Biggest army in the world, also the only reason most of europe has freedom today and not a german dictatorship is the US in WW2. This is something europeans forget when complaining about "outsized" US influence but then also don't invest in defense and keep being safe just by the grace of the US. This comes with a price.
> the only reason most of europe has freedom today and not a german dictatorship is the US in WW2
That thought is the result of decades of successful US propaganda. The people who actually lived through WW2 in Europe thought different. This poll [1] asked: "In your opinion, which nation contributed the most to Hitler's defeat?"
So you agree that somehow the US has a stranglehold on Europe if they were able to make the continent believe what you say is a lie. Maybe you don't think it comes from WW2 or them having the biggest army, but then what is your explanation? Europe bends over just because?
The USA has military bases all over Europe with people and missiles. That started with WW2. How would they not have huge influence on what we do? No european country has a random military base in Ohio or whatever.
Decades of Holywood propaganda and related American cultural exports. There is a reason the Pentagon gives free access to military equipment to Holywood studios, but only if the military is depicted positively / in a heroic manner.
You think Europe lets the US dictate policy and enforce extradition because of... Hollywood? And not because of the position the US has on the world stage by having the biggest army and the world currency? Because that's the argument I'm making.
You keep moving goalposts. Your original statement which started this comment chain was that without the US, Europe would be a German dictatorship. That is categorically untrue and is not actually believed by those who survived WW2. I also explained why the perception is changed, even though the facts haven't. From there, you've launched into some unrelated tirade about American military size.
In addition to calcifer's arguments, I would suggest you consider that there are multiple aspects of power apart from military. There is financial, economic, cultural, diplomatic and so forth.
There is a book called "When Titans Clashed" that may be of interest to you in regards to your statement about "europe has freedom today and not a german dictatorship is the US in WW2."
Of course I can. I don't like US intervention. But I don't have to pretend there's not an obvious reason why they intervene and why europe "let's them".
How many military bases does Russia have in Germany and the rest of europe? How much control does Russia have on europe in terms of enforcing laws, extraditing citizens vs the US?
Do you really not see the difference? I don't like the fact that the US has this presence or influence in europe, but it is factual. Why you think stating a fact is braging, I'm not sure.
Did I make any argument about who had a bigger role? I just made an argument that because of the US's role, and the fact that right now they have the biggest army, that's what allows them to have this influence in laws in europe. Other people started making comparisons with USSR.
>also the only reason most of europe has freedom today and not a german dictatorship is the US in WW2
German soldiers killed on the Eastern Front before the final battles of 1945: 2,742,909.
On the Western Front, the Balkans, Africa, Italy, and Northern Europe: 640,541.
I'm no mathematician, but but it seems like it wouldn't have been possible without Russians killing over 75% of the German soldiers and then marching on Berlin. Could Europe have have handled the other 25% without the US? Maybe. Could the US have handled the other 75% without Russia? I am very skeptical.
First, you directly stated that the US involvement in WWII was the only reason Europe has freedom and that "is something europeans forget", which is wrong and invalid.
Second, while it is true that US power projection through the military is one of the ways it influences other countries, including in Europe, it isn’t the only way. The US dollar is the most held reserve currency in the world and is the standard for exchange in almost every country, outside of Russia, China, etc., means that most international economic activity passes through US financial institutions. That gives the US a lot of influence, as it means you cannot stray too far afield of US legal norms without risking those trading abilities. When the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions, it was the only country doing it, but European trade with Iran also went to almost zero because it was impossible to do business without touching a US bank at some point.
Third, the US bases and military presence in Europe was because of the cold war, not because of anything the US did in WWII. Since WWII wasn’t fought in America, its logistics, manufacturing, etc. were intact, compared to the rubble that was Europe. NATO, basing agreements, the US outsized military spending, etc. were to counter the only other super power, the USSR, and prevent Europe from falling under the iron dome. It was also to prevent the intra-European military competitions and arms races that fueled interstate wars for the previous 1,000 years.
The dollar being used for exchanges is because the USA is imposing it with their army. The countries that think to do otherwise get bombed, or at the very least their terrorists become suddenly very well armed.
Nowadays europeean countries interventions in Africa are still very similar to proxy wars, despite the EU and all.
> The dollar being used for exchanges is because the USA is imposing it with their army. The countries that think to do otherwise get bombed, or at the very least their terrorists become suddenly very well armed.
That is complete incorrect. The dollar is used as a reserve currency because it is stable, has a large amount of liquidity in its financial market, it has a stable legal and political system, and the large trade deficit the U.S. runs. The dollar accounted for 60% of foreign reserves and the euro is second place, with 20%. They are followed by the Japanese yen and the British pound. Russia and China are totalitarian governments that artificially control their own currency flows, as does India (controlling currency, not totalitarianism). People don’t want to use other currencies as their reserves because they aren’t stable and reliable the way the US is, not because the US makes them. You see it in the runner up currencies, that are all large economies with democratic stable governments and open financial markets. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) are trying to make their own version of the euro, so we will see how well that goes and how trusted that is as a currency.
> Nowadays europeean countries interventions in Africa are still very similar to proxy wars, despite the EU and all.
I said “It was also to prevent the intra-European military competitions and arms races that fueled interstate wars for the previous 1,000 years”. Intra means inside and interstate means between states. Proxy wars in Africa are neither inside Europe nor are they between states, since they are literally proxies. Since the last two intra-European interstate wars were WWI and WWII, I’d say small scale proxy wars are a step in the right direction.
You seem to forget that there were quite a few bases in Europe under the Soviet flag, which ended with the dissolution of the USSR.
Only you can decide whether you think this was the Russian flag or not but I suspect you will not be able to simultaneously argue that it was the Soviet flag during WW2 and the Russian flag during communism. If you believe Russia occupied countries such as Ukraine and Belarus and controlled/occupied Poland, Romania etc, then you will have to accept that the Russians did in fact do the most to defeat the Germans.
If you don't believe it was Russia, and rather the USSR, then you will have to accept it was the collective efforts of countries of the USSR (and the occupation by Russia falls into doubt).
You can't have it both ways.
In either case, the Americans played a lesser role in the defeat of the Germans in WW2 and more properly could be credited with defeating the Japanese. This would make sense as the US is more a naval power than a land power.
Technically only because Russia treats it's troops like disposable cannon fodder and early in the war was sending 2 soldiers for every rifle with the instructions for the second guy to pick up the rifle when the first guy dies.
Germany would have lost to Russia, they were already being beaten back when D-day happened. Europe would have become a communist dictatorship, not a german one.
"I want to tell you what, from the Russian point of view, the president and the United States have done for victory in this war," Stalin said. "The most important things in this war are the machines.... The United States is a country of machines. Without the machines we received through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war." - Stalin
PS: I'm from europe