Watching The Fallen of WW2 (Thoughts + Commentary)

Watching the Fallen of WW2 and the numbers are devastating. Some countries weren't mentioned in the video, feel free to add info down below.
Original video: • The Fallen of World Wa...
Neil Holloran's channel: / @neilhalloran
MORE VIDEOS/ music reactions/ short story readings on Patreon: patreon.com/NoProtocol947?utm...
Resources:
-Holocaust Museum explaining German soldiers & Nazis: / debunking-a-persistent...
-London School of Economics, German soldiers: www.lse.ac.uk/Research/resear...
-It's hard to find accurate records of worlds population before 1950 but here is Statista: www.statista.com/statistics/1...
-How Foreign Conscripts Helped Hitler: militaryhistorynow.com/2014/0...
Book recommendations:
-The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (paperback): amzn.to/3PhCajf
-Hiroshima by John Hersey: amzn.to/3sBFqgA
-Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 by Anthony Beevor: amzn.to/3qQOq0K
-The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: amzn.to/45Prq0R
FREE online courses:
Open Yale Courses: oyc.yale.edu/
MIT OpenCourseware: ocw.mit.edu/
Course Central WW2 Course: www.classcentral.com/course/i...
KZbin Channel Recommendations:
-Blockworks Macro: / @blockworkshq
-Dan Carlin: / @dancarlinpodcaster
-Real Vision finance: / @realvisionfinance
-Lyn Alden on Macro Voices: • MacroVoices #386 Lyn A...

[@StekTM1]

The scary part about the chinese numbers is that these are only the deaths that happened during the period of WW2. But the japanese invasion was ongoing in China since 1937, and right after WW2 was over, they resumed the civil war between communists and nacionalists. If you combine all that, it's mindblowing how devastated the country got.

[@ericlanglois3782]

The Soviet Union similarly had the purges and holomodor (forced famine) under Stalin's rule that resulted in tens of millions of deaths which aren't included in their total. It's a toss up as to which country suffered the most deaths in the span of 20 years centered on WW2... but the USSR and China are definitely in the top 2.

[@StekTM1]

@@ericlanglois3782 Holodomor wasn't a forced famine tho... it's a more complex topic. But i get your point, in fact the USSR lost a lot people during the first half of 20th century.

[@RAL0981]

@@ericlanglois3782 Also Stalin was responsible for most of the human deaths cause he didn’t allow them to leave.

[@ericlanglois3782]

@@StekTM1going by first half of the 20th century I'd say China lost a lot more though thanks to the "Great Leap Forward" famine which has been estimated to have caused 23 to 55 million deaths just there. With all the cruelty and tragedy China experienced, it's a wonder that they are still the most populous nation in the world.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

Japan invaded Manchuria as early as 1931 from my understanding. @@ericlanglois3782

[@adamgarrick3778]

My father is from Russia. Russia lost so many men that the male population has never recovered. My grandfather had passed away by the time I was born, but dad said he would never talk about his time spent fighting the Germans, but he would suffer periods of crushing depression on and off for the rest of his life.

[@salguodrolyat2594]

Your grandfather's strength of mind and spirit controlled his PTSD into what people thought was depression.😔🙏

[@sunrise_ea]

У меня прадед тоже о войне не говорил, хотя в составе первой белорусской дошел до Берлина. Часто ночью просыпался с криком "в атаку".

[@geofftottenperthcoys9944]

And now losing more in Ukraine for a despots ego.

[@sunrise_ea]

@@geofftottenperthcoys9944 read reliable sources

[@TheCommunistColin]

Something like 80% of Russian men who were born in the year 1923 died in WW2. They would have been 18 in 1941 so they would have been the newest recruits and first ones to get drafted. War is hell.

[@noahjones4237]

"One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic" The reason this video hits so hard is that it does a terrific job of putting into perspective just how many people, innocent and guilty alike, paid the price for someone else's ambitions.

[@henryconner780]

Joseph Stalin may be one of the more evil men in history but it is a good quote! Kinda amplified how evil he is lol.

[@ZhekUA]

That quote of Stalin

[@Stalin_Did_Nothing_Wrong]

Its a fake quote

[@ZhekUA]

@@Stalin_Did_Nothing_Wrong said apologist of a war criminal

[@DonHaka]

Well it's not a real quote of Stalin's 🙄

[@MyLeon43]

My grandfather was 19 years old fighting in France when one of his officers gave him a red cross telegram. the officer said i am sorry. it was a note telling my grandfather that his wife of no more than a year was killed in a car crash. they gave him 15 minutes to be alone and grieve then back to fighting the war. he said it was the hardest thing he had to go threw. after the war he met my grandmother and lived to be 95

[@__mindflayer__]

I’m sure he fought like hell after being told that.

[@MyLeon43]

yes he did. he said he never felt that kind of rage and hatred. it took him years to forgive @@__mindflayer__

[@IronClique]

I hope he found peace in life

[@JHorsti]

There's actually a pinned comment by the video creator, where he adresses that he regrets having used the term "nazi soldier" and "german soldier" interchangeably.

[@pinkpenzu]

Same shit

[@viikmaqic]

@@pinkpenzu thats like calling all the russian soldiers for communist soldiers and americans for capitalistic soldiers? really odd

[@qazatqazah]

​​@@viikmaqic Looking from the perspective of e.g. The Netherlands, it's not so weird to use both terms: after WWII we had to find peace again with our neighbours, the Germans. With that in mind, our history books made it very clear that we had been occupied by the Nazi's.

[@pinkpenzu]

@@viikmaqic we called vietnamese communist soldiers "vietcong", which just means vietnamese communist. So its not odd

[@Greymist73]

@@pinkpenzu This is actually partially incorrect. The Communist Vietnamese irregular guerrilla forces in South Vietnam were referred to as "Vietcong". The communist regular army of North Vietnam were referred to as the "NVA", "North Vietnamese Army".

[@apedosmil06]

That picture you asked about is the Ivanhorod Einsatzgruppen photograph. The story goes that it was taken by a German soldier and mailed back to Germany, but intercepted by members of the Polish Resistance. It was published after the war by Polish veterans. The picture has an interesting story that’s definitely worth looking into.

