They were selling weapons to both sides. GM controlled Opel until the 1940s, they built a lot of the nazi war machine (using forced labor), the Ford-Werke factory in Germany produced V2 rocket turbines among other parts, and US strategic bombers were specifically told to avoid bombing it because it was owned by an american, Exxon and Dow licensed patents for synthetic rubber and other war materials Germany lacked, Chase provided loans necessary for the rearmament, IBM sold the nazis the computers they used to carry out the holocaust.
The capitalist class looked at fascism as the savior of capitalism; they’d been terrified of a revolution in Germany and Hitler had just shown them an alternative. There’s a reason he was Time’s man of the year in 1938.
Good catch, I have edited it accordingly. Real “giving the nobel peace prize to Henry Kissinger and the guys he is currently dropping chemical weapons on” vibes.
Also: Holy shit, Chiang Kai-Shek is there for 1937.
I wish they’d put the articles behind those covers on their site, rather than just simple biographies. I’d like to read how people like Hitler and Stalin were perceived in the run up to WW2. Stalin in 39 is particularly interesting because that’s just after Molotov-Ribbentrop has been signed and WW2 has started with the Russian allied to the Germans.
The USSR never allied with the Germans, it was a non-aggression pact, made after the USSR failed to get Britain, France, or Poland to support them in invading Germany in response to Czechoslovakia. Instead Britain, France, and Poland signed the Munich Agreement, dividing Czechoslovakia between Germany and Poland.
To be clear, even after the invasion of Poland in 1940, the western powers intended to support Germany against the USSR, Britain even tried to send troops to support Germany’s ally, Finland in the winter war, after the invasion of Poland, and was only prevented when it ended too quickly.
Germany and the Soviets had agreed a boundary between the lands they both wanted to conquer. The deal was that the Soviets would take eastern Europe and Germany the west. Hence both countries invading Poland in 1939. Non-aggression is one way of putting it. Dividing Europe between them is another. Both aggressors against Europe.
And then Finland. The Winter War was a defensive war against the USSR and didn’t involve Germany. They then exploited it when Operation Barbarossa commenced and continued pushing the soviets back. Finally, once that was done, they joined the fight against the Germans. To say they were allied with the Germany just because the both were engaged with fighting the USSR at the same time is wrong.
Germany and the Soviets had agreed a boundary between the lands they both wanted to conquer
And France and Britain agreed to boundaries in Czechoslovakia. You wouldn’t call the Munich Agreement an alliance though.
They then exploited it when Operation Barbarossa commenced and continued pushing the soviets back. Finally, once that was done
Except the USSR ended up with the territory they had demanded at the start of the winter war, in response to Finland aligning with Nazi Germany. Finland’s willingness to switch sides was due to them seeing the writing on the wall.
Do you mean the other way around? German companies had the patents for synthetic rubber, most notably Buna-N, and when the USA joined they simply stole it?
They were selling weapons to both sides. GM controlled Opel until the 1940s, they built a lot of the nazi war machine (using forced labor), the Ford-Werke factory in Germany produced V2 rocket turbines among other parts, and US strategic bombers were specifically told to avoid bombing it because it was owned by an american, Exxon and Dow licensed patents for synthetic rubber and other war materials Germany lacked, Chase provided loans necessary for the rearmament, IBM sold the nazis the computers they used to carry out the holocaust.
The capitalist class looked at fascism as the savior of capitalism; they’d been terrified of a revolution in Germany and Hitler had just shown them an alternative. There’s a reason he was Time’s man of the year in 1938.
Adolf Hilter was Time’s Person of the Year in 1938. Joseph Stalin was 1939.
Source: https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2019712,00.html
Good catch, I have edited it accordingly. Real “giving the nobel peace prize to Henry Kissinger and the guys he is currently dropping chemical weapons on” vibes.
Also: Holy shit, Chiang Kai-Shek is there for 1937.
I wish they’d put the articles behind those covers on their site, rather than just simple biographies. I’d like to read how people like Hitler and Stalin were perceived in the run up to WW2. Stalin in 39 is particularly interesting because that’s just after Molotov-Ribbentrop has been signed and WW2 has started with the Russian allied to the Germans.
The USSR never allied with the Germans, it was a non-aggression pact, made after the USSR failed to get Britain, France, or Poland to support them in invading Germany in response to Czechoslovakia. Instead Britain, France, and Poland signed the Munich Agreement, dividing Czechoslovakia between Germany and Poland.
To be clear, even after the invasion of Poland in 1940, the western powers intended to support Germany against the USSR, Britain even tried to send troops to support Germany’s ally, Finland in the winter war, after the invasion of Poland, and was only prevented when it ended too quickly.
Mmmmm. I think I disagree.
Germany and the Soviets had agreed a boundary between the lands they both wanted to conquer. The deal was that the Soviets would take eastern Europe and Germany the west. Hence both countries invading Poland in 1939. Non-aggression is one way of putting it. Dividing Europe between them is another. Both aggressors against Europe.
And then Finland. The Winter War was a defensive war against the USSR and didn’t involve Germany. They then exploited it when Operation Barbarossa commenced and continued pushing the soviets back. Finally, once that was done, they joined the fight against the Germans. To say they were allied with the Germany just because the both were engaged with fighting the USSR at the same time is wrong.
And France and Britain agreed to boundaries in Czechoslovakia. You wouldn’t call the Munich Agreement an alliance though.
Except the USSR ended up with the territory they had demanded at the start of the winter war, in response to Finland aligning with Nazi Germany. Finland’s willingness to switch sides was due to them seeing the writing on the wall.
Person of the year is not a honorific. It just means most important or influential.
excuse me i won person of the year and i’m taking it as an honorific
Time Magazine Person of the Year is for the most influential person of the year. Not the best, or most admirable. Merely the greatest agent of change.
Wow
Do you mean the other way around? German companies had the patents for synthetic rubber, most notably Buna-N, and when the USA joined they simply stole it?