Legacy of World Wars - Essay Example

? Legacy of Wars 17th May Continuation of the First World War The Second World War became a legacy from the First World War because; it was a war to stop the discrimination that was taking place between the various European powers. Majority of the European countries wanted to prove they are better as compared to the other, and this is what had happened in the First World War. There are several ways in which, the Second World War proved to be a continuation of the First World War, and this is seen in the major factors that caused the war. The treaty of Versailles is one of the factors that took place in 1919 was one of the legendary factors for the continuation of the First World War. This treaty was a meeting to discuss the various ways in which Germany was to pay for the damages it had done during the First World War. The main terms of the treaty were that Germany was the causes of the First World War because it gave Germany harsh conditions and took away its territorial land, making the Germans unhappy about it. They decided to fight back in order to prove they are still a super power, and this came out during the second world war. Wells (2011 P. 82) states that the reality of the situation was that no German state would be able to accept the treaty in the long term. There were various sanctions that were passed by the League of Nations, but they were not effective. The League of Nations could only impose economic sanctions, which were not effective, For instance, the Locarno Conference was a failed peace treaty between Germany and France that failed after Germany invaded France the only way to solve the conflicts, therefore, war to engage into a war, hence the continuation of the First World War. Adolf Hitler wanted Germany to dominate the whole world, and did this by tying to bring all the central European countries together. Hitler wanted Germany to grow and implemented this by annexing Poland. Hitler inserted German troops to a coal mining area near France thereby going against the treaty of Versailles. He wanted to see how far he could go with pushing for adversaries before other countries would strike back. He was successful in doing this and thereby continuing with his missions until he managed to invade Poland. With these ambitions, Hitler caused problems to various countries making them resolve to war that was similar or more complicated than the First World War. The failure of America and Britain to stop Hitler during the time he was coming up also made the occurrence of the Second World War because Hitler wanted to oppose the sanctions made to the Germans by the other super powers. Orr (2005), states that the war to end all wars would serve as a prologue to the bigger war to come. Most European countries experienced tension when they saw the various actions that Adolf Hitler was doing. They decided to increase more armies and prepare for a war so that they would not have to suffer the consequences similar to what was experienced during the First World War. The best option that was to be adopted was the use of force in order to prevent themselves from the problems that were caused by the Germans, and this led to the continuation of the First World War. Political, economic and technological consequences of the Second World War The Second World War had severe consequences on most of the European countries in terms of its politics, the overall economy and advancement in technology. Towards the end, of the war, Germany became divided into four various zones by the victorious powers while they were waiting for a political settlement that was permanent. Japan ended up in ruins following the Second World War, and several military leaders in that country were tried and convicted of causing war crimes. However, the Emperor was allowed to maintain his position, and the entire Japs came into a temporary military rule by United States. England had experience devastating bombings from the Germans thereby making its economy go down; hence, it had to depend on economic aid from United States. Its various imperial holdings that it had were later faced out after the end of the war. Even, though, France had not lost many people during the war, it had much Nazi occupation; therefore it was recovering from the effects this occupation. It also had to abolish its various colonial occupations in the years that followed. The French and the British lost the super power status that was as strong as that of United States and Russia. The Russians experienced land warfare that was present between them and the Germans, but they later defeated the Germans. Russia built a large army, and it eventually assured itself of the presence of Soviet Union for a long period. Russia also came out as a super power along with the United States of America. The war stimulated the economy of United States making the depression that was experienced to come to an end. There were new industrial complexes that were built in the United States making the country dominate the whole world. It became obvious that the United States was now the world leader both economic, politically and technologically. There were enormous progresses in terms of technology after the Second World War. For instance, the English later develop radar that was a forerunner of the television, there were progress in electronic devices and even the computer that were developed at the time of the war. Moreover, this was a foundation development that transformed the world after the Second World War Nuclear power came into existence after the war this posed a threat into future wars between various countries. Impact of the Second World War on the idea and reality of state sovereignty After the war, there developed a notion of having collective security, states became untouchable in whatsoever way, and countries were allowed to do whatever they were pleased to do provided they were in their borders, which were recognized, internationally. Stirk (2006, p. 40) wrote that international approach to order were distorted by concepts that were ill defined and basic methodological errors. There were several impacts experienced from the idea and reality of state sovereignty other social issues emerged internally which other nations could not intervene such as apartheid. The growing of the world to become independent later linked internal peace and security to international peace and security, later security was interpreted to being stable and growing as opposed to the traditional definition of having military might. Globalization later emerged, and it di-sanctified the borders eroding state sovereignty. State sovereignty made the powerful nations maximize their various interests, and weaker countries got oppressed and condemned to a statehood that is juridical and backward. Consequences of the world wars felt in the twentieth century According to Best (2008, p. 87) the problems that were reinforced within the twentieth century were outside pressures for the war present between the super powers. Various elements experience in the twentieth century and beyond is as a result of the world wars. For instance, terrorism existed before the forts world war and the greatest impact was in 1914 during the assassination of Frank Ferdinand. There is a direct echo to terrorism such as the attack that took place at the World Trade Center. This is because its intention brought military response and rebounded against the terrorists. In the 1914 incident, the intention was also to cause a violent reaction the later became detriment; hence, it is similar to the World Trade Center Incident. Kornblum and Smith (2007, p. 588) in their book wrote that the presence of casualties and conquests are some of the major ecological effects of war. Genocide can be looked at two various ways; it can be an international warfare and a domestic murder. The Armenians who were murdered in 1915-16 ware genocide and it occurred as a total war, it could be compared to the genocide that took place in Bosnia in 1941 to1945 and that of Rwanda in the year 1990. This is an evidence that had precedent elimination of the various neighbors making it impossible living together in the future. United States was a rival to Britain in the year 1914-18 economically when it flourished economically, and it became a creditor nation. In the twentieth century, United States no longer became a creditor but a debtor, and it was later reverted to become an importer country rather than an exporter country as before. References Best Antony. 2008. International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Oxon: Routledge. Kornblum William and Smith Carolyn. 2007. Sociology in Changing World. Belmont:Wadswort. Orr Tamra. 2005. Critical Perspectives on World War I. New York:The Rosen Publishing Group. Stirk M. R. Peter. 2006. Twentieth-Century German political thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Wells Mike. 2011. History of The IB Diploma: Causes, Practices and Effects of War. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Read More