[@Horible4]

The story behind the photo is speculative at best. Impossible to know the true nature of what anyone is doing in the photo. It's often portrayed that it's German soldiers about to fire on civilians, but you could equally claim that they're trying to save the woman and child from the men. The photo always makes me question what the situation was, because the one visible German soldier here isn't even aiming at the same degree as the woman and the child (as is often claimed by people), rather it appears he's aiming passed her at the men in the hole. Even if he is though, it brings more questions than it answers, but regardless, it makes the picture appear way more complicated than people seem make it out to be.

[@hector6563]

Although that photo may be questionable, it is true that the German army invaded Poland. That army then proceeded to systematically execute Jews ( men, women & children). Those Jews were gathered up and were shot in the head at point blank. Those who weren't killed and buried in pits were either sent to ghettos or extermination camps. You should read Ordinary Men which describes how average German police forces were converted to death squads. So, that picture you were so curious about not far fetched.

[@skyhawk_4526]

@@Horible4 The second sentence is a ridiculous interpretation of the photo. It clearly shows a German soldier aiming a rifle at the back of the head of an unarmed civilian who is holding a child. One can quite easily interpret what is likely to happen immediately after the photo was taken. I think I'll trust my eyes with that one, but hey, you do you.

[@DEWwords]

@@skyhawk_4526 , The Einsatzgruppen existed, and their job was to eliminate "undesirables" in the field. Normal solders were also called on to murder civilians, but they suffered emotionally too much from eliminating women, children, the elderly too much to remain effective fighting forces. And murder by bullet was slower and more cumbersome than the camps.

[@RomkaSelivanov]

@@Horible4 Такое видение работает до того момента, пока не потеряешь близкого человека. Даже до твоего рождения. Верни пожалуйста моего прадеда. Он погиб в 1942. Под Донецком. На территории Украины. От рук нацистов. Возмести мне, моим детям и внукам его отсутствие. Он был началом прекрасной истории. И его сын (войну прошел с почестью) продолжил его дело. Мои дети гордятся. Это - история. История лица которых тоже есть на фотографиях. И не надо говорить, что здесь умозрительно. Я есть в IMDB. Просто верни мне моего прадеда, говнюк.

[@jhonwells731]

По количеству жертв можно сказать, что Вторая мировая война была в большей мере Германо-Советской войной.

[@billbliss1518]

This is an amazing video. I teach high school, World and American history, and I always show this after we finish studying WWII. The students are always in shock when it shows for 60+ seconds the Soviet and German numbers going up and up and up. 10 years old, still an excellent video.

[@martindunstan8043]

American history? A very short lesson indeed 😂

[@Trancymind]

You know what's crazy, is that only a couple of months after France surrendered during WW2, Stalin really badly wanted to join the Axis powers. Only one man stopped this from happening, Adolf Hitler. In 1938, a year before WW2 started in Europe, Stalin ordered the liquidation of all poles living in USSR.

[@greenwave819]

@@martindunstan8043 lol?

[@martindunstan8043]

@@greenwave819 I was only playin', I hope nobody gets too upset, but the truth does hurt sometimes 🤣👍

[@nonamegirl9368]

​@@martindunstan8043still a stupid comment🤡

[@Meeshrick]

You speak so eloquently, and you are extremely educated. I always get a peaceful easy feeling watching all your reactions and listening to your voice.

[@austinh953]

My great grandpa was on the USS Indianapolis when it sunk in the Pacific. He was one of the survivors. He had horror stories about surviving by floating on a piece of wood out at sea. He remembers seeing dead soldiers being eaten by sharks. He was traumatized his entire life. Unfortunately I was only 5 when he passed away so I never really got to talk to him about it. I have his journal from the war and several letters he wrote back and forth with my great great grandma. He never mentioned the sinking in his letters and never told her until he got home. His mom knew, but didn't want to bring it up until he was ready. When you hear those questions that ask, "If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would you pick?" I always say my great grandpa.

[@manolososadavinci1937]

🧢🧢🧢

[@austinh953]

@manolososadavinci1937 You can easily find his name online. Simply Google USS Indianapolis survivors and he's Harley Hanson (my father's name too). I'd post the link but KZbin hates links.

[@dylanholman3]

@@manolososadavinci1937I mean. Maybe. There were a few hundred men who survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and many accounts mention men/bodies being eaten by sharks in the water. It’s possible this persons grandfather was one of them. If he were mine, I’d probably be telling his story on a lot of WW2 videos as well.

[@barryrammer7906]

That was the most fatal shark attack in the history of mankind. I'm glad you Grandpa made it. I'd be traumatized too. I think five hundred men were eaten by sharks some definitely alive.. The culprit was the oceanic blue or white tip sharks. They are the sharks of the desert in ocean terms. Are vicious because they don't get meals often. The saddest part of all was that the command in didn't even know the Indianapolis was missing for a week. They never checked and they blamed it on the captain for not zigzagging. The zigzag was outdated by then. But they needed a fall guy, so they blamed the captain. He ended up committing suicide because of guilt. To add insult to injury, they actually brought in the captain of the Japanese submarine. That torpedo the Indianapolis to testify against the captain. He even said zigzagging would have not made a difference. The navy brass blaming him for the entire catastrophe when they lost the ship. They had no idea the ship was missing. In addition that ship was the one that delivered nucular bombs. You could have that tragedy and also.

[@SunnyLovetts]

Your great grandfather was a bad ass 😌

[@DarthDickhed]

I come from Uruguayan parents, im born in Canada. I just have a little fun fact that most may not know. A german warship called the Graf Spree which is one of the most famous warships of WW2 that sunk on December 17 1939 in the river Plate outside of Uruguay is still there until today. The top of this ship is sticking out of the water and can be visited by anyone who choses to do so. 😊

[@nirfz]

And the ship was named after a german Admiral who died in WW1 in a naval battle near the Falkland islands. (He and both his sons were on the german ships and died.) So the ship named after him in WW2 "died" closer to his place of death than to it's land of origin.

[@georg404]

В России все знают, об этом сражении, равно как и о предшествующем в первую мировую войну. А в Уругвае, кто-нибудь знает о полярных консолях в Россию, и конкретно о конвое PQ17? А может о блокаде Ленинграда? Или о Сталинграде? Курске? Может знают, кто освободил восточную Европу? Или кто взял Берлин? А кто бомбил ядерными бомбами Японию, знаете?

