Only because of the holocaust and fears of nazi victory spreading it.
Well yes, that's exactly how you weigh up the lesser of two evils. The worst of Stalin's terror was over by 1942, whereas Hitler's was just getting started.
If it had been Stalin who committed suicide in 1945 and Hitler who died of a stroke in 1953 instead of the other way round, Europe and Asia would have witnessed a far more frightening death toll. We know this, because we know the Nazis were planning the deaths of tens of millions of people -- mainly Jews and Slavs -- in the event of a German victory, and because we know tens of millions of people did not die as a result of Soviet postwar occupation after 1945.
The singular monstrosity of Hitler's regime was such that it made the transformation of most of central, southern and eastern Europe into a huge communist prison camp a price worth paying to see it destroyed.
bulbinking posted...
It was all politics/money when we jumped in, we use morals to justify our actions after the fact.
Reminder: Germany declared war on the United States first. No matter who was US president at the time, a declaration of war on the United States would hardly have left Uncle Sam with diplomatic room for maneuver.
Firstly you are undercutting the atrocities of Stalin after WW2
Secondly I never heard plans of more exterminations after mazi victory. Thats not what the postwar building period plans were at all.
Thirdly Stalin was not the only practicer of communism, but all communism spread from the russians so all attrocities related to communism are higher than the attrocities related to mot only nazism but violent nationalist groups combined.
They are still around and China is getting ready for some power grabbing. Lets see how many more the communists kill. ---