Why Another D-Day Is Needed

On D-Day, the Western allies launched an invasion to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. An understanding of history shows why another invasion is necessary.

70 Years After D-Day: Why Another D-Day Is Needed

U.S. soldiers charge the beaches of Normandy under Nazi fire.

Seventy-six years ago, on June 6, 1944, 160,000 allied troops landed on a 50-mile stretch of beaches on the coast of France. Their goal was to establish a beachhead into Nazi-occupied Europe. This beachhead would then become the launching point for an offensive that would strike at the heart of Nazi Germany, with the goal of destroying it completely.  

The landing, backed up by more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft, was one of the greatest successes in military history—though the cost was over 9,000 casualties. Once the beachheads were established, it was only a matter of time until the war was over. Sandwiched between the massive numbers of Russian soldiers in the east and the massive amount of men and military equipment supplied by the United States and Britain in the west, the longstanding German fear of a two-front war was validated. Germany was totally defeated less than a year later.

A brief history lesson

To understand how such an evil regime managed to seize power in Germany, we must understand the end of World War I. At that time, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson used his power and influence to force the allied powers (primarily France and England) to accept an armistice that ended the war on Nov. 11, 1918. Wilson then personally led the negotiations that created the Treaty of Versailles. In his zeal to secure the creation of a League of Nations, Wilson allowed his negotiating partners to dictate the terms of the treaty to Germany. The terms were quite harsh.

Mankind has spent almost 6,000 years, as a whole, rejecting God and His law. This has led from one tragedy to the next. The harshness of the treaty was symbolized by Article 231, the War Guilt Clause. This essentially forced Germany to admit total guilt for the war and all the damages that it caused. This gave the allies the justification for demanding large reparations payments from Germany. In addition, Germany’s military was eliminated, except for a small force for peacekeeping.

The extreme harshness of the treaty caused great resentment in Germany. The allies, in their desire for vengeance, exaggerated the level of Germany’s responsibility. Regardless of the guilt they were forced to admit, Germans began to feel like they were victims of the victors.

Adolf Hitler was able to use that victimhood to gain support and attain power. On Jan. 30, 1933, Hitler was sworn in as chancellor of Weimar Germany. Within a month he had convinced the Reichstag to give him dictatorial powers. He immediately began to build up the military in preparation for war—a war that would bring lebensraum or “living space” to those who he believed deserved more of it.      

On Sept. 30, 1939, Hitler unleashed his blitzkrieg on Poland, beginning World War II in Europe. Within a year, he and his Italian ally, Benito Mussolini, had conquered most of Western Europe, including France where the D-Day operation was destined to take place almost five years later. Meanwhile during the long years of Nazi occupation, the people of the captive nations saw wholesale murder, rape and plunder of their material belongings. But this reality of the Nazi regime paled in comparison to the genocide known as the Holocaust that killed 11 million Jews and other minorities. The Holocaust was the worst genocide in recorded human history.

U.S. troops entering Utah Beach on June 6, 1944 (source: U.S. Army Center of Military History). 

A world held captive

Sadly, the evil nature of the Nazi regime is not all that unusual in human history. True, the Nazis took it to a whole new level due to their mastery of technology as a tool for murder—but murder, rape and plundering are a common part of the human story.

This brings up the question, why does God allow this sort of evil to exist? The Bible gives a surprising answer to this question. When God first created man and woman in the Garden of Eden, He gave them the opportunity to learn how to live a way of caring and outgoing concern for others. Had they and their children accepted God’s way of life, the misery that has ensued since that time could have been avoided. Instead, they rejected God by listening to the serpent (Satan) and were ejected from the Garden (Genesis 3).

Since then, the majority of mankind has been held captive to the influence of Satan the devil (2 Timothy 2:26).

Since that time, mankind has spent almost 6,000 years, as a whole, rejecting God and His law. This has led from one tragedy to the next. That is why we have things like the Holocaust and World War II.

To learn more about why we have evil in this world, read our free booklet, Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering? 

Another invasion of liberation

The good news is that there is another D-Day coming—a day of deliverance! The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ will return to earth during a catastrophic worldwide human conflict. He will fight the nations that will be leading this future conflict and forcibly stop their warfare (Zechariah 14:3; Revelation 19:19-21).

The returning Jesus Christ will not just be returning to liberate the world from these destructive armies but will be returning to liberate mankind from its own destructive nature! He will bind the ultimate source of human suffering and deception—Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9; 20:2)—and begin the process of establishing peace throughout the earth, based on His law (Isaiah 2:3).

Though D-Day was critical in liberating Europe from the tyranny of Hitler, this future deliverance will liberate an entire world held captive!

To learn more details about Jesus Christ’s future liberation of humanity, read “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

Photo: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Topics Covered: Prophecy, Violence, Historical Events

About the Author

M. Noland Morris

M. Noland Morris holds a Ph.D. in history. He teaches history on the high school and college level in Texas.

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