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Yes, it was an effort shared by many, especially the British and the Russians (maybe deservedly so for the soviets). The important thing is that Hitler was defeated and Communism has been demonstrated to be a failure. It disheartens me to see it raising its ugly head in the form of this 'global socialism'. Haven't read the book you are referring to; but have read other articles regarding whether or not Hitler would have gotten the Atom bomb. I personally think he would have if the war had dragged on two or three more years. The Germans themselves are plenty smart enough - just look at what Werner Von Braum did for the American space program. But all of that is irrelevant now. I bet the USSR never paid a cent back to the US. I was unaware that Britain ever agreed to pay back or actually is paying back. As an American taxpayer, that must be a first - seems like we write off bad loans made to other countries all the time. In my opinion, we Americans shouldn't expect any repayment. I personally am very grateful to the British for their sacrifices. The easy road would have been to make peace with Hitler.

From what I've read, the second world war actually started at the Treaty of Versailles, which placed enormous economic burdens on the German people and led to the rise of Hitler. Not to make anyone angry I hope, but the French insistence on heavy reparations certainly sowed the seeds of WWII. Also, my Grandfather and Father, who fought in WWI and WWII respectively, maintained that the US lost interest in European matters due to the French stance on the punishment of Germany after WWI because we knew it would lead to WWII. Be that as it may, it seems to me that America is often wrongly accused of trying to dominate the world. At the end of WWII, America certainly could have completely conquered the world with the sole possession of atomic weapons, a huge and undamaged war industry, etc. Instead, we rebuilt the world, granted independence to the Phillipines and so on. I really don't understand whether the critcs of America really know what they are talking about or are just expressing 'sour grapes'. We're certainly not perfect, but I think America is, overall, the best model for the rest of the world to emulate. That's because, in my opinion, we have a country based on English culture.