Why do Americans think that they beat Hitler and won WWII?

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DWInSTL	Your question is a sweeping generality and presumes all Americans hold this belief...when you poll each and every American and you find that all of them have this opinion then we can proceed with an accurate answer. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

stanthemansmum	American public opinion was very anti getting involved in the war. Churchill asked for help on many occasions and the Americans refused or stalled for time They offered military support - but the British would have to collect it. America only came into the war after the attack on Pearl Harbour - when they declared war on Japan and Germany declared on America in return. America only came into the war because it had to - but did bloody well out of it!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

c6r2003	First...we generally don't. It was a combined effort that beat the Germans...however...the British and Canadiens, which is pretty much all that was left at the point that the US entered the war, didn't have the manpower or equipment needed to offensively engage the Germans on mainland Europe by themselves. The French and British expeditionary forces had pretty much been decimated at this point and forced to withdraw, and were stuck in defensive positions on thier island...they were greatly successful at it...the Battle of Britian was a prime example of British tenacity at defending thier little isle...but there was no way they could support a push into Franch from where they were at. They would have been contained and without introducing the sudden problem of a 2 front war, Hitler would have eventually faught the Russians to a standstill. Other than the Brits, the Irish, the Swiss, and the Icelanders, Europe and a significant portion of Western Asia would still be under a unified German banner. So, no, we (the Americans) didn't "win" the war by ourselves...not by a long shot....but it was the introduction of our supplies and troops into the fight that gave the Allies the assets they needed to make it a reality. That being said, however, the one we really need to thank for winning the war in Europe is Hitler. At times a strategic genius...and at others...a complete and utter moron. We had no interest in Europe. When Japan attacked us, Germany, for whatever reason, randomly decided to declare war on us. If he hadn't declared war on us first, we more than likely would have avoided direct involvent in the European conflict. EDIT: No...we didn't come in at the end. It's not like you guys were winning the day and we jumped in at the last second for the glory of it. The war was essentially deadlocked. You destroyed a lot of thier stuff, but they had destroyed a lot of yours too. All three of you (the western European allies, the Russians, and the Axis powers) had been reduced down to being incapable of maintaining significant offensive operations and were basically static when we got there. It's basic military strategy...a well trained defensively positioned force will generally be able to adequetely hold off an opposition up to 3 times its size. Unless the attacker can muster enough men and equipment to give the massed firepower needed to break that defense, it doesn't stand a chance. None of you could muster that without sacrificing your ability to defend. It MAY very well have been close to ending, but it wouldn't have been with an allied victory, as I already explained above. You guys NEEDED reinforcements to push forward. We provided that. It ended quickly because the allies got an influx of more troops while the Axis did not. We steamrolled them by simply having more guys and the ability to actually mass them toward a limited set of objectives. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

JayJa_y	People seem to forget it was in fact the joint effort of the allies that helped over come Hitler. USA were vital in this but by no means the only country responsible. Pointing out there involvement towards the end, after Japan invaded Pearl Harbor is correct but they were vital in the overthrowing of the Axis. USA provided the UK with a lot of financial backing - helping us to be able to afford to continue advancing in places suck as Libya - and rebuild the country after .The RAF merely held off the Blitzkrieg after Dunkirk However it was the Russians that forced Hitler back and to shoot himself in defeat. I think most would agree it was the invasion of Russia and the breaking of the non-aggression pact which cost them so dearly. So It was a joint effort however its unlikely this was possible without the help of USA. I doubt any American (thats looked at the war) would claim sole victory. The UK only finished repaying its debts to USA at the end of 2006 the treasury minister recently noted- "It was vital support [from the USA] which helped Britain defeat Nazi Germany and secure peace and prosperity in the post-war period. We honour our commitments to them now as they honoured their commitments to us all those years ago." It is widely recognised Russia contributed most in terms of lives lost. America in monetary and weaponry. The US effectively bankrolled the allies in WWII. They also supplied vast amounts of aid to the USSR, so the Soviets could tie down the Germans, and eventually roll them back to within the borders of Germany itself. The mobilisation of US industry was a huge achievement. Britain played a huge part technologically - radar and sonar for example, or the development of the code-cracking computer at Bletchley Park. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

