3 ms·

That's an oversimplification. You really can't overstate how great the pacifist sentiment was after WW1. That's one reason why the rest of Europe allowed the Ge

That's an oversimplification. You really can't overstate how great the pacifist sentiment was after WW1. That's one reason why the rest of Europe allowed the Germans to illegally rebuild their military (not to mention, to annex/invade). European politicians didn't dare to do anything because most Europeans demanded peace (eg: "peace for our time")

ThomPete 8y ago
Which then actually shows that it's not clear whether it's good or bad that we forget about our past. Also, I don't believe the pacifist sentiment is was as great as you say. Perhaps politicians and those in the know perhaps but not amongst everyday people. Anyway, conflicts are rarely rational but territorial and will express themselves in many different ways. What we learn from history is not that we shouldn't fight wars but that there are many ways to win them.
- Juliate 8y ago
  It's not a matter of belief. People of these times wrote down what they witnessed. "Perhaps" is not an argument. The first and only way to win a war is not to start it.
  - ThomPete 8y ago
    Reading about what other people experienced and actually experiencing it is two very different things. Most people didn't experience the front line, instead, they experienced poverty. So it depends on what the purpose is. Many if not most wars are about territory which is about access to resources.
Koshkin 8y ago
Another opinion on this is that both the West and the Soviet Union were hoping to use Germany's growing military might against each other. Everyone ended up paying dearly for that.
cortesoft 8y ago
Right, but the key point is there were people alive who remembered WWI, and yet Nazis and Fascists came to power. The details are complicated, but the key point is that remembering the horror of WWI did not stop it from happening.

3 ms·

That's an oversimplification. You really can't overstate how great the pacifist sentiment was after WW1. That's one reason why the rest of Europe allowed the Ge

by charlesism 8y ago

ThomPete 8y ago
Which then actually shows that it's not clear whether it's good or bad that we forget about our past. Also, I don't believe the pacifist sentiment is was as great as you say. Perhaps politicians and those in the know perhaps but not amongst everyday people. Anyway, conflicts are rarely rational but territorial and will express themselves in many different ways. What we learn from history is not that we shouldn't fight wars but that there are many ways to win them.
- Juliate 8y ago
  It's not a matter of belief. People of these times wrote down what they witnessed. "Perhaps" is not an argument. The first and only way to win a war is not to start it.
  - ThomPete 8y ago
    Reading about what other people experienced and actually experiencing it is two very different things. Most people didn't experience the front line, instead, they experienced poverty. So it depends on what the purpose is. Many if not most wars are about territory which is about access to resources.
Koshkin 8y ago
Another opinion on this is that both the West and the Soviet Union were hoping to use Germany's growing military might against each other. Everyone ended up paying dearly for that.
cortesoft 8y ago
Right, but the key point is there were people alive who remembered WWI, and yet Nazis and Fascists came to power. The details are complicated, but the key point is that remembering the horror of WWI did not stop it from happening.