Posted by Eyesonly at host217-39-70-234.in-addr.btopenworld.com on June 08, 2003 at 15:57:49:
the answers to the questions you pose are complex - what you say, though is pretty much on the right lines.
At the start of the war, despite the military build up of the Reich it was not strong enough to take on Russia (soviet union) as well as France, Britain etc. An 'alliance' with Stalin was the solution at the time - but it was inevitable that there would be later squabbles over the division of conquered Europe.
There was also the racial purity argument - there were millions of Jew, Slavs and other such ethnically unacceptables (to Nazi Germany - not starting a race war here - I love you all!). It was doubtful if Stalin could have survived if the racial cleansing has started in USSR -
Stalin was just as evil as Hitler and was probably responsible for, if anything, more deaths. FDR had to play the political game. It was necessary to remain his ally for simple tactical reasons. The German eastern front had to remain active in order to tie up as much of the German forces as possible. If there was no eastern front - imagine what huge forces the allies would have faced when trying to get a foothold back into Europe.
Sorry I can't be more exhaustive here! Dem's the bones!