Why do some Americans ignore the Soviet contributions to the WWII?

Question by Go Blue: Why do some Americans tend to ignore the Soviet contributions to the Second World War?
One could make a good argument that the Soviet Union contributed more to the defeat of Nazi Germany than any of the Western Allies. So why is it that when going through some Second World War questions, many of the answers imply the U.S. won the war by itself?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Frosty
The US contributed more than the Soviets and we didn’t like them anyway. The US and the USSR were the two super powers that emerged from WW2. We were on the edge of brinkmanship with USSR for years and years (think Cold War). They were always trying to “one up” the US. It’s the old “my dog is bigger than your dog”. They were both competing on the Space Race too.

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Comments ( 5 )

jamisonshuck says

Somebody asks this question every couple weeks on here. Look through the archives.

A lot of people don't know their history, only what they've seen in movies and stuff, Americans as well as Europeans. Those of us who know history are well aware that the War would have been lost if it wasn't for the Soviets, Europeans and Americans working together.

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J. S. says

Unfortunately, too many Americans take History and turn it into Myth.

The Soviet contributions in lives and in defeating the Nazis were HUGE. Someone who has begun to believe the myths like "the U.S. contributed more" doesn't know or understand the meaning of contributing lives. They could easily find statistics and compare the numbers of Soviet vs. American civilian and military casualties –but they ignore this and place their values elsewhere (usually trucks or jeeps).

Imagine in a country like the United States being "taught to believe the U.S. won the war by itself." Do you see a connection between how the Americans learned about the history of WWII and the way the Soviets taught their students about "The Great Patriotic War?"

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Hub says

Good question. First, as the above answer states, we are taught to think the U.S. won the war by itself. second, the Cold War made it difficult for us to look at the achievements of the USSR in a positive light. Third, just plain ignorance.

Russia's contribution to the war effort was vastly greater than ours: something like 20 million Russians died in the War; the U.S. lost 400,000.

My view of the war is that it was won in Russia and in Detroit.

The TV Series "Russia's War" really opened my eyes as to what Russia went through in the War. Viva Marshall Zhukov, the greatest military hero that people in the U.S. have never heard of.

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Cabal says

Since they also ignore the contribution of the British and claim to have won WWI too by themselves I'd say it is habit. Or too much Hollywood.

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Mickey Red says

What became the "Cold War" ten years later, caused US history books to downplay the Soviet involvement. Sputnik and other Soviet advances (beyond the capabilities of the USA) were also reasons to avoid admitting that the Soviets were more technologically advanced than the US until almost 1970.

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