Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat Theme of Good vs. Evil

Nazis. We hate those guys.

Churchill did, too.

World War II has been characterized as a battle between good (the Allies) and evil (the Axis powers, especially the Nazis). Unlike other controversial wars—Vietnam or Iraq, for example—the citizens of the Allied countries were all in with the cause of freedom and justice against tyranny and fascism.

Shmoop knows that nothing is really all that black-and-white in any conflict, but if you're going to paint your opponent as the embodiment of evil, you could sure do worse than choosing Adolf Hitler.

Churchill lays out this worldview pretty clearly in the second half of his first speech to Parliament: No need for equal time or fairness in broadcasting, folks; make no mistake, we're fighting the Evil Empire and the survival of the world is at stake. And this was even before the world fully learned about extermination camps and crematoria.

Fortunately, Good won big-time over Evil in this one.

1. What characteristics of the fascist regimes in Germany and Italy did the British oppose? Why were they seen as the "evil" of the situation by 1940?
2. The demarcation between good and evil in World War II is pretty universally agreed upon. Why is it so much clearer in that conflict than in others in recent history?
3. How does Churchill's speech benefit from the theme of good vs. evil?
4. Did the British see Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy as "evil" prior to their declaration of war?

Here's a thought: Was the German effort to conquer Europe and gain territory considered more evil than Britain's imperialist policies because the conquered people were white?

Countries with democratic governments tend to see themselves as the good guys when they fight countries without democratic governments—which is always, because no two democracies have ever technically gone to war with each other (source).