World War II

WWii was one of the defining times of the 20th century. Hundreds of millions of peiole were involved from dozens of countries and worse, over 60 million men, women and children lost their lives.  It was a war that devastated economies, destroyed empires and changed the very world as we know it.  After World War I, Germanay suffered through the worst depression it had ever experienced.  Inflation soared to unbelievable rate of over an 600 billion percent! It was so bad that workers were paid twice a day.  Why? By dinner time, the price they had just paid for lunch was much higher.  Such was the state of Germany, that in 1933 the people elected a radical - Adolf Hitler. Hitler's policies both took the people out of the depression and led them to a period of military and political expansion. A number of nations were very concerned and when Hitler invaded Poland, it was the final straw. The Polish government asked for aid from England, triggering the largest war in the history of mankind.

For two long years of war, America stayed out of Europe.  Frankly the situation for the Allies was not hopeful.  As Deks explains, "The United States entering the conflict was without a doubt the deciding factor in winning the war and defeating Nazi Germany. We owe so much to the sacrifice of the 16,000,000 men and women from the US who served their country. The latest statistics tell us that over 1,000 of these combat veterans die every day. We need to honor those who gave so much for freedom."

Deks portrays both an American and German combat soldier. While the Nazi hierarchy brought evil upon mankind through death camps, genocide and mass murder, the average combat soldiers from both sides were decent, hard-working people fighting hard for their country.

Deks will take a close look at the common soldier. How did he/she survive? What kinds of clothing, food, medicines, and weapons were used? Using the experiences of the 5th Regiment 71st Infantry Division, he weaves a story of the soldier from boot camp, to crossing the ocean and going into combat. As he tells of these heroic deeds and others which helped the Allies liberate Europe and defeat Japan you will actually feel this moment in history.

Many other questions will be answered:

• Why did the war start?  What were the causes?

• Could Germany have won? How close did they come to beating the Allies?

• What was the mechanized war? Words like Panzers and blitzkrieg became household names.

• How was the Atom bomb developed and why did the US drop two on Japan?

• What were the consequences of WWII?

"My father served as a mortar operator in General George Patton's Third US Army. For me then, the history of WWII takes on special significance and the stories of these men and women become so real." - Deks' comments on his study of WWII