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The question of which fource contributed the most in a war is actually not that easy. For example, the answer of who defeated Nazi changed significantly in the

by bgee 7y ago

The question of which fource contributed the most in a war is actually not that easy. For example, the answer of who defeated Nazi changed significantly in the last 70 years in Europe [0]. [0]: https://www.vox.com/2014/6/16/5814270/the-successful-70-year-campaign-to-convince-people-the-usa-and-not https://www.vox.com/2014/6/16/5814270/the-successful-70-year...

dtwest 7y ago
This is interesting. I wish there were more data points, they only show opinion in France in 1945, 1994 and 2004. The USSR may have saved Europe from Germany, but the USA saved Western Europe from the USSR. The French in 1945 were likely aware of this.
- pasabagi 7y ago
  The French in 1945 voted the communists into power - so I'm not sure they generally had the same views on the USSR as modern people do.
  - dtwest 7y ago
    That is true. That said, the French Communist Party and Stalin aren't exactly the same thing.
    - Mediterraneo10 7y ago
      The party line of the French Communist Party in the 1940s was Stalinist. It wasn't until the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian uprising in the following decade that French Communism saw a schism between pro-Soviet and anti-Soviet sides.
  - Bayart 7y ago
    The Communist Party was very influential but the government after the war was center-left and Republican (in the French sense of the word), and the political program agreed upon by all the political currents that formed the Resistance was a compromise across the entire spectrum (the Resistance started on the very right and integrated Communist elements after the USSR went to war with Germany). While it pains people to acknowledge it, the Vichy government itself passed a lot of social reforms prior to 1945. They were a social and ideological force to be reckoned with but they never really went into power, De Gaulle saw to that.
lom888 7y ago
In postwar France the PCF had a large swathe of support after the war due to the Communist role in the resistance (among other reasons). At this time the PCF was a very pro-Soviet party and this support for the Soviets may have translated into the result that you see in the referenced poll. Support for the PCF waned after de-Stalinization, the Hungarian Uprising and finally the Prague Spring; I'd wager that if one were to look at levels of support for the PCF over the years one could map the switch in perception as to which country contributed most to winning the war.

by bgee 7y ago

dtwest 7y ago

This is interesting. I wish there were more data points, they only show opinion in France in 1945, 1994 and 2004. The USSR may have saved Europe from Germany, but the USA saved Western Europe from the USSR. The French in 1945 were likely aware of this.

pasabagi 7y ago
The French in 1945 voted the communists into power - so I'm not sure they generally had the same views on the USSR as modern people do.
- dtwest 7y ago
  That is true. That said, the French Communist Party and Stalin aren't exactly the same thing.
  - Mediterraneo10 7y ago
    The party line of the French Communist Party in the 1940s was Stalinist. It wasn't until the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian uprising in the following decade that French Communism saw a schism between pro-Soviet and anti-Soviet sides.
- Bayart 7y ago
  The Communist Party was very influential but the government after the war was center-left and Republican (in the French sense of the word), and the political program agreed upon by all the political currents that formed the Resistance was a compromise across the entire spectrum (the Resistance started on the very right and integrated Communist elements after the USSR went to war with Germany). While it pains people to acknowledge it, the Vichy government itself passed a lot of social reforms prior to 1945. They were a social and ideological force to be reckoned with but they never really went into power, De Gaulle saw to that.

lom888 7y ago

In postwar France the PCF had a large swathe of support after the war due to the Communist role in the resistance (among other reasons). At this time the PCF was a very pro-Soviet party and this support for the Soviets may have translated into the result that you see in the referenced poll. Support for the PCF waned after de-Stalinization, the Hungarian Uprising and finally the Prague Spring; I'd wager that if one were to look at levels of support for the PCF over the years one could map the switch in perception as to which country contributed most to winning the war.