Errors in World War II and Its Impacts - Essay Example

History and Political Science Errors in World War II and Its Impacts When we talk about the World War II, most would quickly think of the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. What if Hitler had been assassinated or had a heart attack in 1940 and died? This might be a miraculous alternative historical event but it is not the case. This paper discusses some of the reasonable and realistic political mistakes that were made, the “What ifs” of these decisions, as well as the impacts they have on economy and the environment. One of the authors who wrote on the mistakes that happened in the war is Bill Fawcett. In his book, How to Lose WWII: Bad Mistakes of the Good War, he highlighted facts and in a very interesting way. According to Fawcett, the outbreak of war was ignited by Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 which could have been avoided if not for poor judgement (8). The Treaty of Versailles which was imposed on Germany by Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of England and Woodrow Wilson of the US discussed the punishment they had to give Germany for starting World War I. Woodrow Wilson formulated a 14-point-plan which he believed would bring peace to Europe but Clemenceaue wanted revenge on Germany. Georges agreed with Wilson but the public sided with France. The Germans were expecting a treaty based on Wilson’s 14 points but ended being disappointed. Instead, they had no choice but to take the very harsh agreement. They had to accept the blame for starting World War I, were forced to pay ?6.6 billion for war damages and were only allowed to have a small army. Moreover, Rhineland would be de-militarized. Some of Germany’s territories were given to other countries and union with Austria was also forbidden. Imposing a cold-hearted punishment like this to a poor and starving war struck country made many very unhappy. Germany looked for a saviour and found one, Adolf Hitler. He promised to tear down the treaty. As soon as he was elected Chancellor in January 1933, he wasted no time in building his army in secret. This was no secret for the French and Britain. They did not pay much attention thinking that the actions of Hitler would prevent the expansion of Communism to the West. They were wrong. By 1936, Germany had an army but it was not that strong. In the dawn of March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered his troops to enter Rhineland. At this point, thousands of France soldiers were also at the Franco-German border, yet they did not do anything, a great mistake. One of Hitler’s general, Heinz Guderian, stated that if the French had intervened in Rhineland in 1936, they could have defeated Hitler there and then. Later, it was also revealed that Hitler privately admitted: “The forty-eight hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had then marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs, for the military resources at our disposal would have been wholly inadequate for even a moderate resistance” (Bullock 135). If only the French or Britain made an action and put aside their fear, World War II could have been avoided at that point. In 1936, Italy and Japan allied with Germany. After these alliances Hitler started taking back German lands. They started with Austria in 1938, which was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler promised that Anschluss, union with Germany, would be the end of his expansion and he did not want to risk war. Six months later, Hitler invaded Sudetenland and eventually the whole of Czechoslovakia and yet again no one dared to stop Germany. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, thought that pressing military pressure from France and Britain would scare Germany from invading Poland. Chamberlain was wrong. In September 1, 1939, Germany attacked and occupied Poland, World War II officially started. Hitler also made one crucial mistake in 1941 when he declared war on Russia while he was still fighting Britain. It was in December 7, 1941 that Japan unsparingly and deliberately attacked Pearl Harbour despite of Hitler’s advice not to bother the US and concentrate on conquering the British colonies. Japan celebrated on what they thought was a win but little did they know that it was the start of there long term defeat. The actions of Germany and Japan united the forces of three great nations, America, Britain, and Soviet Union which at the end was too big for them to handle. In 1942, submarines played a very important role especially during the battle of the Atlantic, where the U-boats sunk many ships. Regardless of the success of the subs, they were not given much importance. The vessels could have helped end the war earlier if only America or Germany gave importance to it instead of investing on cruisers and heavy battleships. Germany or America could have sent thousands of submarines to stop supply entering Britain or Japan and cut all supply routes. The war could have ended two years earlier. Another author who expounded on a similar topic is Joshua Horn. In his article ( Horn Herald), he recounted the causes of war and the mistakes in varying periods. He asserted that at the later parts of the war, Hitler did not want to show surrender. In Africa, instead of retreating, he ordered his soldiers to hold their ground. It ended with 300,000 dead, 200,000 captured, and a third of their supply ships sunk (Horn 2). He again repeated his stubbornness when the allies were driving his soldiers throughout Holland, France, and Germany. Hitler had two choices. He could order his troops to fall back, reorganize, and strike attack; or he could hold on to every inch of ground. He chose the latter.  