Chrissy3818 Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Okay so I know we fought on both sides of the war. Some were with Hitler and some were against. But why were some with him? Why were we not all on just one side? Quote
Chrissy3818 Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Posted October 21, 2012 Who is we?Mormons/LDS members Quote
dahlia Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Oh my goodness. Please go back and read your history books. Or just go to Wikipedia: Axis powers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Allies of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Americans liberated Jewish death camps - we did not fight with Hitler. Quote
livy111us Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 There were German LDS who were on the side of Hitler. In the biography of Helmuth Hubener, the story of the LDS teen who fought against Hitler within Nazi Germany, it tells about every day Church life in Germany during the war. In his branch, his branch President was a Nazi as well as several members.http://www.amazon.com/Hubener-vs-Hitler-Biography-Resistance/dp/0929753135 Quote
Chrissy3818 Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Posted October 21, 2012 Oh my goodness. Please go back and read your history books. Or just go to Wikipedia: Axis powers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Allies of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Americans liberated Jewish death camps - we did not fight with Hitler.In LDS church news it says we did "At the height of the war, an estimated 100,000 LDS servicemen, from numerous countries, fought on both sides of the battlefield. And while exact numbers are not known, Brother Freeman estimates that more than 5,000 LDS servicemen were killed in combat." LDS Church News - World War II: preserving history of LDS in conflict Quote
Traveler Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Okay so I know we fought on both sides of the war. Some were with Hitler and some were against. But why were some with him? Why were we not all on just one side?Not everyone that supported select elements of the 3rd Reich were evil and not everyone that supported the Allied forces had divine purposes in mind. In addition we believe the 12th article of Faith.One side note - because of the great evil imposed on the world through the 3rd Reich many do not recognize the good that was accomplished. For example there were many efforts to relieve the suffering of the poor that have similarities to our own LDS welfare programs. The 3rd Reich was able to almost completely eliminate poverty without adding to the national debt - in fact the programs put into place actually helped the economy grow. This was an direct good - in addition there were some indirect things that came to light from efforts of mass propaganda that a knowledgeable person can use to identify how entertainment (especially "popular" entertainment) can be use to shape social opinions and drastically alter individual values.The Traveler Quote
Dravin Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 You have a couple reasons why there were LDS members serving in various armed forces during WW2: 1) Conscription. 2) Those who saw it a civic duty to serve their country. If you have LDS servicemen in different armies and their respective countries go to war you're gonna have LDS servicemen on opposite sides of the battle line. Quote
livy111us Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Going back to the biography I mentioned, deep within the heart of Germany, Hitler portrayed a very different picture of what was going on in the war. All of the news outlets were Nazi controlled, therefore, the only information they were getting was filtered through the Government. The Nazi's had complete control on their only source for information and they took advantage of it. They fooled the Germans into believing they were the good guys and they were winning the war. They indoctrinated them in schools, news, papers, pamphlet's, etc... When you are only hearing one side of the issue, it would be difficult to find the truth. It boils down to that they were fooled. Quote
NeuroTypical Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Chrissy, you're asking a board full of sound-byte posters, a question that history book writers take volumes to answer. I guess the best sound-byte I could give here, is "Go watch Saints and Soldiers". Quote
bcguy Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Also, just to mention, there was a total of 60 million civilian and military casualties of the war. This composed 2.5 percent of the global population. If there was lds on both sides, then the church had established there Stakes in those countries before the war broke out. Quote
volgadon Posted October 21, 2012 Report Posted October 21, 2012 Dravin has some excellent points, but really, very little research has been carried out into how American and European members considered Hitler. At the very least, as far as I know, no LDS ever served as staff in concentration camps. Quote
Traveler Posted October 22, 2012 Report Posted October 22, 2012 Dravin has some excellent points, but really, very little research has been carried out into how American and European members considered Hitler. At the very least, as far as I know, no LDS ever served as staff in concentration camps.And if they had? I believe President Dieter Uchtdorf's Father served in the military during WWII - I do not know if he was an officer.The Traveler Quote
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