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Roosevelts Weg Zum Krieg: Amerikanische Politik, 1914-1939

by Dirk Bavendamm

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Guido said: " Even though I only have read the first half of this book, I feel urged to mention it as an extraordinary work of historiography.
I knew a thing or two about the history of WWII and its advent, before I picked up this book. But the range of knowledge t Even though I only have read the first half of this book, I feel urged to mention it as an extraordinary work of historiography.
I knew a thing or two about the history of WWII and its advent, before I picked up this book. But the range of knowledge that it displays, has compelled me to really finish it as soon as possible, even though I hardly find the time nowadays to read.
The author endeavored to explain the background from which the US established their hegemony on the world's markets, since the end of WWI. Their most obvious competitor was the British empire. But, there was also the threat of a combined European power. If Britain, France and Germany would have settled their issues and found a common ground onto which they could have established a European super-power, they would have taken the US out of the world-economical equation, certainly if that Europe would have settled the Russian-Soviet threat and turned it into an ally, or a vassal, whatever would have emerged from a confrontation with Stalin then. Not an option from the perspective of the US faction that sought a liberal-democratic open-door policy for the entire world, in which the US would rule the markets.
Chamberlain tried to resist as long as he could, defending the British empire, but his days were numbered. Too powerful was the opposition, as symbolized by Churchill and the cabal around him, in which US and British actors combined their strength to provoke a war, in which Nazi-Germany was to be annihilated. Chamberlain believed that a confrontation with Germany could be prevented, by buying time in which the British defense would be built that could ensure the empire's future, against any threat. But the opposition thought otherwise, as the empire needed to be dissolved, thereby neutralizing this fierce competition to US economical hegemony.
Books like this one are rare. There is revisionist literature out there, but not of the journalistic quality as this book displays. The author does not even try to condone anything about the Third Reich, as this would also have been a show-stopper from the outset to any German author in that regard. I don't believe that this particular author feels any grain of sympathy whatsoever for the Third Reich. His mindset seems to revolve around the distortion of historiography that he discerns in the publicly promulgated narrative about the advent of WWII. And I totally agree with that. From what I gathered, having read other books about the topic, historiography on WWII is quite distorted, to say the least.
It may sound as a cliché, but history is written by the victors. Intellectuals may feel offended by that seeming cliché, as they are educated in the spirit of nuance and investigation, gathering evidence and rationally deliberating on arguments, in order to come to a well balanced conclusion, free of prejudice. And yet, historiography of WWII is so heavily affected by the distortions, propaganda deceit and post-war narratives, cementing the victors' perspective, that there is a plethora of evidence that actually proves the point that at least WWII history has been written by the Allied victors and their stooges. Present-day Germany turned into a self-deluded brain-washed vanquished state that has distorted its historiography to its own disadvantage.
Not knowing history means that we are risking to repeat it. And we do. ...more "

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"This is a very revealing book. It displays the meddling that went on from FDR's circles into European politics, paving the way for WWII. Although the author does not explicitly say it, he paints the picture of an advent of WWII that was not solely due to some alleged German aggression. I already knew that before, but this book is adding so much more detail, that my understanding is growing to a next level." — Jan 05, 2024 02:09AM

Dec 10, 2023 10:23PM · see review