Historiography of World War II

The Historiography of World War II is the study of how historians portray the causes, conduct, and outcomes of World War II. There are many different perspectives, however the three main are the Orthodox from the 1950s, Revisionist from the 1970s and Post-Revisionism which offers the most contemporary perspective.

The Orthodox perspective arose during the aftermath of the war. The main historian noted for this perspective is Hugh Trevor-Roper. Orthodox Historians argue that Hitler was a master planner who intentionally started World War II due to his strong beliefs on Fascism, expansionism, and the supremacy of the German State. The Revisionist perspective became popular during the 70s. This viewpoint is very liberal and the main historians from this period are Howard Zinn and A. J. P. Taylor. Revisionist Historians argue that Hitler was an opportunist and took advantage of the opportunities given to him. Throughout the course of the war, Orthodox Historians argue as if the Axis powers were a sort of evil consuming the world with their powerful message and malignant ideology, while the Allied powers were trying to protect democracy and freedom.

While Revisionist Historians argue that the Allied powers of World War II continued their involvement in the war due to the clear economic, political and military advantages. Post Revisionist historians, such as Alan Bullock argue that the cause of the War was a matter of both factors. Essentially Hitler was a strategist with clear aims and objectives, that would not have been achievable without taking advantage of the opportunities given to him. Each perspective of World War II offers an insightful analysis and allows us to expand our curiosity on the blame, conduct and causes of the war.

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