the father of a family friend was an officer leading a military hospital. He was serving on the western front in 45 and was ordered to move his entire hospital to the east "for the defence of Berlin". That was the moment he decided it was time to give up. He made his entire field hospital pack up their stuff and 'accidentally' used a broken compass, marched west instead of east, made sure to run into the British and surrendered himself and all the hospital staff to them. Had he been caught he would probably have been executed but he thought the risk of execution worth the reward of surrendering the entire hospital to the British and not the Russians. He apparently never once regretted this decision.

[@pdhywrd]

Calling every German soldier a Nazi is wrong. The Nazis were those who were members of the political party but all men were drafted into the armed forces, just as in any country not all those who fight are members of the political party who are in charge during the war. Refusing to enlist was treated the same as refusing to enlist in any other compulsory call up in any other country..arrest and detention if not execution but it could also impact your family as well.

[@ffotograffydd]

Did anyone call all German soldiers Nazis?

[@nbartlett6538]

@@ffotograffydd Yes, the narrator of the original video consistently refers to numbers of Nazi soldiers killed, rather than German soldiers killed.

[@CarolWoosey-ck2rg]

Yes the narrator kept saying Nazi soldiers- weren't you listening?

[@ffotograffydd]

@@CarolWoosey-ck2rg I was referring to the comments section and more generally. It wasn’t clear that they were specifically referring to the US American narrator.

[@pdhywrd]

@@ffotograffydd when I watch a video and comment on the video I am refering to the content of the video. If I am replying to a comment in the comment section I reply under the comment I am replying to...Doesn't everyone do it this way? Essentially I am informing anyone who reads the comments under the video (including the channel owner) of something in the content of their video that may be interesting, appropriate or needs correcting.

[@alisonrichards7406]

I think this contextualises why 9/11 whilst it was a dreadful occurrence (and a super dramatic one) was not an end of the world scenario in the eyes of Europeans. I can see how it was an existential shock to Americans but to many other countries (not just European) it was just another act of international aggression on civilians happening somewhere that wasn't experienced in it. But the USA certainly made the rest of us aware of its pain.

[@ivanstepanovic1327]

In USSR, Nazis showed no mercy since they considered Slavs to be subhuman. That is why they would rarely capture Russian soldiers and even if they would, their life expectancy was very low. However, most of these deaths are - civilians. Germans wanted "living space" and to achieve it they were killing anything moving in the USSR. Entire villages were burnt on daily basis and all of the occupants would be killed, children included. That largely led to Soviets being extremely cruel to Germans once the tide of war has turned. That is also why Russians even to this day hate Nazis. So when Ukrainians started showing off Nazi salutes and accepting their insignia (For example, the emblem of 2nd SS Panzer division "Das Reich" which Ukrainians only switched it like mirror reflection), the clash was inevitable... I mean, just google nazi insignia and then Ukrainian, especially Azov battalion and compare...

[@MikefromRussia]

Забавный (на самом деле нет) факт. Дважды за два года сталкивался с украинцами за границей. И дважды они проявляли признаки симпатии к нацизму. Просто совпадение? Мне так не кажется.

[@geemo4284]

You do realise that the USSR that you are talking about included Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan who were also slaughtered by the Nazis? That the figures for Soviet deaths, during WW2 include the 20 million NON Russian Soviets who died fighting the Nazis? Do you realise that the Nazis regarded these peoples as Slavs and therefore, subhuman; that these people’s towns and villages were razed to the ground too and that they were slaughtered in their millions. Have you forgotten those people, or are they Russians to you? And, yes, there were some, in those countries, that hated the Russians so much that they even sided with the Nazis, and saw them as their saviours and rescuers, until they saw how savage they could be. That will give you some idea about what life was like under Soviet occupation before the war.

[@MultiZajka]

​@@geemo4284война затронула только европейскую часть СССР, такие республики как Беларусь, Украина, Россия, Латвия, Литва, Эстония, Молдова. До азиатских республик военные действия не дошли. Поэтому жертвы среди мирного населения, где сжигали целыми сёлами в основном произошли там. Особенно в Беларуси, России. Да, воевали солдатами из всех республик, но по проценту погибших среди перечисленных намного больше погибших. Просто загуглите информацию о погибших в СССР по национальному признаку и республикам. Я сама из Казахской ССР, сейчас это Казахстан. У меня воевал дед, он выжил, но психологически был раздавлен. Они видели очень много смертей не только своих товарищей, но и мирных жителей. Поэтому в наших странах чтят праздник 9 мая - День победы. Этот день дался очень тяжело советскому народу. И мы помним

[@JB-yb4wn]

And that is the reason you invaded the place? You are the ones blowing up schools and hospitals, already lost nearly 700,000 people for no reason whatsoever, I am amazed you guys haven't started going after your leaders.

[@whyisthatfor]

​​​@@geemo4284 all abovementioned was the great USSR there was no dividing by nations among them. They were as a one family. And your are the one they called in USSR a nation enemy. So go and fck yourself somewhere. And there a lot of communist in US nowadays so watch your back...

[@cooljune5081]

If you are interested in World War 2, try and get hold of The World At War series which was made in the 1970s. It is very comprehensive so there are many episodes but it is very, very good. ❤

[@mewsli]

My Son watches The World at War, like his grandfather ( my Dad ) did . I asked him why he did so his reply ? " it's very interesting, but we should be reminded constantly of the horror so we don't repeat it Mam ". 'nuff said.

[@julieb737]

Is that the one narrated by Laurence Olivier ? If so , it was extremely good comprehensive series .

[@LilMonkeyFella87]

Its excellent. Very informative. I have it and wanted to upload on here but it cannot go on here at all. Every episode gets blocked worldwide. 26 episodes , each one an hour long

[@Rachel_M_]

​@@julieb737yep. That's the one.

[@AndrewAHayes]

I remember watching that show on TV as a young boy, it was on just before lunch on a Sunday.

[@lawrencemcginley9937]

The American generals would not listen to the British about where to land their tanks, they launched the DD tanks too far out to sea in rough weather. This is why the US lost so many men.

[@wessexdruid7598]

The decision to launch the DD tanks far too far out was made by the Captain of the primary Landing Ship carrying them. His cowardice sentenced thousands to death.

[@Roz-y2d]

@@wessexdruid7598How awful, I didn’t know that.😢

[@Yandarval]

Admiral Earnest King needs to carry the blame more. King refused to impliment a convoy system along the US coast. He refused to push to have the lights of coastal cities turned off. As this silhouette ships against the lights. He BANNED US personnel from being involved in British anti-subamrine tactical briefings, training and wargaming. To the extant that US officers were inviting British WRENs (Woman's Royal Naval Service) from WATU, to "Dinner" to get a briefing. All to get around the order not to participate in the ASW games. The WRENs were heavily involved in the sub hunting tactics. Look up Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU) for more details. The DD tanks fiasco was down to individual land craft "Captains". It was the same deal with the US Mulberry harbour that was destroyed in a massive storm. Only a half to a third of the anchors had been put out. The British Mulberry survived the same storm. As the British, who designed and built the thing...RTFM. So theirs survived mostly intact. Then carried on supplying the D-Day forces, until a major port was taken. kzbin.info?search_query=western+approaches+tactical+unit kzbin.info?search_query=mulburry+harbour

[@davem12dim17]

​@@wessexdruid7598 tons of them didn't even get that far. They died in Devon, England, training for the thing. Nearly 1000 American troops died in England

[@StoatLoxley]

@@davem12dim17 Dorset

[@lindamerrett6600]

My dad was a prisoner in a Belgium camp and I never ever heard him speak about it. He was only 55 years old when he died.RIP to all those young men who died. ❤️

[@jeffwhite-ri5th]

Two wars that had nothing to do with Britain Europe loved WW1 so much they allowed Germany to mass arms for WW2 all Europe give the UK is illegals migrant criminals freeloaders & terrorist

[@trevortrevortsr2]

My father was the same he would never speak about the war until near the end of his life and then with great sadness

[@reactingtomyroots]

So sorry to hear that! Can't even imagine what he went through. ❤️

[@SeanHendy]

The other day a fellow veteran of my Corps, called Owen, celebrated his 105th birthday. He served in India during WWII.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Wow, 105. That's amazing!

