this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
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[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 97 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

During the worst of the fighting in WWII, allied ships when they could still took the time to pick up and rescue enemy sailors in the water.

So I guess, unless you are able to give a Nazi war salute to the German Fuhrer, you might have a chance of being rescued.

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 33 points 1 month ago

And those were warships. These are civilian vessels.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 22 points 1 month ago (5 children)

America wasn't fascist then. I don't think it is now (yet), but the leadership in power sure is.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 40 points 1 month ago

"Germany lost the second world war, fascism won it."

-George Carlin

https://youtu.be/vHn9AWYU0Hg

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I could be misremembering, but I believe both sides followed this rule

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Which would make it far worse. Lower than WWII Nazis.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

America wasn’t fascist then for white people… I think people forget that the last skirmishes of the Indian War happened after WWI and non white people couldn’t effectively vote until the 1970s.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Always is, always was

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

What in the literal hell are you talking about!?

I think you need to recheck what fascism is. The best definition is fascism = corporatism which was explained by Mussolini who invented the word.

The US has been fascist for a very long time and has helped spread it all over the world.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If you're going to try to narrow the definition that way, then most countries are fascists. Why don't you visit the Wikipedia page on fascism and help them simplify what they classify as a very complex definition.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Why would I care what Wikipedia says when we have literal quotes from the guy that invented the term.

The complexity is just people trying to skirt around the truth that they live in a fascist society. But, just for shits and giggles let's explore it.

"totalitarian, nationalist ideology emphasizing the absolute supremacy of the State, rejecting liberalism, democracy, and individualism for a collective, hierarchical society focused on national power, glory, and unity, organized corporatist-style with state control over economy and industry, built on myth, militarism, and the cult of the strong leader."

Wow, so basically the US was fascist before we had a word for it. The founding fathers were definitely proto-fascists.

Oh yes, most of the world is definitely fascist as well. Did you miss the US toppling tons of nations and installing dictators?

If 90% + of all policy in all governments are written by corporations that pretty much seals it.

Liberalism, democracy, equality, etc. are just propaganda created by fascist nations to justify their existence to the people who don't know better. Propaganda is one hell of a drug.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks for clarifying what your definition is. Pretty much includes any form of government throughout history. Is this an anarchist's pov?

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It is not my definition, it is the definition of the man who created the concept.

The whole world became fascist as many countries didn't have the strong corporatism elements to enable it without countries like the US introducing them. So it is only in more recent history (last two-hundred or so years) and before that I think proto-fascist would be more appropriate.

I am sure you could argue that before corporations guilds and trade groups created similar effects when lobbying governments. In modern times the wealthy's favorite proxy, the corporation, has certainly become the dominate form of our culture.

I think a lot of people are hung up with Nazi = fascists, but the Italians were fascists and they were not Nazi. Also, the idea that Fascism is inherently bad. While our culture has certainly made it a problem, who is it to say with the right ethics and considerations that it couldn't be conducted in a way that wasn't destructive to the out groups.

There is also consideration for degrees. Obviously some countries policies are more fascist than others. So saying how fascist is probably more correct than a simple fascist or not statement.

When it comes to the US giving material support to the Nazi's it is clear that they were just as fascist if not more than the Nazi. After all, Hitler modeled the final solution on how the US handled the Native Americans.

Private US citizens helped bank roll the Nazi party and IBM came up with the numbering system for the Jews and helped determine how many needed to be "cleared" out of the ghettos daily to allow the final solution to work. Not to mention the US lobbied the rest of the world not to take the Jews in before the final solution was ever proposed.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 2 points 1 month ago

They were supposed to. Many records of crews on both sides leaving people in the water, or even using them for gunnery practice.

[–] DougHolland@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Two weeks of online silence from one of my favorite Lemmy voices.

Hope you're OK, friend.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm taking a bit of time out for myself for the next little while ... I've had some family loss that was very close to me and I'm taking time doing other things at the moment ... it's not anything or anyone that happened here on Lemmy or Piefed (they're all great communities) ... my life has just made a drastic change right now and I need to take care of myself for a while ... I'll be back later on but for the time being, I won't be around much if at all.

I still love this space and everyone in it ... I just need to take some time for myself right now.

[–] DougHolland@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

(answered privately.)

[–] GlitchyDigiBun@lemmy.world -4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

We, notably, did not extend this to Japanese PoWs nearly as much as we did for white Europeans. Now, to be sure, the Japanese did not really... do the whole PoW thing. They often remained as combatants after being captured due to Japanese propoganda about US PoW treatment. But just something to note. The "good guys" did nasty things to win the war. We had to.

[–] demonsword@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We had to.

No, you didn't. You just chose to.

[–] GlitchyDigiBun@lemmy.world -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sure Jan, I'm sure your fictionalized historical political power did everything morally upstanding and by the book.

[–] PapstJL4U@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

Nice self-drivng goal pole you got there.

[–] worhui@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

and even in that context survivors of a sinking ships were picked up.

[–] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Sometimes for the Japanese, the person you are replying to is right. America had a super sketchy relationship with Japanese POWs, the largest sea rescue was like Midway, I think America saved maybe 2 Japanese pilots who would end up being POWs and like a few dozen Japanese ship engineers.

That's with us really looking for Americans in the water, because the according to reports (you gotta take these with a grain of salt, maybe a whole silo sometimes) the Japanese got ahold of 3 Americans, tortured and killed them.

Americans were absolutely going out of their way to capture nazi POWs, and other axis groups. Not the Japanese tho.

[–] GlitchyDigiBun@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I don't disbelieve you, but I'd love to see where you're getting that from. My understanding lacks such an optimistic view of the Pacific theater in WWII.