P. W	The Hollywood system encourages Americans to think that they did it all on their own. Even the brilliant "Band of Brothers" series fell into this trap. There was a scene where a Cockney, dressed in a German uniform, presumably part of war games, starts talking in Rhyming Slang, for some reason. In another scene the paratroopers are informed that Operation Market Garden will be British-led. A groan goes up. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

jsrace2003	1940 Germany suffers its first major defeat in the battle of Britain (The Axis never tried it again) 1942 the British and commonwealth armies defeat Germany in El Alemein which sends the axis powers into a headlong retreat in north Africa ` 1943 Kassarine pass…The rest is history. The point is the USA supplied the UK with lend lease which was desperately needed by the UK simply because Britain along with many other European countries had neglected their armed forces after the 1st world war! And by the time D-Day came along the armies were unrecognisable to just a couple of years before. Did you know the USA was the lesser number compared to the UK / CW? But the US suffered a massive amount of casualties and was a major player in the end result. So to answer your question it is Hollywood to blame for the lack of historical fact` just Google” HMS Bulldog “and follow it from there. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

supertonker	I am an American, and what I've been taught is that Russia played a big part in Germany being defeated. They caused Germany to have to fight another front that drains resources. I believe that America (along with Britain and all the other allies who fought against German) won the war and if you took a poll it's likely that most other Americans feel the same. Maybe a more accurate description of what Americans think is that had we not entered the war, Hitler would not have been defeated but we did not accomplish it in isolation. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

whimzy	according to history we and other nations such as russia won the war in a collective effort.i would guess they didn't pay attention in school. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Why When How	Only Russia won the war having enquired more land afterwards than the other allies . Also if you know anything about history you will know it was a waste of time. 48 million dead and for what? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Quest4questions	Whatever troll. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

nosdda	The Americans were with us on D- Day, and without them, we would have never been able to plan a D-Day. they fought with us all the way to Berlin. Before they joined us, there were thousands of Americans who came here as volunteers to fight on our side. Our Raf which saved this country from a german invasion was manned by a lot of American fighter pilots as well as other Nationalities. It wasn't all jolly old English chaps taking on the Luftwaffe. They also fought with the British against the japanese in Burma etc. I lived through WW2, you didn't, so you never knew how kind and helpful the Americans were to the British people before they were drawn into the war. After The evacuation from Dunkirk of the BEF, we were on our knees. The Americans saved us again by the Lease Lend agreement we had with them. You need to know a bit more about the American involvement in WW2 before you mouth of about something you seem to know little about. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Group Captain Lionel Mandrake	love this question sends everyone mad on here Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

jeeper_peeper321	The british ?? The British had lost every single ground battle with the Nazi's before the US joined the war. Germany controlled all of Europe before america joined the war. Germany controlled most of the northern africa before America joined the war. Now lets talk about who provided the weapons, food, equipment and funding for both Britian and Russia during the war . The US of course. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Needle&Thread	Sigh When will all this "I'm better than you" crap end? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Michael B	I don't know of any American's who feel that they defeated Hitler, we didn't even get into WWII in Europe till late in the war, Russia and Brittan were pushing back the front. United States was brought into the war by the bombing of Pear Harbor and we defeated Japan. I am not sure where you got the information the American's think they defeated Germany or won WWII, we were a part of a coalition which beat Germany and Japan. Many American's have no sense of history so you might be talking to some very stupid people who don't understand the whole story. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

gembolatino	Because they did in part. It wasn't the British against half the world you know.Unless you were IN the war you can't say anything which you weren't so shut up being so racist. And yes, I'm English. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ToxicTonic	xD I'm usually known IRL for hating the USA, but this is just funny. The USA HELPED win the War, Britain, France, Russia etc. were the main contributers. Although... the Soviet Union didn't really help, as they signed a pact/treaty with Hitler so they wouldn't invade Russia, forcing Hitler down, and, in the end, back towards the western countries. Anyway, the US was a great help in the war, but they didn't win it, no one really did, how can you win when hundreds of thousands of people died. You could say every Ally to the British "won" the war, but with a cost. That's like saying that the last editor on Wikipedia's entry didn't count, even though it may have turned a stub to a really long and helpful article. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