[@SeanHendy]

@@reactingtomyroots even more surprising when he came to prominence only a few years ago when he was stopped by a local tv news crew as he was walking through town and they didn't believe how old he was. He is as sharp as a tack.

[@BogusDudeGW]

Legend

[@letsgoukraine6168]

Yeah my grandad served in India, my gran received a telegram saying MIA, don't know what he served as cause he never spoke about thexwar when I was little

[@helenwood8482]

The Poles were under brutal occupation and yet decided to find a way to fight on. Their young men came to Britain by any means they could and volunteered for the RAF. They were refused at first, since our aircraft were notoriously difficult to fly and it was assumed they would not be capable. They had been flying museum pieces at home and achieving wonderful things with them. When they were given a chance, they proved to be fearless and effective pilots. My grandfather had the honour to serve with them. He said they knew that any aeroplane lost was a disaster, but anything that could be brought home could be fixed or used for parts. So they would stay in tgeir burning aircraft and get them home. Polish and Czech airmen were the reason we won the Battle of Britain. When Grandad left their squadron, they gave him an album filled with photos to remember them by. Many years after his death, I found a man online, looking for anything about his Polish grandfather. I was able to find him in one of the group shots. I sent his grandson a picture of him that he had never seen. I know Grandad would have approved. After the war, the Poles were not included in the victory parades, because Russia would have been offended. That always made Grandad furious. He said they were the bravest men he ever knew.

[@wessexdruid7598]

Not just the RAF - the ground forces also. The Poles were noted for their contributions in Italy and throughout the fighting in Europe. A Polish Airborne Brigade dropped at Arnhem.

[@magdahearne497]

My dad was in the Polish Scots Grenadiers he managed to get to Britain with help of the French resistance. He never spoke about the fighting he saw, just about the training his unit had up in Scotland, which was a country very dear to his heart. His 15 year old brother was taken from the streets of his hometown in Poland by the Nazi's when he went to buy a loaf of bread & sent to fight on the Russian front. We still have no idea to this day what happened to him.

[@darren6076]

Near where I live there is a plaque in the most excluded place in the woods of a polish man who died fighting for Britain in the Battle of Britain. The plague is where his plane landed and he died, It’s still looked after and it’s in pristine condition.

[@lauchlanguddy1004]

the Polish pilots were uncontrollable, no discipline, if they saw a nazi plane all bets were off. They broke ranks and went berserk. with good reason.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@lauchlanguddy1004 You've been listening to Hollywood.

[@nickdarke2138]

My great-uncle was 21 when his aircraft was shot down during a reconnaissance flight over the North Sea in March of 1940. He and his crew were never found and so their names are recorded on the Air Forces memorial at Runnymede near London. I try to visit there every year on the anniversary of their deaths and leave a poppy wreath. More than 20,000 names of British Empire aircrew lost during WW2 who have no known grave are recorded there.

[@artemisfowl66]

I am in my fifties but had older parents. I had one grandfather who died in the first world war and a father who ran a bomb factory in WW2. He got bombed out four times, pulled out of the rubble twice. My mothers family were German and were interred in the camp on the Isle of White in appauling conditions. I was raised to keep rememberance day special and worked with the military as a civillian contractor for 25 years. We should never allow the loses and the sacrifices made to be forgotten

[@Jill-mh2wn]

I think the Internment camps were on the Isle of Man? My paternal grandfather was there in WW1, even though he had by then taken out British citizenship . In WW2 ,he and my grandmother were not allowed to have a radio, in case they were able to transmit to the enemy on it .He had lived here since 1890, married an Englishwoman and had lead an exemplary life ,with 2 sons who were serving in the British forces. But he was born in Germany ,such is the paranoia in wartime .

[@artemisfowl66]

@@Jill-mh2wn My grandfather had never taken out citizenship, maybe that's why he got the IOW. The conditions were so bad that in the end to save himself from the disease and dysentery he had to go back to Germany. The conditions there were awful too. They were in Berlin. My Great Aunt dutifully joined the Hitler Youth, kept quiet about speaking English and got a job in a British POW camp. She gave German lessons to officers to help with escape attempts in exchange for Red Cross food parcels to keep them alive. When they managed to get back to UK after the war they were walking skeletons and barely alive.

[@7his7le7ea]

The World at War (1973) is the best WW2 documentary and is narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier. It's all on KZbin.

[@heathermurray9939]

On the 11th November in the U.K. is " remembrance day " to remember all the fallen soilders from all the different wars, & wars that are still going on.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Yes we're planning to do a few special videos in honor of remembrance day. Thank you for the reminder!

[@beatricemorris6517]

11th November is Independence Day in Poland

[@earendilthemariner5546]

11th of November is Veteran's Day in the US.

[@heathermurray9939]

My local cemetery near me has soilders headstones, soilders who died in the 2nd world war from Poland, they are white & are looked after. Lights & flags. If you see someone wearing a purple poppies are for the different animals used in the different wars past & present

[@francesx2476]

The 11 November is a wider Remembrance Day than I feel I’d realised. Gods bless them all 😢🙏🕊️ “At the going down of the sun… we will remember them”.🕊️

[@colinwalters5281]

I was in Stalingrad in 2000 and I went to the war memorial ,The guarded eternal flame,and the names on the walls were just heart renderingly staggering

[@Jill-mh2wn]

Please remember that we are still here ,living in our old age but always in different ways affected by the Second world War . I was born in 1938 ,lived in London until the early 1950s ,saw the bombing and the rebuilding later. Also, only recently did I realise that relations in Germany that I had never even thought of (my paternal Grandfather emigrated to Great Britain in 1890) must have suffered equally under the RAF bombings in their towns and cities . War is a dreadful thing and the citizens of the USA should reflect on the fact that they have never had to defend themselves from the invasion of their country by a determined enemy. We faced down Hitler but had already seen off the previous threat from Napoleon Buonaparte.

[@justonecornetto80]

My grandfather was one of the first allied soldiers to enter Hamburg after it surrendered in May 1945. He once told me that there wasn't a single civilian house left intact in the city because of heavy bombing and to make things worse, it was also where the Germans made their final stand against the allied advance in the West so it shelled relentlessly as well. They were still finding the remains of civilians well into the 1950s.

[@Jill-mh2wn]

@@justonecornetto80 😢

[@RitaGatton]

America was attacked on 9-11.

