World War II

As Ken Burns’ series “The War” enters its third installment this evening, criticism of the director’s take on World War II continues to come thick and fast both online and off.

Initially controversy swirled around Burns’ failure to include adequate material on minorities who served in the conflict and aided in the war effort. Burns added material to his documentary, but not enough to satisfy his detractors.

Now many are landing on the fact that his treatment of the “the war” is too Americanized, neglecting the crucial role of the Soviet Union in bearing the brunt of the fighting prior to the Normandy invasion in 1944 and the fact that the civilian population of Europe endured hardship and suffering unknown in the United States.

Neither of these points is up for argument in my book. In fact the other two members of the Big Three, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were quite content to let Stalin and the Soviets serve as cannon fodder. Whole books have been written on the subject.

There is no question that the European citizenry suffered. The fire bombing of Dresden, the starving populace of Stalingrad, the bombed Britons of the Blitz, and the victims of the Holocaust all serve testament to that fact.

In my opinion Burns’ greatest crime is not his treatment of the subject but his choice of a title. He is obviously not attempting to provide an encyclopedia treatment of World War II. I’ve sat through semesters of military history that could not achieve that vast goal. Burns is telling America’s story — really the microcosmic tale of four American communities. It is an experience of war vastly different from that of the Europeans, but one no less valid and no less emotionally charged.

Ken Burns can’t remake his documentary to satisfy all his critics. It is what it is and should be judged on its own merit within the limited scope the narrative attempts to convey. There’s a lot more to come. Let’s let the man tell his story before we declare he’s told it wrong. After all, the accuracy of the story lies both in the voice of the speaker and the ear of the listener. Is it fair to judge Burns for what we expected his story to be or for what it really is?

[tags]WWII, The War, Ken Burns