This is where I have found studying the Eastern front of the war to be incredibly informative. The U.S. quickly ceased to propagandize the Eastern front because

This is where I have found studying the Eastern front of the war to be incredibly informative. The U.S. quickly ceased to propagandize the Eastern front because they did not want to valorize the Soviets as the cold War matured. What this has left in the West is a much more sober literature regarding that part of the conflict. What is most clear from that is what a disaster for humanity WWII was. It's much harder to romanticize it in the face of that kind of unguilded brutality. Similarly, the experiences of underground fighters and the partisans paint a picture of unredeemable cruelty. When the slightest mistep will cause your compatriots to bury you in a shallow grave, the bullet in the back of your head branding you a traitor forever whether you deserved it or not, it's hard to sell the idea that valor is rewarded with proportional glory. The mess of war is indiscriminant.