Four Enduring Myths About the Second World War

Let’s set the record straight

Soviet officer in WWII (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Countless books and films have recounted the events of the Second World War, mostly from the perspective of the victorious Allies, as you would expect. Many of these books and films are both entertaining and historically accurate; there are, however, several myths and distortions that have arisen over the past 80 years that need to be corrected, and the best place to start is at the beginning.

Virtually all of the history books, at least in the West, say the war started on September 1, 1939, with Germany’s invasion of Poland; given that this was Germany’s first real combat action and that Britain and France declared war on Germany almost immediately afterward, this makes sense. However, it overlooks the fact that this was a world war; the invasion of Poland was indeed the start of the war in Europe, but the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on July 7, 1937, a full two years before Germany invaded Poland, should be considered the start of World War II. And for those in Russia who date the start of the war to the German invasion of Russia in June 1941 or Americans who believe the war started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, you need to understand that you were both actually latecomers to the conflict.