Where do you think Steven Spielberg went wrong when he watched Come and See and got inspired to make Saving Private Ryan from it?
The moment he thought to give any sort of dignity at all to warfare. The concept of duty during warfare, and the honor of serving that duty, is predicated on the implication that warfare is a necessity. I think maybe we should reframe WWII from being the only just war anyone's ever been in, and instead view it as a tremendous global failure to do anything to stop this cartoonishly obvious threat before it could come to blows. A global failure motivated by national and economic interest. Even on the part of the Soviets, who had the most obviously righteous cause by way of the Germans' racialized invasion, who enabled them to enter that position through a series of strategic economic pacts and coordination of military operations in eastern Europe for the sake of national interest.
It's a case that should not be "we were wrong to fight this war," but "we were wrong to necessitate this war." The fact that it happened in the first place is a tragedy of incredible scale. To act like it's this thing that happened by sheer fate, and that taking this fate on the chin is a righteous and noble act, is to purify unthinkable human cruelty. It's a method of consolation. A way to terminate having to think about the tremendous pain and annihilation brought by abject failures in leadership, seemingly extending from far more concern for expanding industry and economy than the long-term cost. I think, maybe, overall, WWII can be understood simply as a scramble for postwar modernization.