[@primary2630]

that's cool

[@DrIstoris]

@@georg404 “liberated eastern europe” , lol you mean- occupied . Gtfo

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

Montevideo

[@adamnorlen8532]

Hey! Been here since one of the first few videos, and I gotta say: you remain one of my favorite channels on youtube. Amazing and thoughtful commentary, plus the fact that you’re actually knowledgeble about so many different topics. Just wanted to show some appreciation!

[@nathanm9550]

I love your reaction about the video maker calling the german soldiers 'Nazis'. That was very intelligent.

[@dcrot9109]

the video maker actually did a formal apology (not all germans were nazi's)

[@RifleEyez]

Yup, much better than Soviet number goes brrrrrrrrrrrr, which is still staggering and the most dramatic moment, but meh. It’s an attractive quality when someone genuinely notices distinctions and nitpicks like that. And not only that but adds their own thoughts to it and actually appears to remember the preceding video when the average age of soldiers was given at the start. I’ve watched reactions to this video so many times, because as someone who borderline OCD reads about this war literally daily, (I’ve even taken David Stahel books on summer holiday for light reading LOL) especially on Nazi Germany and the Eastern Front, its interesting to see the reactions to just the figures from people not so well versed in it. Yes, the Germans were conscripted, often in “Welle” (Waves), or just straight hijacked. Or, as was often the case, “hey so you know how you’re unassuming Luftwaffe signals who came from some office job, or ground crew? Or an AA gunner 15 year old? Well, congrats, we don’t have a Luftwaffe of note anymore, and we need young bodies, so a year before the end of the war you’re now in the Waffen SS! Enjoy your post war notoriety”. Just goes to show how blurry that line is. Calling them “Nazi” soldiers to me feels off to my ears, but somehow more accurate, in a certain context.

[@user-yg9wm8jf5l]

Вам никогда не понять почему они нацисты. То что они творили у нас по другому как нацизм не назовешь, с вами они просто воевали, а наших дедов они сжигали целыми селами, обычных мирных детей и стариков. Они навсегда для нас нацисты и оправдания не будет

[@RomkaSelivanov]

@@dcrot9109 Но не все нацисты - немцы. Парадокс.

[@hikonz4247]

One of my favorite parts about your channel is that there is no intro, straight into the reaction, i love it. Keep up the good work

[@GiggleGroup]

Reaction videos are so contrived. But I found this terrific and you have a gorgeous screen presence with a clear love of history. You're a great find.

[@MajinErick]

To see the number of unknown and unmarked graves in Normandy and in person is overwhelming.

[@KittGagnon]

You are so intelligent and so articulate, great video. My father lied about his age to join, he was 17. My 2 uncles were also participants in this atrocity but all of them came home long before I was born. None of them spoke of the war ... ever. My grandfather fought in WWI and the only war he spoke of was grubs in his garden. He used many approaches to repel the grubs not kill them, maybe his days of killing were over. I watch your mind absorbing the information.

[@SakhForester]

Are you german?

[@TheRemyLeBeau]

It's a well-known fact in PTSD from wars that those people tend to _not_ talk about the war. The things they've seen are nothing to brag about and the feelings and experiences are very difficult to describe or explain, so instead they'll keep silent. Speaking of the war means _remembering_ the war and that's the last thing they want.

[@urbanmyth1519]

​@@SakhForesterIn Germany it would not have been necessary to lie about the age if 17. You could (and still can) join the military forces at age 17 (parents have to agree). There's a discussion going on about changing this to age 18 however.

[@cristop5]

Some work by demographers estimated that 40% of Soviet males born in 1923, who survived to see WWII, died in WWII.

[@midgarw6775]

They should have a much bigger population now then what they have. Countries are still feeling the sting from the loses of back then.

[@thechosenone4422]

@midgarw6775 it's not only the WW2 that hit the population of Russia. A lot of people died in 90's because USSR fell apart. It was a horrible times, extremely high criminal rates, a lot of deaths, a lot of gangs and mafia-like structures formed, many have suffered from hunger because can't afford to buy some food. Plus, at this time was first chechen war and years prior this was afganistan war, this two took a lot of lives too. So, someone says that in 90's we lost almost an entire generation of (mostly) men

[@rodjarrow6575]

Everyone writes only about men who died in battle, forgetting about the fact of the extermination of almost 15 million civilians (women and children) on the territory of the USSR by the army of the invading occupation forces of united Europe, which, during the invasion of the USSR 1941-1944 was an analogue of modern NATO with one difference, Hitler was in the leadership of "NATO" Europe during the war II.

[@cristop5]

@@rodjarrow6575 Another important difference is that modern NATO never invaded Russia/USSR. Russia/USSR on the other hand invaded Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia etc. Oh yes, also Ukraine.

[@rodjarrow6575]

@@cristop5 You wrote a NATO propaganda lie about: Czechoslovakia. Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine! Because defense against the NATO invaders (since the time of Hitler) is not an invasion! By the way, in 2008 there was a NATO-led Georgian military invasion of North Ossetia, not a Russian invasion! Read the encyclopedia (at least Wikipedia)!

[@Godkey1]

Loved your insight-full commentary on this very well made doc "The fallen of WW2" You reactions never disappoint me and I don't mind the interruptions at all.

[@charlesf2804]

I received from The Great Courses two courses on WW2 recently, "Battlefield Europe" and "The Pacific Theater." Each is 24 lectures of 30 minutes. Looking at this video, it makes me want to get to them sooner rather than later. This video also brings to memory that the Vietnam war ended just as I'd been drafted and received orders to report. I was in college and in Mexico City on a language study program at the time. An eerie feeling. Thank you for showing us this video.

[@madrooky1398]

"counting people that didn't die in wars that never happened" For some reason this hits me deep. It kinda summarizes on an intuitive level what i feel about all that.

[@NefariousKoel]

Lament the invention of nuclear weapons, as we may, the concept of mutually assured destruction has certainly imposed a reduction in large devastating wars since their introduction.

[@awesome9174]

​@@NefariousKoelThe downside is that when the next big war does happen it'll definitely end with a bigger bang than WWII.

