June 6, 1944 Operation Neptune (D-Day)

Dear Readers, Imagine Normandy, France, 81 years ago today, shortly after midnight. By land, sea, and air the 156,115 troops of the Allied Forces of WWII liberate France and the rest of Western Europe in the largest amphibious assault in history. 4,413 Allied troops were killed, but reliable records of German fatalities are unknown (est. 4-9,000). This battle was pivotal in securing the defeat of Hitler (who committed suicide) and Nazi Germany on September 2, 1946, six years and one-day after the German invasion of Poland. All told, 60-80 million people died in WWII, 3% of the world’s population, including a devastating 6 million Jews. 

Why a world war? Historians have drawn some conclusions. When WWI ended in 1918, countries for both the victorious Allied and losing Central Powers (including Germany) were left with devastated economies and infrastructures. Hitler and the Nazi Party overtook Germany’s political party in 1933 during the worldwide Great Depression. Many had lost faith in democracy and turned to authoritarian regimes to right the world. A perfect storm for Hitler’s “Unification of all Germans” as an Aryan master race, superior over all others he considered “subhumans.” By 1939, Hitler was recognized as a threat to peace on earth. By 1940, the world united as one to put this dog down. 

It took two world wars until the United Nations was formed, an intergovernmental organization with the purpose of maintaining international peace and security. The US is a charter member and one of five permanent members of the Security Council. Although many believe the UN needs an internal overhaul in order to combat current threats and promote world harmony, this organization is as good as we’ve got right now. 

NATO was formed in 1949 because a “Cold War” again threatened world peace. Article 5 commits that an attack on one member nation “…in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all…” The UN, NATO, and democracy, need to be protected and cherished if another world war is to be diverted. Today, the world is unstable with several malevolent leaders one finger-touch away from nuclear codes, the USA included. Celebrate D-Day -that our fragile world peace is still holding. -SQ