“Regardless of why we fought Nazi Germany, shouldn’t they appreciate the fact they were liberated?”
My answer (and I’d like to say it is a rather neutral one) still is much of a “no”.
Liberating France or whatever you might call it was right. The forces who accomplished this are worthy of admiration. Compared to them, I can’t claim to be much of a maker of history. Yet.
It’s also a question of doing what simply was the right and only thing to do in a difficult situation. I hope you realize I’m not wishing to deny this.
But these facts still don’t make French liberty the primary objective of the allied forces during WW2.
The US did not wish Europe to be dominated by the Nazis, nor did the US wish to see Europe being ruled by The Kreml.
But why quarrel? The really important thing is that both of these scenarios were avoided. To a very large degree, this was due to the actions of the US.
Let's say you are choking in a restaurant and I perform the Heimlich maneuver, saving your life. Should you not be appreciative of my action because what I did was 'the right thing to do?'
We live for our civilized "brothers" and carry a big stick. True the government might have been looking at the global implications but the average American needs to know that our deeds are helping someone...and they can't have a war without us.
The French betrayal stabbed at the heart of America.