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Comment by jakevoytko | Hacker News Reader

This is the effect of telling the histories of nations as if they were groups of 5 people. It's convenient to say sentences like, "Germany then instigated the Battle of Britain, causing Churchill to say X and beginning a lengthy battle," but anything like this is a gross simplification. When nations take action, the whole org-chart needs to move into gear, which takes extra planning and arguing and wrangling and doubting. It doesn't seem realistic because we're told the results of decisions and battles as if they were they were made by anthropomorphised countries with a leader and some generals. But it's always more complicated than that. Trimming facts off at the first few levels of details makes everything feel, well, oversimplified.

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Sure, but in the end Stalin says "Yes" and that's it. Really. And Roosevelt says "Ok, Peace" and the shooting stops. It really happens like that sometimes.

Not really

??? Say more. The treaty at Yalta wasn't signed by Roosevelt? what?

Well, look at it this way: treaties don't blink into existence completely understood by all parties as perfectly fair without any loopholes or unnecessary concessions.

Of course leaders have enormous powers. But it was never like comrade Stalin waves and everything stops.

Hm, I guess I don't buy that at all. Stalin in particular.

then you have oversimplified view of the world and I don't. let's agree to disagree.

Cute, get the last shot in, then pretend its reasonable to stop discussing.

Books have been written about the "Stalin Personality Cult", his enormous personal power and his perfect control over all matters of state. And you dismiss this with a few cute remarks.

For your remarkable claims, you will have to provide MUCH more evidence. Try this: google Stalin and start reading.

we can continue to debate if you insist, but judging by your other comments it may not be exactly pleasant experience.

also let me caution you that probably unlike you I have actual experience living in Soviet Union (not under Stalin, fortunately) and getting to know the "evidence" first hand.

Right, under enlightened Soviet rule your education in history and politics is wide-ranging and complete. I believe that.

You would be surprised. People who grew up under Soviet education are a lot more cultured and worldly than Americans. Hint: if your worldview is a cartoon, it's probably inadequate to reality.

"Trimming facts off at the first few levels of details makes everything feel, well, oversimplified."

But it's not just oversimplification of collective action, the plot was overblown even at the level of purely individual events in individual characters' lives. Arguably the greatest theoretical/experimental crossover physicist of the century takes the occasion of accepting his Nobel Prize to escape with his Jewish wife from Il Duce, and a few years later stands musing over a nuclear chain reaction in a secret project in Chicago? Puhleeze.

a few years later stands musing over a nuclear chain reaction in a secret project in Chicago? Puhleeze.

Not only that, but the reactor is in the basement of the University's stadium. Whoever wrote that one must've been reading Spider Man!

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