More
than forty-six million soldiers and civilians
perished in World War II, not counting more than five
million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Whole cities
were bombed for the express purpose of killing
civilians by the hundreds of thousands. And yet this
war is known as "the good war" on the
grounds that the aim of the Allied nations of Great
Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and
China, and the outcome of the war, was to save the
world from being enslaved by the Axis (Fascist)
nations of Germany, Italy and Japan who intended to
establish a "master race" tyranny worse
than anything the world had ever seen.
That
is the official view of the war--the one we have all
been taught--but presented here in The
People As Enemy, is a very
different, and disturbing view. This
alternative view argues that the aims of the national
leaders were not to defend democracy and
self-determination, but to suppress class
rebellion--to intimidate working people everywhere
from rising up against elite power.
Spritzler
maintains that our understanding of World War II is
especially important today because the myths of World
War II are the same myths that are being used in the
"war against terrorism" by government and
corporate leaders to control people and pursue ends
that have nothing to do with protecting us from
terrorism.
The
research is impressive. You do an excellent job
unearthing the instances of class conflict, and
internal opposition during the "good
war." You make a strong argument,
well-documented…your point of view needs to
be considered seriously.
--Howard Zinn, A People's
History of the United States
Table of Contents
John
Spritzler holds a Doctor of Science degree (in
biostatistics) from the Harvard School of Public
Health where he is employed as a Research Scientist
engaged in AIDS clinical trials.
216
pages, 6x9, WWII propaganda posters, bibliography,
index
Paperback ISBN: 1-55164-216-6 $24.99
Hardcover ISBN: 1-55164-217-4 $53.99
History / Cultural
Studies
May
2003
