As with much other history of modern and earlier times, accepted conventional mainstream histories don't properly explain the Second World War, although a growing number of alternative historians have in recent decades provided better explanations. Unless lessons of that and other conflicts are properly understood, it is likely that a new global war, fought with weapons vastly more advanced and terrible than those used to kill 60 million from 1939 to 1945, may make that barbarity seem civilised.
Subject changed from: A groundbreaking history of the Second World War. This article originated as a post in response to a review by Roger Moorhouse in the The Independent.
In some popular left-wing versions of history, the Conservative Australian Governments of Lyons and Menzies which governed Australia in the 1930's are depicted as appeasers of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Also they are depicted as having subordinated Australia's own national economic and strategic interests to that of the United Kingdom. However historian Andrew Ross in Armed and Ready - the Industrial development and defence of Australia 1900-1945(1995) has shown that this view is borne of the acceptance at face value of the double game that Australian Governments were playing with Great Britain.
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