rebelparson1861	America's contribution in WWII was not merely military. America supplied weapons and resources to nations opposing Hitler long before troops were actually sent. Individual Americans also supported war efforts well before the US officially entered -- including flying in the RAF. In fact, given the staggering losses suffered by the RAF during the early war, it is quite possible that the RAF could have maintained any, let alone an effective, defense against Germans raiding and bombing Britain. Clearly the Eastern front was devastating to Hitler, but without the Allies and extremely strong support from American mounting a serious two-front campaign, it is doubtful that Hitler could have been as effectively defeated, if at all. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Uncle Tim	Every country (I suspect) colors their history to make it look like they played a larger role in events than they did. It is however true that England likely would not have been able to stand against Hitler without the Lend Lease Act and other help from the US prior to them getting into the war. That being said. It was not the US that beat Hitler it was a grand alliance of many countries. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

amazin'g	I don't think any educated American thinks we beat Hitler singlehandedly. We, and our allies, beat Hitler. It was an Allied victory. Eisenhower, an American general, was the supreme allied commander on the European front. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

qwertyemm	I'm an American and I agree that most information received and taught here is biased. The news stations here are a joke for finding out any WORLD news. (And frankly, they are pretty comical for all news in general...they are owned and operated by major corporations that decide what they think is news.) If we want any world news beyond the '60 seconds' they typically allot, we have to tune into the BBC or make a real effort to get it elsewhere. I felt so much more aware of things going on in the world when we lived overseas. I wish we had less corporate press and more interest in the world as whole. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Same_but_different	Well it is true that without the US help, the war would have taken an awful lot longer to win. By the time they got into it the Allies were struggling and were running out of war funds. The US loaned a massive amount (the repayments of which kept Britain poor and on the ration books until well into the 50s and 60s). The US by themselves didn't win the war - they just helped a lot at the end. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

manga freakxx	I'm American and I don't think we beat Hitler and won WWII. My parents were both in the Navy and they don't think that. The Allies beat Hitler and won WWII. You can say no one really beat Hitler, because he killed himself, but all the things that led to his death were caused by the war, which we were part of. So we have a right to feel a sense of pride - but even then, if you walk into a mall and ask that question to everyone, I doubt that there will be a lot of people who say that they are proud about that. The whole war was sad - what war isn't? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Lisdeleau	They're taught biased history in schools Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Travis	We did? Along with many other countries.. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Heatherrrrrrrr	It was a World War. Hence the name WWII. Americans celebrate that Hitler was defeated by the World members that were fighting against him. Troops from many nations came forward to help. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

sean c	factually incorrect history curriculum + hollywood as the guy above says, if any one nation won the war it was the soviets, a quick glance at the casualty rates tells you that Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

vagabond_52773	We did, along with with the UK, the USSR. No one country was able to do it on their own. The UK could not have done it without the UK and USSR, the USSR would have fell without the US and UK. If the US had not got involved, Europe sure as hell would not have defeated him. I admit we could not have done it ourselves, but neither could you. Ohhh.... look at the haughty European.... I suppose you were going to take Japan by yourselves as well.... from your question I would say you are the one worked up.... LoL If we came in at the end, so did you... WWII started around 1930 if you ask the Chinese. Also, good luck defeating most of those Axis forces without our supplies coming in. It may have been your soldiers fighting early on, but it was our industry in you back pocket. If you wanted to make that argument about WWI, you would have a point. But you are trying to argue WWII. BOTTOM LINE----- it was a combined effort.... Diplomacy, Militarily, and Economically. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

louie666pwu	Most Americans aren't even aware of what happened on the Eastern Front. Without the Soviets beating up the Nazis, WWII would have been a long, long war. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

guitar virgin	Hollywood. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mike	You are apparently unaware of much of what the United States was doing several years before the United States Officially entered the war. The United States provided large amounts of military equipment and large numbers of Americans who were not officially in the military. For example my father worked for Lockheed Aircraft and was sent over to Ireland in 1939 to provide maintenance services for Aircraft used by the Royal Air force. This was actually quite a dangerous assignment. The Irish Republican was fighting Britain and was allied with Adolf HItler. The Irish Republican killed a number of my father's friends and colleagues who were providing maintenance services for British Planes. There were many thousands of other American Citizens who went over to Europe to support the war against Adolf Hitler several years before we officially entered the war. Also when the United States did enter the war officially the war was far from over. You would have lost the war without the United States of America. You certainly are ungrateful for the help and sacrifice that the United States and millions of Americans made to save your sorry behind. I recommend that you do not bite the hand that feeds you. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No