[@heathermurray9939]

Red poppies are worn & layed purple poppies are for the different animals the the army have. The saying goes " going down with the sun & rising in the morning, we will remember them "

[@sheilahoward2444]

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.

[@robertorr3271]

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget

[@straw-hat94]

1 of my big irritations with some americans is their hubris when they say that they are the reason that we dont speak german in europe. whilst we are certainly gratefull for everything they did. if you stop to think about it, the price of freedom for all of europe was paid for with russian blood. had they not done what they did uk and us would stand little chance against germany who would have had more manpower availeble to throw into normandy. okinawa would have looked like a small loss compared to normandy. then it would be hundreds of thousends if not millions of casualties for americans. america got into 2 world wars late and had it relatively easy compared to the others which combined with other huge benefits made them into the super power they are now. may be harsh to say but it would have been good for america to have been invaded or occupied at least a few times so that its population would understand what it means to live under such conditions. not that i know it myself personally ofcource because how can i? but it provides you the ability to understand because it would have been taught at least to some extend in schools. europe has been in war with eachother for a good 2000 years at the least. the more history writes down the more you can learn from what happend then. if you know your history it doesnt mean by definition you know your future, but you can predict it pretty well.

[@helenwood8482]

Seeing them stacked up like that is truly heartbreaking.

[@reactingtomyroots]

It really is... 😔

[@svealusmagi4165]

That`s why in Russia there is a big parade in May, they respect their ancestors and survival.The winters were also cold at that time.

[@moonramshaw1982]

You should check out the video How German POWs were treated in the UK during ww2. Its fascinating and totally different from how allied soldiers were treated abroad

[@reactingtomyroots]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@davidleaman6801]

POW CAMPS IN CANADA. BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

[@jacquieclapperton9758]

Cultybraggan in Perthshire, Scotland, still exists mostly intact. It was a camp for the most convinced Nazis and many of the guards were Free Polish soldiers who naturally hated them - no camaraderie there. There were two known murders amongst the POWs there. The second was of an anti-Nazi German soldier who had been sent by mistake in the wake of a proposed mass breakout in an English camp; he faced a 'court martial' and was hung in one of the shower blocks. The perpetrators were tried for murder at the Old Bailey and hung at Pentonville Prison, murder being subject to civilian rather than military law. The camp was later turned over to the army and gained a reputation for being very haunted; it was bought by the local community some years ago.

[@rachelpenny5165]

Something not mentioned was that the channel islands (Jersey, Guernsey etc) were invaded by Germany in WW2. I remember reading books about this when I was younger. They were leant to me by my neighbour. Take care and best wishes

[@AlBarzUK]

The only British territories occupied by Nazis, I believe. However the numbers of dead and wounded are negligible, so not appropriate here.

[@susanashcroft2674]

The smaller of the Channel Islands Alderney and Sark were included in the invasion. Alderney had prisoner of war camps built on the island.

[@ffotograffydd]

@@AlBarzUKOf course it’s relevant, especially as the Channel Islands were used as concentration camps.

[@susanashcroft2674]

@@AlBarzUK Of course it is relevant, as Alderney was used as both a prisoner of war and a concentration camp. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2iqn3WLq952Z9Usi=gTxF8WZMApVLljo3

[@artemisfowl66]

You should check out the treatment of prisoners of War, see how UK acted compared to everyone else.

[@Ayns.L14A]

This is why we remember all of the Fallen, a lot of people nowadays have forgotten the sacrifice and loss of our forefathers they do not respect or understand because they think it did not affect them, I'm in my 50's, both of my parents lived through the war, they had family members who fought and died, it was one of the reasons I decided to serve myself, I too have lost too many Brothers in more modern conflicts, I'm now long retired but every year I attend remembrance parades, we owe the fallen that respect, we served so you didn't have to....

[@MUTTSANBGS]

I hope this doesn't cause you any offence and there is no disrespect meant by this comment; but I would say that its a small minority that are ignorant to the sacrifices made by our forefathers, not the majority. I am 38 and every single year myself and my teenage boys wear both a red and purple poppy and fully understand and respect what it all means and the sacrifices that were made. If I may please also add that I would like to Thank you, your brothers and family members for your service 🙏

[@brinklestein]

There's a saying about why the war was won. We won due to American steel, British Intelligence, and Russian Blood.

[@GregDunne-zf2ep]

The Australian troops were the first to beat Rommel and drive him back not America or England the Anzac troops

[@ShamaxGD]

Thats a good one

[@geemo4284]

SOVIET blood, NOT just Russian blood. That includes 6, 850,000 Ukrainians, 2, 290,000 Belarusians, 660, 000 Kazakhs, 550, 000 Uzbeks, 375,000 Lithuanians, 300,000 Azerbaijanis, 300,000 Georgians, 260, 000 Latvians, 180,000 Armenians, 170, 000 Moldovans, 120, 000 Kirghiz, 120,000 Tajiks, 100,000 Turkmenis, 80, 000 Estonians. People always talk about the Soviets and the Russians as if they’re interchangeable, but over 20 million NON Russian Soviets died, many of them soldiers, fighting on the Eastern front to stop Hitler. The Russians lost many, but particularly in the current event, I think we have a duty not to get the Soviets and Russians mixed up.

[@Sodonewithchaos]

@@GregDunne-zf2epyou know what? It’s not a pissing match …Everyone sacrificed greatly …🫡🇨🇦‼️. And the crap is about to hit the fan again…mark my words

[@sibijap]

USSR probably has steel as well

[@Joe_Sheffield]

18:00 "war is disgusting" understatement of the year. The thing that is really utterly pointless about war. ALL wars end by our leaders sitting around a table snd talking it through. Every Single War Ends with politicians around a table, talking, negotiating, compromising... So why the hell do our friends, sons, daughters, dads, mums etc have to die in vain. Utter madness.

[@Sellyei]

And THIS is why we NEEEEEED to learn history. A lot of people say whats in the past doesnt matter and we need to look into the future....however, we need to learn from the past so we dont make the same mistakes in the future.

[@junebillings9450]

American ignorance of the world and its history never ceases to amaze me. The "Land of the free" ???? the "American dream" ????. I feel they are amongst the most indoctrinated people in the world. I am not the best educated person, just average, but my parents signed up and served in WW2 (mum 17, dad 19), my grandfathers served in WW1, I've grown up with all their stories of their experiences and happenings including the unhappy endings and atrocities. I have attended the Royal British Legion all my life because my parents were members. I've heard the experiences of many a veteran. We will remember them.

[@vaazig]

What? Land of the free? Whoever told you that is your enemy...

[@forrestcrain3401]

As an American who has traveled a lot and had a pretty big interest in history for as long as I can remember- I'd have to say that overall, I disagree with you. Your average people in EU, middle east, Japan, etc have very little and often incorrect knowledge of their own histories as well as others. I really see no difference: some Americans are just louder about their ignorance.

[@tnit7554]

@junebillings9450. 👍

[@user-blob]

@@forrestcrain3401 Agreed. Some of us Brits like to feel superior and they think America is easy pickings.

[@gonzo2495]

lame self-portrayal

[@heathermurray9939]

On the 11th day of the 11th month at 11.00 am we stop what you are doing & do a 2 minute silence

[@schmo78]

It looks like you're having a little trouble differentiating between World War I and World War II.