[@Hayseo]

Wow, I’m so impressed with this reactors commentary. Her knowledge of the topic before she watched the video is apparent and makes her reaction so much more interesting. By the way, I am also a big fan of the podcast Hardcore History which she mentioned. Also, like the reactor, I also listened to the rise and fall of the Third Reich on audiobook, and found it extremely enlightening. It was written by a US correspondent who covered Nazi Germany before the war started, and then, after the war went back and looked through all the Nazi records to put the book together. It was before the age of computer so obviously he missed things and some accounts might be wrong, but any complaints about the book is just nitpicking.

[@thatindiandude4602]

Fellow Dan Carlin enjoyer 😊

[@davehilderman2971]

I read that book in high school. That was when I realized the Nazis were not crazy but rather fully intelligent, literate people swept up in a destructive ideology. Also medical experiments in the concentration camps made an impression regarding the evil sadism involved. I can remember those descriptions 40 years later.

[@KAFllR]

Nitpicking - games in the political arena of third countries, espionage activities, doing everything to make your country the best? Hmm... Really nitpicking xD If you go by one book, then the rest of the world smells like daisies

[@DonHaka]

@@davehilderman2971 " That was when I realized the Nazis were not crazy but rather fully intelligent, literate people" Being crazy doesn't mean you can't be smart. Fascists are often VERY smart and crazy. They're crazy because of the stupid shit they believe in, like the existance of a Jewish conspiracy to destroy "western culture". They're smart because they have managed to convince so many people of this shit. They prey on the weak spirited and weak minded, convince them that everything can be blamed on a certain ethnic group. Which is why we must never underestimate the Fascists. "Also medical experiments in the concentration camps made an impression regarding the evil sadism involved." Well you are certainly not wrong about the evil sadism involved in all of the fascists experiments on humans, but you must remember that these people were utterly convinced that Jews, Slavs, Romas and many other ethnic groups were INFERIOR to this mythical "aryan race" that the Nazis believed in. They didn't think twice about experimenting on them precisely because they didn't see them as human beings, but rather as pests, beasts and uncivilized primal beings.

[@fabucla]

I really like your respectful reaction and linking of related sources.

[@olisipocity]

I really love your reactions. You always make compelling arguments and pertinent questions. Congratulations.

[@carlomercorio1250]

You are one of the most intelligent reactors on KZbin. Always enjoy your take on issues.

[@scotthill1600]

2 videos in & you gained a subscriber. You are very intelligent & thoughtful. I can see why you participated in debates

[@nonamegirl9368]

Best reaction to this video I've seen so far! You are informed and genuinely interested in learning more about this sad part of our history

[@w.h.p.3430]

No Protocol, thank you for the time you spend, bringing us these videos!

[@tinyrick6264]

I watched your face as the numbers were discussed. I admire your humanity and empathy.

[@zeedevel7141]

Nuclear weapons are the reason for the "Long Peace" in my opinion, it's a great deterrent.

[@andrewmckenzie292]

It does mean however that when inevitably at some point the present world order breaks down the conflict is more likely to be mankind ending. No superpower lasts forever, eventually a better way of living/governing will be found.

[@StekTM1]

Well unfortunately nuclear wapons only protect rich countries. The poor keep getting fucked

[@maximkretsch7134]

The reason is that other than a hundred years ago the birth rates are so low that there are no deplorable third or fourth sons left over as cannonfodder.

[@kalen1702]

Very glad you decided to watch this video since I think it's an important one for people to see! It's a downer, but perspective is important when it comes to massive wars like this. Great reaction as always!

[@xirknight]

Love you curiosity, intelligence plus your analysis and commentary are spot on.

[@thundrrd5]

You amaze me. Do not expect someone your age to read The Rise and Fall. Great job on video.

[@matthewsrankin]

There is a channel called World War Two that has a series of videos hosted by Indy Neidell. The first episode was uploaded on September 1st three years ago and covers the events of the week leading up to September 1st 1939. The series continues with Indy giving week by week summaries of events during the war. It is a long series that is still ongoing. They have other videos on events that happened between the wars. There is a link to another series covering World War I

[@zoltanzarosz3131]

Well, World War 2 lasted for 6 years and the series going on week by week so we have a 11 months left of the war. Its a good show and i learn more from that series then in school and reading a couple books.

[@hectoryera9255]

You got me to subscribe right away, I love how you look at it intellectually, awesome channel

[@richardrosecky1574]

Thank you for your intelligent and interesting videos. This is the third video that I have watched made by you. Thank you.

[@wkeklaalal1577]

My grandfather's elder brother was drafted when he was 19 in 1940, he committed suicide in 1946 as he found out his girlfriend had been cheating on him while he was at war

[@nonamegirl9368]

Not really a war story?😅

[@firmak2]

oof thats rough

[@kasper2970]

@@nonamegirl9368this is still a war story, or should you say a story about a soldiers long time from home. I have seen it happen to collages in the navy. It’s a a knife in the back

[@ROBOTRIX_eu]

I've seen this video about 20 times..should be a mandatory video in school! ..said that western don't even knew or know what happened from USSR.. A more recent study with family inquiries, gave a much higher number.. A masterpiece video!

[@Sargent42]

This was a fascinating video. As for channels, I’d recommend History Buffs, where the host examines movies based on historical events and judges them for accuracy based on historical context.

[@markusjentzsch7932]

You are possibly the smartest youtuber i follow. So appreciated you pointing out that "german soldier/Nazi" issue. I noticed the switch too. Possibly because also italien or other "axis-nations" fought there maybe?

[@Lucsy3012]

This video never fails to bring me in somber state; I watch it almost every year at least once.

[@ReklawLah]

I wish more reactions were as thoughtful and eloquent as yours.

[@persallnas5408]

You are a thoughtfull and compassionate person and I am glad you are out there.

[@dyoung3536]

Ken Burns has a great documentary series "The War" (of course...all his documentaries are great) that covers WWII from the perspective of 4 towns in America...specifically covering the people in those towns and how their citizens and families were affected and participated in the war. Really a unique aspect of story telling.

[@eric1138]

It happened. And it can happen again. It is the duty of each generation to keep the Long Piece going. Thank you very much for sharing this video.

[@olivermeineke9707]

The "Long Peace" is over since Feb. 24th 2022 - when Russia attacked Ukraine.

