The fiftieth anniversary of World War II stimulated vast interest in its major events. From the fiftieth anniversary of its outbreak through the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain and of Pearl Harbor and a whole series of such anniversaries, the parade continues until 1995. Because of my work on a general history of the war over a period of fourteen years, I would like to suggest some issues which appear in need of further discussion and examination. When examined with care, these issues may cause us to look at the events of that war somewhat differently. For convenience matters are put forward a country at a time.

Since the Germans began the war with their invasion of Poland in 1939, they will be put first. The single most difficult task all those working on World War II in Europe and North Africa face is the need to penetrate the fog of distortion and confusion generated by the vast German memoir literature, especially that of the generals like Heinz Guderian and Erich von Manstein. Long the basic staple on which secondary literature was based, closer examination of these works with reference to contemporary evidence has shown the memoirs to be almost invariably inaccurate, distorted, and in some instances simply faked.