[@heathermurray9939]

In the uk we stand silence for 2 minutes on remembrance day for all the war's, even those who have died in resent wars

[@that_one_guy8630]

that introduction is heart-stopping. the way he opens with timelines of survivors and then you see dozens of lines come in and just STOP. it's heartbreaking.

[@willgiddings9941]

Think what you will of the Soviet Union, but they sacrificed the most to ensure the defeat of the Nazis. Without them, everyone else would have easily lost double if not triple the amounts they did.

[@leszekk.73]

For almost two years of the war, the Soviet Union was an ally of the Third Reich. These two countries attacked Poland together. They even organized a joint victory parade in Brest-Litovsk. When Germany was conquering the west of Europe, Russia was conquering the east of Europe. From September 1939 to June 1941, these two criminal states murdered people in subsequent countries, transferring military aid and supplies to each other. Only then did a conflict arise between them.

[@Kamil-dh5qs]

@@leszekk.73 Exactly. They were in on it with Hitler and it backfired. And even after WWII, USSR milked the puppet states. My grandmother lived in these times and she used to say this "When the Germans came to the village they asked for milk, I showed them that the cow didn't give any and they left. When Russians came, they slaughtered all the animals they found, you had to hide your daughters so they wouldnt get raped"

[@realrusskij1]

​@leszekk.73 Regarding innocent Poland. Let's remember how Poland invading Chehoslovakia and grab huge territory. Poland talking Nazi Germany trying make deal that last not invading Poland. Poland not such innocent. And why keep quiet that after war Soviet union helped Poland with food and helping rebuild city's. But Soviet Union still bad, even in modern days totally forget how they together Soviet union and Polish army fight against Germans.

[@leszekk.73]

@@realrusskij1 In Katyn, the Russians helped 22,000 Polish prisoners - by shooting them in the back of the head... The Soviet Union also helped Poland after the war: Poles gave Russia coal, and in return Russia took Polish grain... And today you are "helping" Ukraine...

[@andypandy9013]

This is the comparison between UK and USA civilian deaths in World War II. Note that the video's figure of 60,000 for UK deaths is incorrect. Current research shows it to be 70,000: USA Hawaii*: 68 (Pearl Harbor Attack) Alaska* (Aleutian Islands Campaign, 1942 - 1943): 18 (2 civilians killed, 16 died in captivity) The 48 Contiguous States: 6 (Balloon Bomb, Oregon) TOTAL: 92 * : Although Hawaii and Alaska were not actual US States during World War II they are included for completeness. COMBINED TOTAL: 616 UNITED KINGDOM: 70,000+ (Largely due to German bombing raids, V1 and V2 attacks). That is roughly 1 in every 680 UK civilians. About 40,000 of those were in London and the surrounding areas. If you pro-rata that up to take into account the larger population of the USA at that time it would equal nearly 250,000 American civilian deaths due to enemy action over the now 50 States (or over 600,000 now!). Not the 92 who actually did die that way.

[@GrahamAckrill]

The Hull Blitz lasted from 1940-1942. 95% of homes were damaged or destroyed. The population at the time was approximately 320,000 at the beginning of the war, approximately 152,000 were made homeless as a result of bomb destruction or damage. Overall almost 1,200 people were killed and 3,000 injured by air raids. We were known as the Town in the North East which annoyed many people in Hull. More than 5,000 houses were destroyed and half of the city centre destroyed. At least 1,200 were killed and approximately 3,000 injured. It was many years after the war ended that is was acknowledged that Hull was the Town in the North East.

[@steven54511]

I know that the human cost was immense during the blitz, but despite the debt that occurred for rebuilding all of those towns and cities, new housing, better housing than the slums that had been present since the Victorian era were built. Obviously, those buildings are antiquated by today's standards, but they were better than what we had.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@steven54511 When you look at the many brutalist eyesores dating from the 1950s reconstruction, I would beg to differ. The blitz destroyed many buildings across the UK, not just slums.

[@sheilahoward2444]

My village,18 miles from Hull, was hit by a stray bomb from one of the raids.

[@lauchlanguddy1004]

Come to Ukraine, its more like hiroshima and nagasaki here, no two bricks....

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@lauchlanguddy1004 The UK knows this. But this video is about the lack of knowledge in the USA about WW2. Their only real recent experience of the US itself being attacked is 9/11 (both Hawaii and the Phillipines were colonies, in 1941). Are you, in fact, in Ukraine? Your other posts don't read as if you are.

[@watkinsrory]

Having been born into a war that lasted till I was into my 20s I am very aware of the suffering that is behind it. I do watch videos of the war in Ukraine and I read the comments mostly from people living in the west and they shock me. It really doesn't matter who's side you are on once you have seen war first hand you will never forget the pain and suffering that is behind each death.

[@geoffsmith1479]

And yet after we all throw our hands up in the air in horror, decrying the senselessness, we continue to do the same thing over and over

[@phillipparykala9489]

My father in law was a young polish Catholic, who was imprisoned in the first few days of the war, as the Nazi machine rolled through the Polish countryside. Survived years in forced labour camps to be shoved in a uniform and sent out to the front lines, as losses mounted, he surrendered to the allies immediately. And spent the last couple of years fighting in the Polish corp of the British forces in the Mediterranean conflict, was involved and wounded in some pretty famous battles according to his war records. My grandfather was aPOW in the Pacific and refused to talk about it at all, suffered physically and mentally from ptsd all his life. The loss of life in WWII was horrific

[@elah1023]

Germans. Those were Germans.

[@phillipparykala9489]

@elah1023 If you are trying to say my father in law who spent several years in a forced labour camp was a German, you are way way off base. That camp almost killed him and his brother. His brother was skeletal when he was rescued. He despised the nazis with a passion, which sadly also meant he had a visceral hatred for everything German. My grandfather had a similar visceral hatred of Asian cultures, and sadly, people, because of his imprisonment. My father in law was a teenager, a child, he saw his parents and grandparents killed, so he and his brother surrendered, were captured and imprisoned for years by what can arguably be called some of the most sadistic armed forces in modern warfare. He survived on 600 cal rations a day for the duration of that internment and was subject to lineups with random executions on a regular basis, so much so that it became the norm. He earned several medals for his actions in the Mediterranean theatre, and I'm proud to be his DIL. I will defend his memory without hesitation. He never fought for the nazis, his group surrendered to the first allied forces they encountered. What else was a teenage farm boy to do when faced with the nazi war machine rolling through his village? Shake a pitchfork at them? He was 16/17 and had just witnessed the death of almost all his close family. He clung to his big brother, and they surrendered, I cannot and will not fault him for that, it seems that neither did the UK armed forces, seeing how they awarded him medals and settled him in the UK after the war. RIP Chiz the Pole, 33 years gone in 2 days time but still missed xxx

[@elah1023]

@@phillipparykala9489 You did not understand: I wrote "Germans" because I disagree with using term "nazi". Those who did this to Your family were not any kind of mythical "nazi". Those were Germans. That`s all I ment. Let`s call them by their real name.

[@SamanthaH-wo2pb]

My grandfather was a Desert Rat in WW2. My mom still has the letters that he sent to my grandmother during the war. Heavily redacted of course, but a humbling look in to what they went through during the war. He died 10 years after the war, but from the accounts from my grandmother, he returned from war a completely different man. I can only guess that it was a case of severe PTSD.