[@Khagrim]

Yet all we do is produce more weapons and start local conflicts all around the world

[@Khagrim]

Yet all we do is produce more weapons and start local conflicts all around the world

[@joseavila5747]

It happend twice already

[@abruemmer77]

Thank you for your reaction and comment on this difficult issue. It is good to see young people are still interested in history while the vast majority of their generation is not. Instant follow! Thanks again and keep up your good work!

[@michaelbech1132]

so cool to see an intellectual, more knowledge sharers like you are needed ❤ thank you

[@dominik36127]

My great grandpa was a low ranking government official in Poland. He was mobilized in September 39. He was wounded and taken in to captivity during the fighting. He managed to escape from the POW train that was taking him to a camp in Germany. He then travelled on foot to his hometown. There he had to stay hidden. As an official of the pre war government he would be shot on the spot by the Nazis if he was found. The Wehrmacht was always followed by kill squads who were hunting jews and polish intelligencia, businessman and government officials. The goal was the eliminate everyone who could rally the population. He was hiding in a large tomb in the local cementary. People could bring him food there without arousing suspicion. But his wounds got infected and he died in that tomb shortly after he hid there. His own grave is located just a few meters from where he was hiding. I inherited a few books after him. He had them on him at the time of his death. The books are about the Polish history. They were not really that expensive at the time but they were his most treasured and important possessions.

[@calebstephens601]

My grandpa survived a battleship sinking by kamakazi and was a drift at sea for almost 3 days. He died before I was born but my grandma said he had severe ptsd from it his whole life. It's crazy how close he was to joining these deaths.

[@manolososadavinci1937]

🧢🧢🧢

[@calebstephens601]

@@manolososadavinci1937 He died before I was alive so maybe he was lying. I never met him and he was an alcoholic. Whatever I just thought it was worth adding.

[@michael14195]

@@calebstephens601 These days, we often use the words "battleship" and "warship" interchangeably, but in WWII "battleships" were a specific type of "warship". Warship was the generic term for any ship over, say, 100 feet long and carrying guns, while battleships were among the biggest, at least 600 feet long and firing shells weighing at least 500 pounds, often much more. The US had hundreds of warships but only 25 or 26 battleships. None of the U.S. battleships were sunk by kamikazes, but over 20 US warships were. So he wouldn't have been on a battleship, but he could have been on, for example, one of the 20 or so destroyers (that's a kind of relatively small warship, still about the length of a football field) that were sunk by kamikazes, and to your grandma a warship the length of a football field might seem like a battleship.

[@calebstephens601]

@@michael14195 Thank you for that. I didn’t even think about the difference. When my grandma told me about it the story only really started when he was in the water. I don’t think my grandpa ever really talked about actual combat stuff. I tried looking up the name of the ship after I commented the first time but have no idea. I think it started with an A. I can’t remember.

[@michael14195]

@@calebstephens601 You're welcome. :) You can google "wikipedia ships sunk by kamikaze attack" and it will give you a list of the ships, with links to articles about each ship and the circumstances in which it sank. Since your grandma didn't talk about the details of the ship's sinking, it's possible that the ship was sunk by a bomber, torpedo plane, or submarine, so if you don't find the ship on the first list you can also try "wikipedia List of United States Navy losses in World War II" for a much longer list. The Japanese didn't start using kamikazes until 1944 so if his ship was sunk before that it wasn't a kamikaze.

[@marcfitzhenry7581]

wow, that was really interesting and thought provoking, thank you!

[@teamfixerize1000]

Hey kid, been watching you for awhile now. Your intrigue into the world gives me hope. Keep it up. 11/10 non of this matters but hey...it matters. GG WP.

[@Alex.V70]

Those who can't remember history are doomed to repeat it. - George Santayana -

[@JoelAntoinette]

An amazing story my Grandfather told me about being on the Beach of Normandy just before he died 2011. He was 17 on a ship anchored off the Normandy beach just before D-day. His job was to pilot a small 3 man crew tender craft (launched from larger ship). Days before invasion, he had to tender the demolition crews out to blow up the rail road ties set up offshore to prevent the landing crafts from reaching the shore. Once the go ahead was given to launch the landing crafts for the full invasion, he was called in as he knew where the railroad spikes where cleared and he could lead the vessels to the safe course for the beach. He was to point the way for the landing crafts and then return to his ship. Somehow he found himself in the lead of the largest invasion of history. Then disaster struck. He got close enough to point out the cleared way when his small pilot boat was shelled and sank. He survived as he was thrown into the water as it capsized from the blast but the others on board where killed. He swam to shore and found safe cover with only a side arm pistol. He had to watch all the landing craft soldiers get slaughtered for hours as the bullets rained down. Finally when enough soldiers reached the beach to take out some of the machine gun turrets, he jumped on a landing craft going back to a larger ship which happened to be British. From there he was able to get carried back to his own US ship. He then told me he was part of the German U boat enigma machine capture. He told me it was more of a U boat surrender and not a big deal then, no excitement nothing. Hollywood made it bigger than it was and he would learn later about the enigma machine. I miss my Grandpa. He was awesome. He helped me become a Marine Chief Engineer for the mega yacht community. I wanted to follow his lead best I could.

[@thekevindeucey]

I just stumbled into your channel. I'm a 54 yr old lifelong student of history. You can never learn too much. Ive subscribed so I can share in your journey.

[@unstoppable1727]

I always love when new videos of this come out.

[@shaulin3000]

Glad youre reacting to this powerful video 🙏

[@NoProtocol]

Thanks to everyone who sent it in!

[@Julian-bq9qv]

Thank you for your amazing channel! The man who produced this video did a good thing by drawing the line of separation between German and Nazi solders, and likewise, Soviet solders were seldom marked by any single political identity; the cost in human life in war is literally inconceivable and beyond our understanding. And of course, the devastation to the NON military, i.e., families and other associates of the soldiers, persisting for generations. We ALL want peace, but not at any cost. Santayana quoted one of the Greek philosophers, saying that only the dead have seen the end of war.

