Some Myths of the Struggle Against Fascism

More than forty years after he destruction of fascism as a serious political force, World War II and the struggles that preceded it remain a subject of interest and of mythmaking. The war against European fascist and Japanese imperialist powers is still a potent source of real and supposed lessons, metaphors and comparisons. Although a bit worn by overuse, words like fascist, Nazi, appeaser, and the like, even when irrelevant or ridiculously out of place, still retain emotional impact. They remain "fighting words," favored even by those seeking to obliterate the distinction between the two sides in World War II.