Stupidest things you have heard said about WW2

[Chukka]

This morning on Slate magazine there was a discussion on gun control (the Australian context) which was as depressing as it was virulent. Anyhow, one fellow stated that all of the great massacres of the 20th century could have been prevented if the families of Germany or Cambodia Had a rifle in the closet and a revolver by the bedside table. Now he might be entitled to this opinion but the bit that earned him entry to this thread was he he stated , and I quote..."the reason the Japanese *decided not to invade us was that the citizenry were armed......". I'd like to forward that quote to a USMC or Navy veteran.

[ljadw]

Something for the bulldozer.

[RichardS]

Originally Posted by Chukka

This morning on Slate magazine there was a discussion on gun control (the Australian context) which was as depressing as it was virulent. Anyhow, one fellow stated that all of the great massacres of the 20th century could have been prevented if the families of Germany or Cambodia Had a rifle in the closet and a revolver by the bedside table. Now he might be entitled to this opinion but the bit that earned him entry to this thread was he he stated , and I quote..."the reason the Japanese *decided not to invade us was that the citizenry were armed......". I'd like to forward that quote to a USMC or Navy veteran.

Coral Sea, Midway, Kakoda trail are the reasons the Japanese never invaded Australia. (Never mind the fact that the Japanese were badly stretched out at that point as well.

[gabagool]

Here's one that i don't know IF its a stupid thing or not....

That if HITLER had treated the Ukranians with respect upon conquering their land, would have that have been the turning point and led to german victory in the soviet union. I read that cutting some kind of deal with them woiuld have given hilter 3M more males to put to battle. Instead he turned a huge population of people who HATED stalin and his cronies to Germans enemies INSTEAD of allies.

Tell me......STUPIDITY OR I GOT SOMETHING HERE.

[Scott Fraser]

Originally Posted by gabagool

Here's one that i don't know IF its a stupid thing or not....

That if HITLER had treated the Ukranians with respect upon conquering their land, would have that have been the turning point and led to german victory in the soviet union. I read that cutting some kind of deal with them woiuld have given hilter 3M more males to put to battle. Instead he turned a huge population of people who HATED stalin and his cronies to Germans enemies INSTEAD of allies.

Tell me......STUPIDITY OR I GOT SOMETHING HERE.

That is pure fantasy, another "if only" dug up by defeated Nazis looking for a scapegoat. It was never going to happen. Hitler's entire world viewpoint was premised on race, with the Aryans as dominant over all. The Western Europeans could be tolerated, but the Slavs were to be culled and the Jews exterminated. There is simply no way that Hitler would allow that scenario to unfold, nor any way that he could in view of the brutality of the methods used by the German military. Read 'Babi Yar' by Anatoli Kuznetsov. It's old, but it gives a good picture of what it was like.

That theory is also premised on a number of other assumptions that do not ring true. The abundant manpower and food that this scenario suggests wasn't there. German expectations for agricultural and resource output from conquered lands was wildly above what was actually delivered. At the end of the day, Hitler was getting less than he had been importing from the USSR before Barbarossa. Moreover, it is debatable where there really was that much enthusiasm for the Nazi (or anti-Stalin) cause, which has been the topic for other discussions.

At the end of the day, it is a pretty good candidate for "stupidest thing ever said about the war".

Regards
Scott Fraser

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Scott Fraser

That theory is also premised on a number of other assumptions that do not ring true. The abundant manpower and food that this scenario suggests wasn't there.

That's the burial marker of this what-if idea. The German army in the East was fed, basically, by starving the Ukrainians (and other locals). It's hard to befriend people you are starving. Yes, the Germans managed to raise thousands of volunteers from that manpower pool - probably exactly because eligible men saw that had they not joined, they would have had good chances of starving.

One more thing that you did not mention is that there wasn't enough equipment, either. The Germans might be able to provide rifles and boots for an additional, say, 100,000 Ukrainian volunteers. But if it came to horses and artillery, or even MGs and mortars - let alone luxuries such as trucks and tanks - they would simply not have had the wherewithal. Why, regular German divisions were short of all of that.

[Nickuru]

There is no way way that any aircraft, even the Messsersmitt-262 could have broken the sound barrier with the technology on hand. Look what happened to the British deHavilland Comet, the first commercial jet aircraft.

The aeroplanes fell apart due to construction of the windows being in rectangular and not spheroidal shape. Bad piloting during the Karachi disaster did not help. Taking off at 3AM in another disaster did not help. But was jet technology sufficiently developed at this time? A lot of politics involved here. This was around 1953. The two Rome disasters simply doomed the project. Metallurgy had not yet developed to the point of being able to withstand the stress of the sound barrier.

[Nickuru]

Originally Posted by Desiree Clary

I saw a model of that thing in an IPMS show when I was with a very witty, knowledgeable friend. A Nazi fanboy next to us said, "It could do more than 400 mph."

My friend replied, "No it couldn't, it was never even built."

How appropiate that this post has the attachment. Some people have not just a screw loose but an entire mental gearbox in need of rebuilding.

[At ease]

Originally Posted by Nickuru

There is no way way that any aircraft, even the Messsersmitt-262 could have broken the sound barrier with the technology on hand. Look what happened to the British deHavilland Comet, the first commercial jet aircraft.

The aeroplanes fell apart due to construction of the windows being in rectangular and not spheroidal shape. Bad piloting during the Karachi disaster did not help. Taking off at 3AM in another disaster did not help. But was jet technology sufficiently developed at this time? A lot of politics involved here. This was around 1953. The two Rome disasters simply doomed the project. Metallurgy had not yet developed to the point of being able to withstand the stress of the sound barrier.

This could go right off topic but the first Comet crash due to metal fatigue was, from memory and without any searching, in 1954.

Ole Chuck(Bell X1 in level flight) and George "Wheaties" Welch(F86 in a gentle dive) broke the sound barrier on the same day in October 1947.....some 7 years earlier.

[D1J1]

Originally Posted by gabagool

Here's one that i don't know IF its a stupid thing or not....

That if HITLER had treated the Ukranians with respect upon conquering their land, would have that have been the turning point and led to german victory in the soviet union. I read that cutting some kind of deal with them woiuld have given hilter 3M more males to put to battle. Instead he turned a huge population of people who HATED stalin and his cronies to Germans enemies INSTEAD of allies.

Tell me......STUPIDITY OR I GOT SOMETHING HERE.

What Scott said. The entire ratzi program revolved around the outright elimination of or reduction to chattel slavery of the "inferiors" in the East. Ain't changing that, no how or no way period!

Regards,
Dennis

[clackers]

Originally Posted by At ease

This could go right off topic but the first Comet crash due to metal fatigue was, from memory and without any searching, in 1954.

Ole Chuck(Bell X1 in level flight) and George "Wheaties" Welch(F86 in a gentle dive) broke the sound barrier on the same day in October 1947.....some 7 years earlier.

Yep, these things aren't really related to the problems of breaking the sound barrier.

The Comet was not supersonic, for starters.

[lcm1]

Originally Posted by clackers

Yep, these things aren't really related to the problems of breaking the sound barrier.

The Comet was not supersonic, for starters.

I remember,(Hullo here goes that 'silly old fart again. ) when it was quite commonplace to hear that familiar ' back in the UK....'crack' as an aircraft went over. lcm1