[@henryconner780]

Thanks for the book recommendations! I’ll definitely get some of those

[@mael6834]

Keep going I really enjoy your work

[@danjensen2695]

If it hadn't been mentioned already, you must check out the 1970s documentary series 'The World at War' narrated Sir Lawrence Olivier, amazing archive footage, but uniquely features in depth accounts of the war by participants including many leaders. It is IMHO the seminal documentary account of ww2

[@BornRandy62]

in the mid 1980s while in the Navy I made a port visit to Wilhelmshaven Germany. Some old timers absconded with me while I was on shore patrol. They hauled me into a coffee snack shop and told me stories while buying me little sausage sandwiches and these little turbo charged cups of coffee. I know I suffered terribly :) . Their main purpose was to explain the difference between a German soldier and a NAZI and more specifically the SS NAZI. Patton said it best when he compared the NAZI party to US Political parties. I had a similar experience when I was on a different ship and visited Vladivostoc USSR

[@dmitriym1153]

no difference. Agenda pushed in 1945 by Germany high command (who was not ss) to put all blame on ss.

[@potapotapov]

Они тебе не рассказали, какие зверства творили "честные" солдаты Вермахта на территории СССР?

[@jordank1813]

I've been waiting for this one.

[@williamabrams9882]

Thank you for sharing.

[@s.majstorovic5598]

Regarding your question about the photograph at 12:25, I believe it was taken in the summer of 1942 in Soviet Ukraine, and captures the last moments of a Jewish mother and child. It was taken by a member of the SS-Einsatzgruppe (special task forces of the SS who commited the "Holocaust by bullets", tasked with following combat units into occupied territories in the Eastern Front and exterminating the Jewish population there) as his fellow soldier (if you could stoop so low as to reffer to these monsters as soldiers) aims at the defenceless mother holding her child. On the righthand side of the photograph are pictured members of the female victim's family or peasants from her village, likewise all destined to the same horrible fate as the poor woman and child. Just to give you some scale of the ferocity of the Nazi's campaign of human extermination for the Jews in the Eastern Front, more than 1000 villages in the country of (then Soviet Republic) of Belarus alone were completely razed or burned to the ground with all their inhabitants, and historiographers even today are not certain of the exact location of a part of these villages. Whole countries, such as the Baltic republics for example (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) were triumphantly declared as "Judenfrei" (Jew-free) by the Nazi government in 1942/43. This meant that not a single Jew remained there alive, all having been deported to concentration/extermination camps or killed on the spot when discovered. I study history myself, and sometimes find it extraordinary difficult to convey to people who aren't familiar with the subject of the sheer merciless terror unleashed by the Nazis on their so-called "Subhuman" enemies (mainly the Jews, Slavs, Roma...) in such a short period of time. I often recall the words inscribed on a memorial stone placed in front of Adolf Hitler's birthouse in Austria after the Second World War, lest it should become a shrine to Neonazis and similar scum: "For Peace, Freedom And Democracy, Never Again Fascism, Millions of Dead Warn Us."

[@gabrielstratton1775]

To see someone as young as you take this level of interest in history gives me a small glimmer of hope that we aren't entirely doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past

[@mickelin100]

i just discovered your channel...so you have a new fan...keep it up

[@emiliajojo5703]

Playing the victim by better knowing is also one of the best videos on yt,worth a reaction and criminally underrated.

[@Ubotit_Unaymit]

Good day, everyone.

[@IS4M1236]

My great grandfather took part in the eastern front on the side of the red army from 1941-45 he survived the whole thing from the defense of Belarusia to Berlin

[@potapotapov]

Твой дедушка служил в Вермахте? Восточный фронт был у немцев. Да и пишешь ты на английском.

[@kanestalin7246]

​@@potapotapovhe literally said on the side of the Red Army

[@potapotapov]

@@kanestalin7246 у нас не говорят "На Восточном фронте" в отношении войны на европейской части СССР. То что восточный фронт для европейцев- для нас западный, такое даже в голову не может придти человеку из СССР,как бы он не ластился перед европейцами- просто логически такое в голове не может оказаться! Восточный фронт был, но слишком далеко от БССР, а до Берлина тем более😁

[@jc-vc7xq]

Great video. Love your channel by the way..😄

[@jimmartin6803]

I am not really sure if anyone else recommended to you to react to this, but I was one of them guys like 6-8 months ago, I am so happy you finally saw it either way, ww2 was such a tragedy for everyone involved, there were no victors in the end... Edit: An interesting fact is that in Greece, where I am from, there were many Jewish people relative to the size of its population and it very astonishing when you look that France at the start of the war had a population of 41,680,000 and lost around 75000 to 80000 Jews and around 1.44% of its overall population, and as in comparison Greece at the start of the war had a population of 7,222,000 (almost 6 times smaller than France) and lost around 67000 Jews and around 7.02% to 11.17% of our overall population whichplaces in the top 5 countries in europe with the most percentage of deaths. In comaprison the first one was Poland with 16.93% to 17.22% which is way more than Greece's but you need to remember we were nowhere near the Germans in comparison to Poland and France and most casualties were not inflicted by our resistance to the Italian invasion in Greece, but by the german occupation. So many losses...

[@Trancymind]

In 1938, Stalin ordered the liquidation of all poles living in USSR. Poland was devasted by both regimes USSR and Germany and not Germany alone. Hitler had deep hatred towards polish jews while Stalin had deep hatred to all poles in general. Right before Stalin died, Stalin was going to order the liquidation of jews living in USSR. Stalin saw jews as subhuman as well when he got older.

[@rogerelzenga4465]

Ok, i have a story; My great grandfather was Jewish, not long ago i managed to get my hands on his Concentration camp card from Auschwitz-Birkenau, what i managed to read from it (because yes i also understand german) that he was captured in Amsterdam in 43', and from stories from when i was a child he got betrayed by the neighbours like many of them.... He survived though! denounced his religion... His quote: "Religion make people crazy, you either hate people or they make you hate others" he married my great grandmother...

[@hazeshi6779]

Smart man

[@ragemaster6219]

May I respectfully ask for his name just so I can research him and other like him if possible?

[@cajunpower]

Dude I thought you were gone, welcome back!

[@SkyrimCZtutorials]

Great reaction. Very thoughtful. Thank you!

[@DFR55921]

There are some KZbin channels that are still discovering fallen soldiers burried in Europe like Mass Graves, trenches and hidden bunkers. Also I was watching a show with my grandparents and I believe it was called Hitler's Empire and the first episode was titled "America First". It talked how Hitler wanted to create a Roman like German society around the world. So he had some first generation German/Americans recruit people (racist people) who didn't like the change that America was going through and created their own communities in the mountains to train them. Even some celebrities at the time were in on it and tried to convince people (politicians I believe) to not join the war but when Pearl Harbor happened, that all changed.

