[gtirloni]

On a semi-related note, yesterday I watched a BBC documentary about Stalin and couldn't help but notice the similarities with Hitler's actions. And the guy comes out of WWII as a hero. Not unexpected at all from megalomaniac people but why the world cared about Hitler and not Stalin? As usual, nothing to do with helping other human beings but securing power/resources.

[mobiplayer]

I don't think much people outside the former USSR, apart from the usual weirdos, saw Stalin as a hero or a Good Guy™. And inside the USSR being a dissident wasn't a healthy option.

[_delirium]

I don't think people specifically thought Stalin personally was a hero, but prior to the cold war, Western Europeans had a much more positive view of the USSR's role in WW2.

For example, here are the answers of French people to the survey question "Which was, in your view, the nation that most contributed to the defeat of Germany in WW2?":

   1945: USSR 57%, USA 20%, UK 12%
   1994: USSR 25%, USA 49%, UK 16%
   2004: USSR 20%, USA 58%, UK 16%

Source: http://www.les-crises.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/sondage-...

[xtrumanx]

I don't understand your point with the survey.

The USSR did contribute to the defeat of Germany. People's impression of how much of an impact the USSR had does not mean they thought the USSR was a force for good.

[cafard]

I would say that it depends very much what you mean by "the world". Plenty cared.

[gtirloni]

Not enough to take decisive action I would say.

EDIT: I mean "major governments like the ones involved in WWII".

[cubancigar11]

WW2 wasn't fought because people saw evil in Hitler. I have heard that is what is taught in British schools, but that is not true. WW2 was a fight for survival and nothing else.

[JoeAltmaier]

Survival of what? Individuals were not threatened; governments were. The argument that government propaganda stirred the population into wanting to fight goes right back to the original argument: people fought because they saw evil (as presented by the propaganda).

[cubancigar11]

Dude, when a country attacks your country, you defend. That is not called 'fighting evil'. That is called survival. Fighting evil means attacking Germany because you got to know how evil Hitler is.

[joeclark77]

Individuals were not threatened by Hitler?