[@lechatel]

My dad was a Desert Rat too. El Alamein, Tobruk etc. He was a despatch rider and was often snt out alone with just a revolver. He was 35 when he came home. He'd been married just a few months before he was posted overseas. He lost a lot of weight and most of his teeth. Mum and dad also lost their home because mum, who was sent to work in a munitions factory making shells etc, couldn't keep up the mortgage on her own. It was 1958 before they again had their own home. I was born a year later. They were set back so far by it all. And I am glad they are both dead and can not see that it was all for nothing.

[@jacquieclapperton9758]

My father was a merchant navy officer in WW2, torpedoed and sabotaged in the Battle of the Atlantic, then the Arctic Convoys, the Med, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The first time I saw him cry when I was a child was when we went to the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill in London as he read the names of so many of his friends and colleagues, most whose only grave was the sea.

[@Jamie_D]

This video did a great job of zooming into the reality, because on the grand scheme of things many of these losses can seem quite small, until you're forced to realise each one of those were a person, and family shattered.

[@leonoreday9293]

I'm always grateful for being french when I realise the version of history some americans seem to know. I'm also very lucky to be able to go on plenty of school trips in WWII museums and such, we even took a 3 day school trip to Normandy.

[@ulyssesthirteen7031]

I doubt many Americans actually know about this. I made a comment on another post that you replied to, Steve, about how often Americans talk about winning WWII and bailing out Britain and the Commonwealth. You said that you'd never come across this. I think all this goes to show how the post-WW II and Cold War narratives have shaped how people think. Look at the Soviet loss and sacrifice in beating the Nazis and yet as soon as the war was over, the Soviets were back to being the bad guys and were denied reparations despite their loss of life and the flattening of Soviet infrastructure etc. The legacy of Cold War triumphalism is a poison that has left many Americans ignorant.

[@ffotograffydd]

Indeed. The Soviet Union actually wanted to join NATO but the USA wouldn’t let them so they formed the Warsaw Pact.

[@Olafurh21]

The Soviet Union were always the bad guys. Have you forgotten that they invaded Finland, the Baltic states and part of Romania before ww2? And let's not forget about Poland with the Nazis (but Britain and French only declared war on Germany). The Allies and the Soviet Union only teamed up because that was the only way to beat Nazi Germany. America also did save the Soviet union with their Land-lease program. Just look at what happened when they war was over: Soviet union kept up with their autocratic ways and enslaved eastern europe.

[@ffotograffydd]

@@Olafurh21 Hmmmm, I’m pretty sure the fascists were the bad guys in WWII… 🤔

[@Olafurh21]

@@ffotograffydd In March 1954, the Soviets then sent the Western allies a proposal for the USSR to join NATO. In a letter to Georgy Malenkov, then the USSR's head of state, and Communist Party General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, Molotov laid out the benefits of joining the North Atlantic Pact. He wrote the action "would make things difficult for the organizers of the North Atlantic bloc and would emphasize its supposedly defensive character, so that it would not be directed against the USSR." Molotov wanted to join NATO because it would end the proposed anti-Soviet European Defense Community (a treaty that was never ratified) while undermining the planned rearmament of West Germany. It would also have forced the bulk of American military forces and bases to leave Europe. Fortunately, NATO rejected the proposal because "the USSR's membership of the organization would be incompatible with its democratic and defensive aims." West Germany eventually rearmed and joined NATO in 1955, which led to the formation of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviets' own defensive alliance.

[@ffotograffydd]

@@Olafurh21 Nice copy and paste mate, and confirm what I said. 😉

[@Steve_RobbieRaygun]

It's embarrassing that a lot of todays generation know hardly anything about it all, Some don't even know who the allied forces were fighting against.

[@ffotograffydd]

In the USA maybe, in Europe this is taught routinely in schools.

[@FasterLower]

One thing glossed over is that Russia didn't attack Japan or fight in the Far East.

[@ffotograffydd]

@@FasterLower The Soviet Union and Mongolian People's Republic invaded Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, along with northern Korea, Karafuto on the island of Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. The resulting defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army helped bring about the Japanese surrender and the end of World War II.

[@FasterLower]

@@ffotograffydd Thanks for the info. However, I note that Russia only declared war on Japan on 8 August 1945. The A bombs were dropped on 6th & 9th August, with Japan surrendering on the 15th. VE day was 8 May 45. So, I think my point mainly stands, Russia didn't fight (much) in the Far east. BUT I do stand corrected and thank you for that correction.

[@ffotograffydd]

@@FasterLower They were busy up until that point fighting the Nazis.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

WWII didn't start in 1940. Depending on the nation it could be March - September 1939.

[@carolharrison7765]

3rd September 1939, my dad's birthday

[@tonym480]

You could argue that for China it started in 1932.

[@rayjennings3637]

At 04:03 it quite clearly states that the war began on September 1st 1939.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

@@rayjennings3637 I think Czechoslovakia would disagree. They were invaded March 15th. September is when we Brits declared war on them for invading Poland.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

@@tonym480 How is China relevant to a European war? You're thinking of the Japanese and their allies Pacific war.

[@listerofsmegv987pevinaek5]

As one of your commenters has suggested. Check out the series 'The World at War' for a long time. Historians said this was an unbiased documentary on what happened. No frills, just straight facts. Good video guy's. Keep learning.

[@VladimirPutin10]

The thing is: it’s hard to imagine how many people this is. The human mind cannot comprehend how many people actually died.

[@germankitty]

My father was a POW of both the Polish and Soviet armies. In 1944, after having lost his own father at Stalingrad two years before, he was conscripted into what was in effect a last-ditch Home Front Force (think National Guard) directly from school. He was only 14. Obviously, Dad survived, but was forced to flee from his home near Danzig, West Prussia (now Gdansk, Poland), becoming a "displaced person". He and his mother were reunited through the Red Cross in 1947, moving further west into Germany. Not unsurprisingly, he had no desire to go back to school, and became a coal miner instead. That, and health damage sustained during his time as a POW ultimately killed him in 1972, shortly after his 42nd birthday.

[@neppirasrj]

My late father was a Prisoner of War. Captured in Sicily and taken to Stalag 18a in Austria. He rarely spoke about it!

[@babaoga]

My german grandpa was 17 when he went to war luckily he only was a anti-aircraft gunner and he survived. He told how it was when Sky turned dark from the allied bombers and the bombs dropped on the city’s. If the gunner died young boys pulled the dead bodies out and switched in while young girls had to reload and carry the ammunition. i hope a war like this will never happen again and if there will be a ww3 it’s going to be quick and even more brutal

[@wildwine6400]

For food rationing videos during WW2 theres a 10 minute video on here which could be good. It's a simple education video for aimed at school kids "Rationing in WWII (British Homefront)"

[@reactingtomyroots]

Thanks! Adding that to the list :)

[@Mulberry2000]

My uncle was killed in 1944 he was blown up by a bomb, he was 13. He found it on a beech and took it back to where he lived (he was evacuated) put in a coal shed, had his dinner and went back and boom it went. Killed his instantly. His mother (my gran) lived in the centre of Manchester and bombs were dropping around her street, they never hit hers but always the next, she was terrified. All a lone with her children, the two oldest were excavated but daughters were not too young.

