A Warning from History - Essay Example

Client World War II: A Cautionary Tale The events that took place in the early middleof the 20th century as multiple nations were at war were some of the most terrifying events of modern history. Everything from the use of nuclear bombs to the attempted genocide of those of Jewish heritage designates World War II as a sample of the atrocities that men can commit against one another. As this paper attempts to compare the BBC production of the film The Nazis: A Warning from History (1997) and Western Civilizations: Beyond Boundaries, one ringing theme is produced from the gathered information on this time in history: it must never happen again. As the events of World War II are examined, it can be clearly understood that the war serves as a warning to future generations about the need for diplomacy over aggression, but tempered with action when a leader oversteps their humanitarian boundaries. According to the text book, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union eventually united against the axis powers of Japan, German, and Italy. The book claims that the use of the atomic weapons in Hiroshima, then followed by Nagasaki, was the height of a war that was globally destructive on a scale that had never been seen before in history. The book credits the Soviet Union with conquering in Europe, and the United States with victory in the East over Japan. As the terrible consequences of the use of Client Last Name 2 atomic weapons was realized, the subsequent rift in ideologies that would lead to conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States would be held in check by the ‘cold war’ that would not see a shot fired, but rather a stand-off as the factions recognized that using the nuclear weapons would constitute a global tragedy that would override the needs of either nation. According to the film, the bomb took three years to develop and 2 billion dollars to finance and develop. The first test explosion of an atomic bomb occurred in New Mexico and the results were beyond their expectations. The intensity of the blast was the equivalent of 67 million sticks of dynamite. Originally, the bomb was intended for Germany, but it was then decided that Japan would be the target. Openheimer recognized the horror that he created and felt responsible for the death and destruction his invention could create. The world would soon see the source of his shame in its terrifying glory. In approaching Hiroshima, the bomber found that there was no opposition to their approach. As the film relates the experiences of the witnesses to the attack, it becomes clear how the civilians that were affected were innocent in comparison to the ferocity of the attack. The bomb took 45 seconds to for the bomb to reach the ground from the plane. Watching this drop as it was dramatized in the movie creates a sense of the event through the scenes of people performing normal daily activities, unaware of how their lives would soon change. As dramatized countless times since in film versions of a dropped nuclear bomb, the bomb sweep is swift and deadly, scraping down buildings and creating punitive destruction as its impact radiates out from the central point of impact. Reading about the destruction of the bomb is vastly different than seeing a Client Last Name 3 dramatization of its impact on the target of its destruction. As the witnesses relate their stories, the sorrow of the lives that were affected can be felt as a sympathetic and humanitarian understanding of the event becomes evident through this personalization of the attack. According to the Noble, the Japanese had entered into an alliance with Germany and Italy in 1936 (885). The United States had imposed embargos on Japan in response to the incursions into China, setting an adversarial, although righteous, tone between Japan and the United States. While a war with the United States did not appeal to all of the leaders in Japan, it became inevitable and was realized on December 7, 1941 through a surprise attack on the U.S. navel base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (Noble 886). As the imperialist attitude began to prevail, the advancing Japanese aggression would provoke the United States into hostile conflict with the nation. In creating the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japan was developing a strategy of imperialistic policy in order to expand its power. This policy would constitute the ‘new order’ under Japan rule that would run parallel to that of Nazi Germany. The intent of this mission was to develop a new economy for the East that would no longer be subject to the imperialism of the West (Noble 887). The intent of the Japanese policies of advancing aggression was to unify the East into an economic power that could compete for the purpose of supporting its own culture without the intrusion and direct influence of Western countries. However, the attacks on the West pulled the United States into a state of hostility that its formidable economic strength could put to use in war efforts that would crush outside forces that threatened the security of a nation. Client Last Name 4 In watching the film, the evidence of the horrible consequences of the technological power that was wielded by the United States creates a powerful visual record of the awe that this kind of weaponry can inspire. The clarity with which the enemy can be defined, however, becomes less clear as the book relates the purpose of the ’enemy’ as it begins its activities. One would like to believe that the reasons that Pearl Harbor occurred are based on a sense of evil. However, in examining the nature of the events, it is clear that this was a country doing what it thought was best in order to compete in a economically powerful world. This sense of survival strategy changes the nature of the events. The worst atrocities, however, were committed by the Nazi party in Germany as they began a policy of ethnic cleansing that would kill millions and damage an entire race of people as their history would now include these atrocities. The horrors of the camps and the