[@42Mrgreenman]

Yeah, then there was the whole "Business Plot" incident here in the US, where a bunch of Capitalists didn't like what FDR was doing and tried to get Gen. Smedley Butler to overthrow the government, but Gen. Butler wasn't having any of that shite...he knew about the military industrial complex and said, "No F'ing way!" ...and to your last point, IMHO it's possible that Pearl Harbor was provoked, as IIRC we embargoed Japan from buying oil, and since we in the US wouldn't negotiate (IIRC it had something to do with their expansion in Indo-China...I don't remember exactly, I'm only 38, and the world if full of so much information) there was no choice but war...that's not even getting into how it was unnecessary to drop either of the A-Bombs and Japan was actually trying to surrender, but there were communications issues, and in the end they just wanted to keep their culture (The Emperor) and would have surrendered if that was allowed from the beginning (Their officers who were realistic knew the war was lost after Midway, where they basically lost all their aircraft carrier utility)...

[@williebauld1007]

The best documentary I’ve seen on either war was Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old, simply amazing

[@NoProtocol]

I haven’t heard of it! I’ll have to put it on my list to watch

[@williebauld1007]

@@NoProtocol it’s old footage from the British archives of interviews of the soldiers themselves that the backing to what starts out black and white footage from the war, Peter Jackson digitally remastered the footage into colour and it was released to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the end of the war back in 2018, I genuinely mean this, it’s the best documentary I’ve ever seen, plus my great grandfather was one who had been interviewed for it, ngl that did make me tear up seeing his name rank and regiment in the credits at the end

[@jamesgornall5731]

​@@NoProtocolit's truly exceptional, colour footage makes people more real, without doubt

[@claregale9011]

​@@NoProtocolit's a must watch , very moving shows the real horrors of war from the perspective of those who were actually there . Lest we forget .

[@dickiey1983]

It's also worth watching "The World at War" documentary series. Although old it's still accurate.

[@Alpha_Omega_1541]

7:06: He could be switching it up, to keep from repeating the same word in one sentence, but I see what you are saying. Great video, your insights were spot on. Will subscribe and hit that like button after this comment. :)

[@carnivoroussoupspoon]

I went on a trip to Iwo Jima with a group of Marine Corps vets, these guys were absolutely amazing. Standing on the black sand of Iwo, in the shadow of Mt Suribachi, with Jake Lucas, listening to him speak about what it was like to land on the beach. Listening to Bill "Bangs" Toslin talk about getting wounded while running wire back to the command cp, Met Thomas Begay, a Navajo Code Talker, and many more brave men, a complete honor to have crossed paths with them.

[@joshuawiedenbeck6944]

This is all incredibly important information to keep in mind when judging countries as they exist today. For example: A lot of people give Russia shit for not being a stronger country given their size and location. But when you consider that the grandmas and grandpas of that country saw 30 million of their people die, it's hard to judge them for any shortcomings given how widespread the damage to their society was.

[@NIK-dw4zk]

Особенно прекрасно наблюдать за тем, как люди принижают заслуги СССР. Даже некоторые соотечественники, внуки героев, предотвративших главный кошмар великой ценой, позволяют себе оскорбительные высказывания в их адрес

[@dominicksalvato5143]

My freshman year history teacher started the year by saying “History is 40% Fact and 60% Opinion.” It was an absolutely mind blowing statement for a 13 year old to take in. But this video was great at how it focused on the 40% fact. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Sadly I don’t think the Long Peace is going to continue very long. Many stupid people making stupid decisions for nations of millions.

[@Naglui_Kote]

Yeah... Facts... But what about the fact that a Soviet soldier was sent to prison for rape? Soviet soldiers weren't, like, afraid of this?

[@Kennymac8251]

I still have my copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by Shirer that I originally bought in 1970 and I also have the audio book version that is 57 hours and 11 minutes long. I thoroughly enjoy your videos, always interesting, entertaining and thought provoking. Keep up the great work!

[@user-tg8kn3zx6s]

There is a German miniseries called "Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter" It about the German perspective on WW2 Eastern front. It goes into the whole not all Wehrmacht soldiers were into the ideology. English title is "Generation war".

[@patrickwaldeck6681]

On the flipside, there weren't quite as many doubting Thomas's as Germany might claim. A large amount of the Wehrmacht bought in completely to Nazi ideology, especially when they were on a roll conquering the absolute hell out of Europe. The Wehrmacht also committed a horrific litany of massacres all throughout the war and without their aid the Holocaust wouldn't have happened. Nazi Germany didn't generally punish soldiers who refused to kill civilians or commit war crimes; they usually just transferred them to other units. The German army was all too glad to follow their orders to exterminate the Slavic people of the East and I feel like there's so much pushback on the idea that the German army was guilty that it starts to stink of the Clean Wehrmacht myth. The Nazis didn't annihilate tens of millions of people without their army, and most of their army was more than willing to annihilate whoever they were told most of the time.

[@SimonJM]

The numbers are numbing and inconceivable ... and yes, that word does mean what I think it means! For books: non-fiction - (I may have mentioned this before) Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks (about code creating during WWII) Fiction: the Worldwar series by Harry Turtledove (where WWII is rudely interrupted by some pesky alien invasion) My father joined up in 1942 (after his 18th birthday) and, after training, went to North Africa as part of the Royal Corps of Signals and then Italy, and being 'of that generation' never really spoke about things apart from mentioning that Monte Cassino was not a good place to have been and was pretty brutal.

[@emileriksson76]

+1 for the Turtledove series. And in the same historic fiction genre I recommend the "Axis of Time" series by John Birmingham. Plot from wikipedia: "The novels deal with the radical alteration of the history of World War II and the socio-historical changes that result when a technologically advanced naval task force from the year 2021 is accidentally transported back through time to 1942".

[@strangebrew1231]

I really appreciate you starting the video you’re reacting to within 10 seconds. I normally don’t like reaction videos because their intros drive me crazy

[@mikeanderson3334]

Thank you for a sober, interested look at this.

