He defends the "masters of war"
I do not defend anyone.
I base my views on the findings of historians.
That is how rational, intelligent people come to understand times before their own.
Where do your views come from?

simple folk were taken in by the jingoistic propaganda of the government(s) of the day,

Who are you to call other people simple?
Read the Daily Mirror headlines I linked to.
They had clear, dispassionate information about what was happening, and made decisions based on facts just like you do.