[@MsGerryo]

My Uncle, a Sergeant in the British Army, was a POW in a Japanese prisoner of war camp for three years. He never came home and died aged 28 years old.

[@hellomoto2084]

My respects from india. Well, no one I know served from my family,but may I ask where was he captured ? If Singapore or Malaya , then the commanders were dummies , I mean literal dummies. The soldiers were not to blame there, only and only the commanders. If it was Burma , it's still retarded fools like Percival, till good general Slim came.

[@TheJpf79]

The US didn't "Join the fight" It had war declared on it, was content to be neutral when all the attrocities were going on, The battle of Britain had been won by this point, some Americans did come and fight during that time but the nation was neutral. Japan attacked you and declared war, yet for some reason Americans think they "Saved the world" when what they did was turn up at the end once all the heavy fighting had been done because it was attacked and needed OUR HELP.

[@jjwatcher]

Germany actually declared war on the USA the day after Pearl Harbour.

[@Ionabrodie69]

Some…? 🤨😂= 9 individuals

[@TheJpf79]

@@Ionabrodie69 Quite a lot more than that, there were five lost there lives in training along with people from many other nations at my home town, that was just one base, nevermind those who passed and died in combat, One of the top spitfire pilots of WW2 was Irish. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXzIgHmrnbirrJosi=pBJUJaDLANzpIhxu

[@TheJpf79]

@@Ionabrodie69 You're doing the same thing they do, there were five lost their lives during training at RAF grangemouth that's just one base, I grew up there. Takes a massive pair of balls to travel 4000 miles away and try to fly a wooden plane in a fight that your leaders don't want to be in.

[@Olafurh21]

Neutral? They kept Britain alive: In December 1940, Churchill warned Roosevelt that the British were no longer able to pay for supplies. On December 17, President Roosevelt proposed a new initiative that would be known as Lend-Lease. The United States would provide Great Britain with the supplies it needed to fight Germany, but would not insist upon being paid immediately Instead, the United States would “lend” the supplies to the British, deferring payment. The british by themselves poised no real danger to Nazi Germany. They could easily just let them starve without the Usa. history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/lend-lease

[@user-man-now80]

Being very familiar with the story of the 2nd WW through cinema footage in the 50's, reading, and tv documentaries including the brilliant World at War series of the 70's, I can't help but thiink that present world events involving Ukraine and Russia, with North Korea and China, plus Iran in the background ; we are potentially facing some very difficult years ahead, and should be mentally prepared for the possibility of war. This vlog is very timely. Cheers ! Sheffield South Yorkshire

[@KidarWolf]

Jeez. That absolutely blew my mind. While I was aware of the scale of WW2, and the scale of military deaths, civilian deaths were just not covered in great detail during my education - passing mentions were made of the Blitz, of the Siege of Leningrad, of the Battle of Stalingrad, of the bombing of Dresden, of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, of the toll of holocaust on those the Nazis deemed undesirable. I am absolutely staggered that, as the invasion of Poland was what drew my country into the war, the deaths Poland suffered in WW2 were never discussed in my education. Not once. I know it was one of the last times cavalry was used in anger, an actual cavalry charge, not just zipping around the desert on horseback, or using mules for transporting equipment, I know there was ongoing fighting after the invasion, but not once did the death toll get discussed. Seeing those numbers puts something into stark context for me. We speak of the Lost Generation, those killed in WW1, but how often do we actually discuss the losses of vast swathes of the population that WW2 caused? While our global population has boomed in the aftermath of WW2, one little discussed element when people are talking politics and economics, is the toll that such high losses of young people will have had on our ability to recover from the effects of WW2 as a global population. Rebuilding what was damaged took resources countries didn't have, took people countries didn't have. How much further along could we be if WW2 had killed far fewer, and if the war had not been so damaging to functional economies? The relative prosperity some have now is just that, relative. If WW2 had not cost the world so much, and so many, would the world be more prosperous? Would it be more invested in saving itself from the impacts of climate change? How much of an impact has that war had on our climate?

[@LalaDepala_00]

As a Dutch person it blows my mind that many people, especially Americans, never consider civilian loss. The war was being fought at our doorstep and in our homes. Americans view it as a thing that happened far away. World War 2 shaped the modern West yet people just don't care to learn. The loss of life in WW2 was discussed and studied at length. You are asking questions that have already been answered. Edit: Typo

[@KidarWolf]

@@LalaDepala_00 I'm not American, and there was no need at all for you to be rude. I am British. It was fought on our doorsteps, you're right. I think what happened in my education, in the UK, is that civilian deaths were glossed over as an uncomfortable truth - something not considered suitable to teach kids, only to be hinted at.

[@acornsoda22]

@@KidarWolf Don't worry about it. People like this only want to paint themselves as superior by pointing to someone they feel, however misinformed, is inferior.

[@LalaDepala_00]

​@@KidarWolfI was not being rude, I was just saying what I think. It always baffles me when people don't look at the civilian aspect of war, when that is the most destructive aspect. If you are British and didn't know this, there is no excuse. Just because you don't get this information in school does not mean you can't educate yourself. Too many people on this planet wait for information to fall into their laps. They don't go out and look for it.

[@KidarWolf]

@@LalaDepala_00 Okay, so I suppose you can tell me in intricate detail how motorsports engineering works? The principals of aerodynamics and its interplay with rake in racing vehicles? I've educated myself on plenty of other topics, this was one I hadn't, because it was not something I had a particular interest in learning. Get off your high horse, stop being so high and mighty, and start acting like a decent human being.

[@susanyork5089]

My dad joined up in 1939 aged 20 , his Regiment was the East Yorkshire he was a Desert Rat fighting in the battles El Alamein and Monte Cassino

[@martinconnors6200]

My Maternal Great-Uncle Walter also fought in North Africa. He became a Battle-hardened veteran of El Alamein and served under General Montgomery. Great-Uncle probably fought alongside your relatives unit

[@lechatel]

My dad was a Desert Rat too. He was in those same places. He told me stories about the comradeship....but never the horror. He was 50 years old when I was born.

[@bobclarke1815]

Just because it isn`t happening to you doesn`t mean it isn`t happening.

[@MaoZhu-j6q]

The American population have no idea of the horrors of war, they have been relatively protected from it. Yes, many brave Americans dies in Vietnam, but that war had no impact on the mainland USA. European and Asian wars have impacted the ordinary people of those places. Americans should be taught and taught again about the impact war has on everyone. Americans did not come in and save Europe, they saved themselves from being subjected to the type of war that Europe and Asia has gone through by stopping the Nazi machine which was developing weapons to attack mainland USA.

[@gulsarakalieva6450]

And what did the brave americans do in Vietnam?

[@MaoZhu-j6q]

@@gulsarakalieva6450 Looks like a Russian bot as you have not read the point. The point being, as said, the impact on the civilians on mainland USA of the Vietnam War was zero. In fact, I said many brave Americans died in Vietnam. But unless history is lying, not one American civilian on mainland USA suffered. This just typifies what I was saying, the civilian population of the USA have no experience of what total war is about. When, 30000 Londoners died from aerial bombing in 8 months from Sept 1941 to May 1942.

[@stephenjeffrey3815]

This should get taught in every single school around the world, might stop all the wars from happening in the next generations.

