The Second World War - Essay Example

? 10 June The Second World War Causes of the Second World War The Second World War commenced in September 1939. Germany invaded Poland, following which, France and Britain entered into a war against Germany. Although the invasion of Poland by Germany was a very significant contributing factor towards the outbreak of the Second World War, yet the causes were actually numerous, more complex as well as multifarious. The Treaty of Versailles In the year 1919, four leaders from four different countries conducted a meeting to decide the way Germany could be made to compensate for the dreadful consequences of the First World War. These leaders included Orlando from Italy, Woodrow Wilson from the USA, Lloyd George from England, and Clemenceau from France. Woodrow Wilson came up with 14 points and based on them, he formulated a treaty strong enough to spread peace in Europe if implemented. On the other hand, Georges Clemenceau wanted to take revenge from Germany. Lloyd George consented with Wilson but the people of England felt like Clemenceau did, so George tried to find a middle way between Wilson’s and Clemenceau’s approach. Hitler’s Actions After becoming the Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Adolf Hitler started to secretly develop weapons and army in Germany. He expanded the German army in 1934, started to make warships, and developed airforce in Germany. Hitler then started confiscating land from the non-Germans. Countries that were demanded land from included Austria and Czechoslovakia. Expecting Poland to be the next country in the list, the governments of Britain and France resolved to take military action against Germany. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Ineffectiveness of the League of Nations The League of Nations was established in the year 1919 as an international organization to sustain peace in the world. All countries were supposedly the members of this League. Disputes would be resolved through dialogue rather than war. If a country showed non-conformance, she would be stopped trade with and if this did not work, war was inevitable. The League of Nations eventually failed for certain reasons. Some of the prime reasons of failure of the League of Nations included lack of membership of all countries, lack of power of the League, lack of army, and lack of ability of the League to act quickly. These and many other factors caused the outbreak of the Second World War. Involvement of the US Foundations of the involvement of the US in the Second World War were laid with the invasion of Manchuria, China by Japan. In 1931, China was suffering from depression, which made it all the more easier for the Japanese to establish themselves in the Southern Manchuria. Russia was not content with the Japanese invasion of China, and so was the US since the US had good terms with Russia. In addition to that, the US had many political and economic reasons to enter the Second World War including the export of weapons to countries. The War in Europe There was a lot of subjectivity created about the country that would dominate Europe after the First World War. “The tremendous dislocations caused by the war laid the groundwork for the collapse of democratic institutions there and set the stage for a second German attempt at conquest” (“A Brief History”). The German democratic regime was destroyed as a result of the spread of the Great Depression. Adolf Hitler strengthened the Nazi Party in 1933 and put an end to the parliamentary government. The Nazi government strengthened the armed forces in Germany and in an attempt to recover the German territories, overturned the Versailles Treaty. Hitler’s policy was directed at the expansion of Germans in the Eastern Europe. “Soon Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies, facing Western democratic governments that wanted to avoid another war and the Soviet Union whose Communist government was widely distrusted” (“A Brief History”). The War in the Pacific The timeline of events related to the Second World War in the Pacific ranges from 1941 to 1945. After the First World War, Japan wanted to extend its colonial empire in Asia. As a result, Japan started expansionism. In 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria and in 1937, Japan invaded China. Japan impeached a war against China, which was condemned by various European countries and the US. Japan faced oil and iron embargoes from Britain and the US. To overpower the US, Japan instigated an attack against the British colonies and the US fleet on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Japanese forces won over the British in Singapore and Malaya and also took hold of the Netherlands East Indies. The Allied forces held out only in the Philippines. As Philippines fell in May 1942, Japan tried to conquer New Guinea, but the US Nave blocked them at the Battle of the Coral Sea. The US forces sank four Japanese carriers at Midway. This stopped the expansion of the Japanese and the Allies were able to go on the offensive. Victory of the Allies In the Second World War, the Allies including the US, the UK, Poland, France, and Soviet Union etc. gained victory because of several reasons. Germany and Italy opted for massive expansion of their empire. Britain and France had full support of the US, that was not only economically stable, but also technologically strong. Likewise, underestimation of the power of the US by the Empire of Japan led to the defeat of the Japanese at the Battle of the Midway. The US played a central role in the Second World War and was the prime provider of moral and technological support to the Allies, which became a fundamental contributing factor of their success in the war. Consequences of the Second World War In the Second World War, Germany completely got defeated. The end of the Second World War brought down the Nazi regime. The leaders were accused of crimes against humanity. Hitler committed suicide in his attempt to escape trial and execution. The Nazi leaders were imprisoned and punished. The leaders who had been involved in brutal crime were assassinated. The end of the Second World War marked the beginning of a new era of problems. The Soviet Union attempted to make the western powers evade Berlin. This was done by blocking all routes to Berlin. In 1961, a wall was built by the Russians around Berlin in order to keep the Russians there. Europe lay in ruins. Its rebuilding was a big challenge. “In 1948 the United States set up the Marshall Plan to help Europe’s economy. 18 nations received 13 billion dollars worth of food machines and other goods” (“Results and Aftermath”). A massive campaign of bombing caused the German cities to be transformed into ruins. The victorious powers divided Germany into four occupational zones. Japan also got affected by massive bombing and many cities were turned into ruins. Prominent leaders of the military were accused of war crimes. Japan was given under the US military rule for temporal basis. The war devastated England as she experienced massive bombing from the Germans in the 1940 blitz. The economy of England was heavily dependent upon the US aid for recovery. Most of the imperial holdings of England were phased out as soon as the war came to an end. After the end of the Second World War, a conference for the establishment of the peace treaties was established in Potsdam, Germany. Countries that had fought against Hitler and had lost territories compensated the Allies. As a result of the war, Germany as well as Berlin were divided into four portions. The US, Britain, Soviet Union, and France controlled the zones. Owing to the disagreement between the Soviet Union and the three western Allies, two countries were made of Germany; East Germany and West Germany. Communist government established in East Germany whereas there was democracy in the West Germany. East Berlin and West Berlin were also made. The four Allies kept hold of Austria from 1945 till 1955. The Russians began taking countries over in the Eastern Europe one after another to establish the Communist government. This instigated the Cold War between the communist Eastern countries in the Europe and the democratic western countries. Conclusion The Second World War is generally remembered as the last good war. When compared with the wars in Korea and Vietnam that followed the Second World War, none but the Second World War is considered to have a purpose, which was to eradicate fascism and Nazism along with all the evils they promoted. “The description "last good war" also implies that the outcome, unlike those of later wars, was an unambiguous victory for America and its Allies — a victory for freedom and democracy” (Richman). A holistic analysis of the Second World War suggests that good won over evil. Nazism, fascism, and imperialism were defeated in Germany, Italy, and Japan respectively. This transformed the countries for the better and today, they are included amongst the most peace-loving countries in the world. The Second World War also resulted into the liberation of France and Western Europe from the tyranny. Works Cited: “A Brief History of WWII: The War in Europe.” 2003. Web. 10 June 2012. . “Results and Aftermath of World War II.” N.d. Web. 10 June 2012. . Richman, Sheldon. “The Consequences of World War II.” Nov. 1991. Web. 10 June 2012. . Read More