IT is true that Americans have made their own propaganda version of WWII. The D-Day is seen as a decisive heroic operation while the retreat of Dunkirk is seen

IT is true that Americans have made their own propaganda version of WWII. The D-Day is seen as a decisive heroic operation while the retreat of Dunkirk is seen as almost comical because it only involved a similar amount of French casualties, who were losing anyway (in order to help the allies retreat to UK to continue the fight but nevermind that). HOWEVER, while it is true that people who lived during WWII knew USSR was winning and would prevail, even without USA's help, there was also a widespread, majority in almost every European countries, to hope US forces would come before USSR's. Germans who deserted or surrendered, when they had a choice, overwhelmingly did so to the western allies. We knew that USSR would come to occupy while US was not interested in territorial gains. Yes, US occupation was not without propaganda and political compromises, but compare the date of the first free elections in France or in Ukraine, you will see that these opinions were founded. One could argue that the D-Day was a decisive operation for the Cold War, less so for WWII. Without US involvement, USSR would have "freed" all of Europe by 1947, but the rest of the century would have been far more different.