These mistakes leave people with speculations. What if the leaders before had not made these mistakes? Certainly, the world could have been far different. There could be only three nations governing the entire world: America in the Americas, Germany in Europe and Japan in the Pacific. The Holocaust could have not happened. The ideology of a superior race could not have emerged. Similarly, the devastation brought about by the atomic bomb could have been avoided. Furthermore, Christina Romer also talked about the war and its effects to the supply and demand system. She stated that World War II had great impacts on the economy and the environment. America benefitted during the war from first to end. Hitler’s aggression caused people to invest somewhere safer — particularly in the United States. The flight to safety caused large gold inflows to America. This was used by President Roosevelt to produce more money and effectively end deflation (Romer 3). This is one reason why the international monetary standard of transaction is the American dollar. America also generated money by selling weapons and munitions to Britain at the beginning of the war and lent money to war struck countries after the war. Women got a taste of working outside their homes for the first time. The need for man power in war production provided jobs for lots of people, ending the Great Depression. On the other hand, other countries were left in debt to America and the World Bank. Until now, there are several nations striving to pay war damages. In addition, the economy boost greatly affected our environment. Mountains were stripped off, carbon dioxide emission greatly increased, atomic and nuclear energies were developed which had great consequences (Chernobyl and Nagasaki) and many more. Moreover, the hostilities and destruction of settlements caused much pollution. World War II led to a lot of things. Technology greatly increased. Rockets were invented and the computer was created. It gave the lesson that inhumane punishments can give opportunities for radical thinking. In spite of these, there is only one thing that can be said, humans should learn from the mistakes of their past leaders and be sure not to repeat them. Instead, individuals should work hard to be better united and strive to look after ideologies and sentiments. Annotated Bibliography Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. London: Odhams, 1952. Print Fawcett, Bill. How to lose WWII: Bad Mistakes of The Good War. New York: Harper, 2010. Print. Bill Fawcett’s book expounds on the detrimental mistakes in World War II. Included in his discussions is Germany’s flop to impede Britain’s participation in the conflict, as well as Poland’s unpreparedness. He has extensively written on the topics and had published 12 other books related to historical conflicts such as How to Lose a Battle. Though the author presented accurate facts, his explanations were clearly aimed to point out the blunders of political leaders. In a way, some kinds of discussion may have observed prejudice on authorities during the war. As compared to the other sources, there are no conflicts concerning the facts. The scope of the book is quite extensive. In fact, it covered battles from the ancient times until the late 1960s. Fawcett wrote in very clear ways. His examples greatly elucidated his points. With the hundreds of sources he used, he was very meticulous in citing his respective sources. Horn, Joshua. “Mistakes of World War 2.” Horn Herald. 18 April 2012. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. Joshua Horn wrote on the missteps from 1935 to 1945. His article on the mistakes during the Second World War is concise as compared to the other references. As a writer, Horn has published other topics but not much of them are about war or history. His topic centered on what transpired in a decade. In likeness to the other authors, he has presented facts accurately. His expositions are not viewed as biased since he was able to show the bases of his conclusions. Horn cited his points in evident and understandable ways. Since his article is relatively short, there were only two sources cited. Romer, Christina. “The Hope That Flows from History.” The New York Times 14 Aug. 2011: BU6. Print. Christina Romer’s article was published in the Economy section of The New York Times. Her piece focused on the economical aspect of the war. She mentioned the cause and effect of the great depression and mentioned precise as well as stimulating information on Roosevelt, gross domestic products, and the federal reserves. It is distinct that she had practical knowledge on what she was explicating. Romer is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. She majors in economics and was actually the chairwoman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. Her clarifications are not found to be one sided since she was adept at presenting situations in exact ways. Her article was quite comprehensible and it flowed in a very logical manner. However, there were no in-text citations in her paper. It could have been better if there was a reference list to further direct her readers. Read More