[@jimflores9098]

The average American soldier in Europe didn't make a distinction between German and "Nazi" soldiers, I can assure you, fair or not. Especially after liberating a concentration camp. They understood the overall dynamic. My Uncle was in the 101st AB 506th from D-day to the Berchtesgaden.

[@racmanov]

But here in eu people know there was a huge difference between Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht

[@pianoman1857]

He posted a comment under his own video saying he should have said “germans” instead of “nazis” even though it’s a bit tautological in the sense that everyone had to be nazi officially anyway, but to me it is still necessary to say germans because saying “nazis” tends to dehumanize millions of men who only did their duty as soldiers. It’s already better to distinguish the Wehrmacht and the SS, even though sometimes the SS was fueled by regular soldiers from the Wehrmacht.

[@jedaaa]

Both are wrong, a lot of the German forces were made up of non Germans from other nations. And no, you didn't have to be a card carrying nazi to be fighting for the Nazis .

[@reservetruls]

If you like videos that visualize big and complex issues, Hans Rosling did a great one many years ago on world population growth. I watched the hour-long thing on TV, probably around the time it was uploaded to KZbin, 16 years ago but TED has done two shorter versions too. It left me feeling really positive about the future of the world. I wonder if it held up. Love to watch it again with you.

[@greuju]

Aint gonna lie i subbed because you remind me of someone. This is great content for drives too.

[@billbliss1518]

Book recommendation relating to the killing of Catholics in the concentration camps: Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau by Father Jean Bernard. Absolutely incredible, horrifying, yet hopeful read. The story of Saint Maximilian Kolbe is another one to look into. And lastly, the book “It Happened in Italy” by Elizabeth Bettina is a story of a Catholic monastery who saved thousands of Jewish lives in Italy. Part of the Vatican Escape Network.

[@michellepeoplelikeyoumurde8373]

What about the Catholic rat line for NAZIS

[@navagate1900]

Band of Brothers and the Pacific are great series you would enjoy. Also, All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), for a young German soldier point of view.

[@Olson185]

The production value of the video is phenomenal. The data...sadness beyond words.

[@agarwaenblade2644]

You are a breath of fresh air. :)

[@lynchmob72]

It sends a chill up my spine every time i see that Russian graphic just going and going.

[@johndef5075]

500k dead in Ukraine now. Human life is cheap in Russia.

[@EdMac40]

Hey. I'll just start. I am head over heels in love with you; not romantic, physical or sexual love; just plain old love. I am an 83 year-old former idealist turned cynic, who is extremely pessimistic about the future of our nation in particular and mankind in general. I stumbled upon your channel about a week ago, watched a couple of your videos, subscribed, and started watching a few random presentations. I then realized that I didn't want to miss anything, so I put the list in order of the oldest, and proceeded to binge-watch. I'm trying to slow down so I don't run out of videos, but it's hard. N.P., you give me hope. The cynical side of me says that you're a rarity, but I sincerely hope I'm wrong about that. I hope there are millions more like you. I know you said that you move around a lot, but please, please never stop presenting on this channel. I need you, damn it. Come on, how much longer can I have? Please don't ever stop. Incidentally, if you wish to shrug off this rather unfair burden that I've placed on your shoulders, turning down that darn smile of yours a notch or two would be a step in the right direction. Love ya, N.P.

[@lybardhoppe6961]

No Protocol - How do we contact you to make recommendations for you to review?

[@McLeod2022]

I Love this channel. It challenges me and instructs me and changes my view. I Love this channel.

[@tonydorsett33]

This also speaks to how much better society has become as time has gone by. We believe that society is the worst is ever been but in reality we are living in the best time in human history. The amount of death, destruction and horror that took place is unimaginable. The disregard for human life is so hard to fathom. I hope we learned from this and never repeat a war of this magnitude.

[@Trabsol]

It is sad to say but we did not learn from the mongolian war and we will not learn from WW2 either. A war on this scale will come one day and it will change everything.

[@weignerleigner3037]

I would say different not better. Like is Orwell’s 1984 world better than the world of saving private Ryan? I guess that depends on what side you are on.

[@tonydorsett33]

@weignerleigner3037 No, it's demonstrably better in by every measure. You should check out Stephen Pinkers work on this. Life 150 years ago was hard, 500 years ago it was brutal and 1000's of years ago, you were lucky to live past 30

[@StageWatcher]

What we still have in our future: Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” -Revelation 6

[@weignerleigner3037]

@@tonydorsett33 I’ve read his stuff. The thing he misses and I think doesn’t understand is “worse” or “better” is entirely subjective. He measures things by as you said life expectancy, crime, etc... but it’s not clear a person 1000 years ago found it “bad” to be in the situation they were in. Like by his own claim everyone up until like 1980 was unhappy and depressed all the time. Clearly not true. He comes at this with a modern persons bias. HE appreciates the great strides In the stats he obsesses over, but there is clearly no correlation between gdp, longer life span, to being overall happier. Suicide is at an all time high in the United states, younger people are mutilating themselves, more people are on psych meds than ever before. Like people clearly are not happy with the current situation of the world. They are overwhelmingly rejecting it. Like for trans people they have a higher suicide rate than Jewish people in the Holocaust or slaves on a plantation. That shouldnt be the case by Steven pinkers hypothesis. So no it’s not worse or better, and in world war 2 they fought to save the world with a clear objective. Today people are under attack, they don’t even know who is attacking them or how or why. People are confused and don’t even understand what is happening in the world. Imo I’d rather know what is wrong and be able to deal with it(world war 2 era) than not knowing what is happening and being entirely powerless to stop it(modern era).

[@scannedtomuch]

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is the autobiography of a young German soldier on the eastern front. Very well told though quit disturbing in its graphic detail. Then there is Herman Wouk's Winds of War followed by War and Remembrance. Its a historically accurate recounting of the war through the eyes of a fictional family. Very good read but rather thick volumes. Anyway, that's my suggestions for books on WWII. Also, I wanted to ask if you've ever read any of Allen Eckerts historical narratives on the settling and expansion of the American frontier? Very good and thoroughly researched for accuracy, written in story form so not dry reading at all. I think they might be books you'd enjoy and are quit educational. They're some of my favorites. Do an Allen Eckert historical narrative search, there are a few of them.

[@DontKnow-hr5my]

Very refreshing to see someone watch this Video with such a sharp mind and broader knowledge of history :)