[@Paul_Allaker8450]

Forget that, it should be shown at every session of the United Nations!

[@elmerdeleeuw1569]

I fear it won't do much. Time has the annoying tendency to dull the memory, and the urgent feeling of "never again", regardless of proof. 😑

[@owenjones506]

My uncle fought in WW2 he was British , he was captured by the Japanies , he was 15 yrs old when he joined up, ( he lied about his age to join up) 12 and a half stone when he went to fight, when he was bought home he was 8 stone , and that was after being held back from coming home until they has fed him up to so not to distress my dad and his family .My dad said they did not recognise when he stepped off the ship due to his appearance .

[@lynnelang3184]

At the recent commemorations in France there were veterans who fought in WW2. They are in their very late 90s and early 100s. The numbers are dwindling fast. My dad was born in 1935 in Birmingham, England. They lost 2 houses to bombs, he is 89 now with very clear memories of the war.

[@jameseaves71]

It baffles me as to how many Americans have no real knowledge of basic history. Hopefully this video reaches a lot more people.

[@thomassharmer7127]

The movie Enemy At The Gates is set during the Nazi siege of Stalingrad. It's a powerful, emotional and enthralling storyline but also gets across a lot of things about the Soviet and Nazi regimes and the war in Russia.

[@Irene-Donald]

The poppies at the Tower of London brings it all too real.

[@gillianhollins3003]

That was ww1 not this one

[@earendilthemariner5546]

Also, the 1900s was just a time of insane deaths. 1914-1918 WWI: nearly 20 million dead Spanish flu of 1918: ~50 million dead 1939-1945 WWII: 70 million dead

[@Snipersight00]

My Father joined the British Army at the age of 16 in 1932. Served in India before the war and was shot in both legs during the Normandy invasion while in the King Shropshire light infantry. He didn't have many fond memories during the war obviously but he remembered fondly of the short tour of the states his Battalion did just before being demobbed. He remembered marching through New York with crowds of Americans cheering and waving Union flags and one person giving him a chocolate bar. A treat he had not had in years. He didn't like the beer in New York as it was too cold for his tastes. It's a shame we still have peeps on here going on about "The Yanks turning up late and taking the credit" BS. My Father never had anything but admiration for the Americans who he seen as Brothers in arms.

[@SilverbackMatt01]

Brings tears to my eyes, so sad.

[@Dfg13930]

Watch BBC and Russia film “The unknown war” it’s incredible

[@Waterford1992]

The narrator confuses world war 1 and 2 when he said the Western Front took place in France and Belgium when in reality it also took place in Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany.

[@RockinDave1]

Yeah you are quite right, WWII was Schlieffen on steroids

[@aphextwin5712]

Though the majority of fighting at the Western front happened in France and Belgium. A good chunk of the Netherlands was bypassed by the Allies and was still under German control when Germany surrendered. Still, this was a significant difference to WW I, where Germany surrendered before the front reached Germany and the Netherlands and Luxembourg managed to stay neutral.

[@jeanneale9257]

Peace love from England ❤

[@reactingtomyroots]

❤️

[@BlueTexel]

My Dad was in the Royal Navy and served on the Arctic Russian convoys; trying to protect merchant vessels taking food and equipment to Russia, to help them in defeating the nazi's.

[@alanhogg9939]

Poppy wearing started in America. British people have a problem not understanding that EVERYONE was involved in this war. We think it was all about us too easily. But at least we treat it with humour now, as Al Murray will tell you. Amazing video to react to!! Never seen it before.

[@Millennial_Manc]

Probably the best infographics I’ve seen in a video. Stomach churning. I do think my grandparents recognised peace though having lived through the war. When I collected my new (classic) car last month, I had to drive past Cambridge on the way home. I’d never been and decided to visit the American War Memorial there. Not much really moves me these days but I found it harrowing. I was standing in the middle of a beautiful piece of land overlooking the English countryside, 360 degrees surrounded by a sea of graves, each marked with a white cross, with the name and US state the solider came from. There were just so many. A large memorial centre stood at one end, built from Portland Stone which is reserved for some of the most important buildings such as Buckingham Palace. At the other end, the Stars and Stripes flapped in the wind on a huge flagpole. And between the flag and the visitor centre runs a massive stone wall… maybe 16/17ft tall, completely covered end to end in the names of the American fallen whose remains weren’t recovered. Just like this video setting out the loss of life in a visual way, the American War Memorial does the same and it’s quite something to have it in front of you.

[@KidarWolf]

The American War Memorial is breathtaking, both in its beauty, and in its gravity. I'm glad you decided to stop by and experience it. I've only been to one other place that hit me quite that same way - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. There is an energy to that place that is profound and unnerving. You are surrounded by beauty, but smothered in some very real, very complex, human emotions. I am sure that visiting Concentration Camps in Germany would feel just as emotionally staggering.

[@Millennial_Manc]

@@KidarWolf I have visited Dachau and it certainly does. Seeing a row of ovens in which people were incinerated and standing in a gas chamber disguised as a shower was quite something. One thing that stuck with me was the viewing window in the door of the control room. It served absolutely no purpose other than to give the operator of the gas chamber a view he would enjoy.

[@reactingtomyroots]

Sounds like a very moving place! Hopefully we can see it for ourselves in person when we come across the pond. On a happier note: congrats on your new wheels :)

[@TheNismo777]

War is what it is.. living next to russia right now been stressful for 3 years..

[@geemo4284]

I bet it has!

[@No_Name-n4j]

Not every german soldier was a nazi. That's something you often forget

[@seanog75]

But they ultimately were fighting for a Nazi regime.

[@Awaken2067833758]

if there’s a Nazi at the table and 10 other people sitting there talking to him, you got a table with 11 Nazis

[@chaddabob3958]

If I'm not mistaken the creator of the original video corrected that in a statement, but well it is in the video for eternity. 😕

[@taiwandxt6493]

Yeah, that is something I did not like about the original video. It does make you wince. Though, I can also somewhat see the utility of doing what he did by calling them Nazis. There is a kind of a dangerous precedent in separating Nazism from the German Military during the war, as this is a tactic some Nazi Apologists use to generally exonerate the Wehrmacht from the atrocities such as the Holocaust, somewhat paralleling the Lost Cause Myth of the Confederacy.

[@gonzo2495]

@@taiwandxt6493 as an austrian with nazis in his heritage, doesnt make me wince. cause i know semantics and it just means "soldiers in the service of the nazis". it was also "nazi germany" although not every german was a nazi.

[@adha2913]

The US and also UK got of relatively easy - maybe now you can understand why mainland European countries are still very hesitant in getting involved in wars, like the US (and partially UK) are more inclined to.

[@kathleenhyde771]

My husband was a young boy during WWII, he is 86 now. He tells of having to run to the air raid shelter at the bottom of the garden when the siren went, where they slept many nights. He also recalls watching from the front room window to see when the air raid wardens left the roof of a nearby factory and he then had to run to warn his Mom that the Gerries (Germans) were coming.

[@ajayjackson7727]

This was an interesting video because it focused more on the statistics, we got taught about WW2 at high school and i found it really interesting. Reading about them concentration camps in Poland would break your heart because of the amount of suffering. if you guys ever come to Glasgow there's some fantastic exhibitions with loads of objects in The People's Palace from WW2 like underground metal shelters that people used to dig into their gardens, gas masks, food ration books etc and it's really interesting to see all these things. Great video 👍

[@grahamstubbs4962]

As ever, it's the adults' responsibility to understand this stuff and make sure it's not repeated. The younger people just end up dead. At least on the battlefield.

