The end of World War II 73 years ago, offers us an incredible lesson today

I would have difficulty being able to articulate that whole period adequately...only tosemthere at the time could, as with WW1...it was far too large in human scope to be able to synopsize easily, I've found...I have my parents memories of it, and my mother--law's, who's 96 now...believe me, I've researched it quite thoroughly, in exhausting detail, and find it a virtually inexhaustible and virtually bottomless pit of historical anecdote, esp due to my Dad, my late father-in-law, and my uncle, let alone my wife's stepdad, all of whom were either in it, or in just after it, my uncle was there he saw it personally and close up, he told me precisely what he saw, many, many times, as he was there with Gen Eisenhower, and there for the German surrender, as I've told all of you many times...we just got the material on my wife's Dad, who'd been in France going into Germany at the Moselle River crossing going into Germany, we have his photos of the period, as well...believe me, one could examine the period for an entire lifetime, and the well would obv never run dry, certainly....

It seems that once the hostilities were over repairing the damage and making friend of prior foes seemed to always have worked so far. Even in Vietnam it seems there was still a positive impact on what many Vietnamese remember about Americans and Americans who have returned after the war were very well received. Tourism has become a big industry there and the impact of the West is apparent in current day Vietnam. In the long run people are not as different from each other and what they have in common if far more important than that which once may have once divided them.

Excellent article about forgiveness and the birth of "new" nations.