reply to post by Bananarama
If you look up any history books, the era from 1945-present is always referred to as the post-modern era. Why post? Because WW2 was an event that
pushed humanity beyond what some call the point of no return, from a humanistic approach.
The Nazi's performed absolutely horrific experiments on jews, handicaps, blacks, gays, and any other people they deemed unworthy; from conscious
experimental brain surgery to tying the legs of a pregnant woman when she goes into labor. However horrific these experiments were (they would fit in
well in the SAW movies), humanity gained a lot of knowledge from these experiments, and much of modern medicine's technology has come from these
experiments. Medical education has been using Nazi slides and pictures as recent as the 90's. Humanity crossed the point of no return.
If that isn't reason enough to make it matter, don't forget that what separated this war from all the rest was that this one was based upon race.
Wars in the past were fought over resources, feud's, and freedom. This one was fought over race. Never before had a nation's top priority been the
extinction of a race. Regardless of what these videos say, Millions of Jews died at the hands of Nazi's; whether they were slaved to death, shot,
gassed, burned, beaten, whatever you call it. It is a KNOWN FACT that the holocaust became the top priority of the Nazi's agenda. As the war came
closer to an end, instead of funneling resources and power to defending themselves, they used whatever resources they had left to kill more Jews.
This is fact. Whether or not the figure is exaggerated, the motive remains the same.
So WW2 matters, and always will, because it was a time when the people of the world united together to face evil, and vanquished it. WW2 became a
changing point in the world's history, where people being killed because of their race was no longer acceptable. Sure it happens all the time today,
but we all know it is wrong. Saying that Jewish bankers financed the Nazi's means nothing, because using this as a base for an argument implies that
race matters, which was the whole problem to begin with.
I can't help but feel you are being extremely ignorant in asking such a question. If it weren't for the sacrifice of our grandfathers and fathers,
the world would be a much different place right now. Millions of people gave up their lives so that we can live in this free world, and no matter how
bad things may be now, I would choose this world any day over a world ruled by Nazi's. It's because of their sacrifice that you can be sitting at
home expressing your opinion without being afraid.
In fact, it is probably because of this sacrifice that you are even alive at all.
Remember that.
. Not only, as a poster mentioned above, was this a full world war, it introduced Nuclear Power
to the world and it caused many European nations to change their colonization policy. This war completely changed the balance of power in the world,
completely shifting away from Western Europe for the rest of the century. 