[@Gillie51-bl8su]

Such a heartbreaking video, but it's so important for today's youth to understand the true horror of war.

[@kingfisher_man]

I live near Brookwood Military Cemetery just outside London. Which has over 5000 war graves. The majority are US war graves. I went there last week. If you would like to see photos of the US cemetery. Let me know where to send them.

[@AnnaTamara-ij1qo]

I started a three day fast this morning. Thank you for this message.i'm 47yrs old $73,000 biweekly and I'm retired, this video have inspired me greatly in many ways!!!!❤️❤️

[@StevenJoseph-vs2od]

Hello, how do you achieve such biweekly returns? As a single parent i haven't been able to get my own house due to financial struggles, but my faith in God remains strong.

[@littledrill]

I'm inspired. Please spill some sugar about the biweekly stuff you mentioned

[@ThamosHenry]

This is a definition of God's unending provisions for his people. God remains faithful to his words. 🙏 I receive this for my household

[@CynthiaSandra-wg5se]

I raised 75k and Kate Elizabeth Becherer is to be thanked. I got my self my dream car 🚗 just last weekend, My journey with her started after my best friend came back from New York and saw me suffering in dept then told me about her and how to change my life through her.Kate Elizabeth Becherer is the kind of person one needs in his or her life! I got a home, a good wife, and a beautiful daughter. Note: this is not a promotion but me trying to make a point that no matter what happens, always have faith and keep living!

[@ChristianSusan-lz7jy]

I started with a miserly $1500. The results have been mind blowing I must say TBH

[@kansaIainen]

Before the Second World War, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, the name of the war is Winter War. The Soviet Union lost about 500,000 soldiers in this war while trying to take over Finland. That is why Finland allied with Germany.

[@Пень1Бук1]

And you don’t want to know the reason, right? Oh yes, this is different...Russia is so aggressive, it attacked Ukraine, Georgia, the Turks 12 times, poor Napoleon was exterminated, the Swedes were attacked near Poltava. Wow, what a bad Russia, it genocided the poor Nazis.

[@justfckputin5884]

They also helped the nazis conquer Poland

[@benjamingrant3441]

The USSR attacked Finland because they knew that Finland would allow German troops into its territory almost without a fight (like most other European countries).

[@kansaIainen]

@@benjamingrant3441 How did they get that information? It was the year 1939.

[@Comrade_Chana]

​@@kansaIainen Finland actively pursued a Russophobic policy, participating in ethnic cleansing and shooting of the peaceful Russian population. Nationalist sentiments and aspiration to create ‘Great Finland’ led to numerous attempts to seize Russian territories (1918-1920, 1921-1922). Finns co-operated with the Third Reich (Zellarius Bureau, with the support of German specialists Finns built a network of military airfields, ready to receive aircraft dozens of times more than the local air force) and Japan (training of officers), creating an anti-Russian intelligence network and preparing for war with the USSR. These actions led to numerous conflicts and wars, including the ‘Mainilla Incident’ and the subsequent war.

[@janbow5124]

My uncle was a prisoner of war in Burma. He never ever spoke about what he went through during that terrible time.

[@Gail-dr3he]

It's the Forgotten War, which is dreadful 😢😢😢😢

[@hellomoto2084]

My sympathies from india

[@IG7799-c4u]

You should watch "WW2 With Army Sizes". This video will put into perspective how many people were fighting on the different fronts in the European Theatre of war.

[@PbThunder]

My grandfather fought in the war, in the British Commandos. He fought in north africa, from west to east, Morocco all the way into modern day Syria. He was also involved in the invasion of Italy and fought in Anzio and Rome. Crazy to think as a young British lad from the midlands saw so much of the world and saw so much death and destruction. I wouldn't be here today if he didn't survive.

[@GeorgeLittle-ft2yx]

The heaviest loss of life for a single day occurred on July 1, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, when the British Army suffered 57,470 casualties.

[@juliarabbitts1595]

This is why in Russia WWII is called The Great Patriotic War.

[@jm-holm]

Not sure what was patriotic about their invasions, annexations and occupations of other countries. No, the reason they call it that is because they merely focus on defeating the Nazis and sweep the rest under the rug for propaganda purposes.

[@larecarson5010]

Most of the Soviet army that died were from Belarus and Ukraine and were not Russian.

[@gesarshorsky6577]

​@@larecarson5010That's the most nonsense I've ever heard. The Internet has all the information .Stop lying

[@hullmees666]

False. They call it that so they could turn a blind eye to what they did in 39 and 40.

[@geemo4284]

@@gesarshorsky6577, the figures say that approximately 6,195,000 of the Soviet military deaths were Non Russian and about 6,750,000 of the Soviet military deaths were Russian, so almost half of the Soviet military deaths were, in fact, not Russians. They were not just from Ukraine and Belarus, though, but all of the other Soviet countries as well, with the Lithuanians, Estonians and Latvians getting off the lightest

[@Rachel_M_]

Hi Steve and Lindsay. The TLDR channel just happened to upload a video today about why the commonwealth is expanding

[@sallyannwheeler6327]

My dad fought in World War 2 and was one of the lucky ones to return home. But tragically his best friend wasn’t. My Dad literally saw him blown up. He never ever spoke of it. My family told me. The War may have ended,but not the battle inside that lives on. 😔

[@reactingtomyroots]

Very true...can't even imagine the ramifications on the survivors' mental and emotional health.

[@fr2ncm9]

My dad fought in WW2. He was in the second wave at Omaha Beach. He also fought in a lesser-known bloody battle to take the Hurtgen Forrest. It was the second-longest U.S. battle in WW2 lasting 88 days. The battle cost the lives of at least 33,000 Americans. Ernest Hemmingway described the Hurtgen as "Passiondale with tree bursts".

[@nejdro1]

There were German prisoner of war camps all over America during WW2. They were treated amazingly well. Some were allowed to work on American farms, as there was a severe labor shortage during the war. A friend of mine, who was a German POW in North Carolina, worked in a shoe factory. He was even allow to walk to work at the shoe factory without a guard! According to the Geneva Conventions, they had to be paid for their work. He went home after the war with $700 in his pocket. This was a LOT of money in post war Germany. In the WW2 time frame, there were a lot of Americans who knew German, due to the immigration in the decades preceding the War. In fact, as of the National Census of 1970, one in twelve Americans said German was their mother tongue, defined as the language that you mother first spoke to you, not necessarily that you still spoke it. Aside from the military, 60 million people lost their lives during WW2! My late German wife survived the bombing of her hometown of Darmstadt, when 12,000 old men, women and children died in one night. Remember that all the able bodied men were away at war. The irony for her was that this occurred on the night of September 11, 1944. Yes, it was 911 ! She was 5 years old at the time and remembered it well! I remember when she came back to Chicago with me in 1965, she had her own case of PTSD when the Civil Defense sirens went of during their routine testing on a Tuesday morning.

[@babaoga]

Most Americans have German ancestors. I think the Americans didn’t care about that past of what they ancestors did. They had a new enemy wich were the Sowjets