inhumane practices that were adopted in order to create a ’master race’ would leave a mark on the face of the world. Understanding this war is a difficult project in that the human element became so horrific in the way in which people allowed these events to take place. It is necessary to remember that while Adolf Hitler lead the German people to this state, he was one man whose followers committed the crimes that defined this horror. In other words, the atrocities committed during the war required the cooperation of a great number of people who participated in the events. The Germans began their efforts by quickly taking Poland, utilizing new technologies that had been created in World War I in order to mount what they referred to as a Blitzkrieg, meaning that it would be a ‘lightening war’ that would be swift and Client Last Name 5 quickly decisive (Noble et al 870). Germany quickly overtook Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and finally France, overtaking these nations between 1939 and 1941. The swift advance of the intentions of Adolf Hitler and his followers would attempt to refashion Europe in a strategy to amass a larger nation under German control. However, the most interesting question of World War II is in pondered in the film concerning the advancement of Adolf Hitler into power. The Nazis became the most powerful party in Germany in 1932. Paul von Hindenburg, elected president of Germany in 1932 from a campaign run against Hitler, did not wish to give Hitler the chancellery as he felt this would put too much power into the hands of an undisciplined, and sometimes violent Nazi party. Eventually, the pressure from business and political factions would push this to be the result. The traditional right wanted to eliminate democracy and communism and in order to have the support that was needed to accomplish these goals, Hitler and the Nazi party held a power in their support that they needed. As a compromise, Hitler became chancellor in January of 1933 as a result of political circumstances that supported economic issues that could be affected by his appointment. The compromise held that Hitler and only two others from the Nazi party would hold positions within the government and Franz von Papen would be the vice-chancellor. This was done with the intent of conservatively controlling Hitler. Economic circumstance was the foundation that supported Hitler’s rise into power. However, it was a series of ideologies on everything from the occult to human perfection that founded the actions and consequences of the Nazi rule. An adoration for order was central to the actions that were taking place, although order was not found Client Last Name 6 amongst the Nazi party. The Nazi party used an aggressive policy of agreement with the party or face retribution. Dachau, a brutal prison, was the popular threat in order to hold people in line. In 1933, political prisoners were held in Dachau and faced great brutality within the camp, but the concept of the concentration camp had yet to be developed. As the film describes the circumstances that surrounded the atmosphere within Germany in the early 1930’s, an interview with a man whose political circumstances did not agree with the politics of the time gives a more clear picture of the terror with which people were threatened. Another interview mentioned how “It was impossible to look ahead to ‘45 from ‘33” (The Nazis), reflecting the way in which human horrors are introduced to the population slowly as they accept what is happening as each step is only a little worse than the previous. Signs and events such as public burnings of books, especially those by Jewish authors, created a state of mind that socially prepared the nation to begin to accept that some people could be treated with less than humane means. However, Hitler represented a positive future for German with victory and success as the result of his actions. He was a charismatic speaker who held sway over his people through impressing upon them a bright and stunning future. In watching the film, the visual record of the events can have a more profound effect than the result of reading the book which primarily lists the facts and circumstances of the time period. Through the use of interviews and film footage, the reality of the events come sharply into focus. As an example, the retreat on the top of the mountain became an impressive visual element when balanced against the terrifying political scenes previously viewed, creates a visual statement about the nature of atrocity in that those Client Last Name 7 who command it are usually removed from its consequences. Worse even than this is the way in which those that surrounded Hitler would listen to his vision and then create their own methods of carrying out those visions. This is a chaotic way for the advancement of an ideology to be carried forward. The domination of Germany in Europe had never before been experienced. Initially, the Nazis intended to use the conquered nations as a means of support for their war efforts (Noble 878). In moving through Europe and taking the territories for their own purposes, different reactions to the movement was found within the differing nations. Some nations were occupied and subjugated while others became willing collaborators in Hitler’s goals. The same was true for the citizens of those countries. The decisions that were made within the context of the war would create a long lasting political landscape as well as consequences to individuals and families as the decisions would be judged by history. As the comparison between the information in the film is made to the information in the text book is made, the differences in the way in which the two resources affect the information is apparent in the emotional reaction to what is learned. Within the framework of a text book, Nobles work allows for the details to be discussed in a way that is informative and interesting. Commonly known details are successfully mixed with lesser known details so that it does not become a regurgitation of historical information that loses the reader because of a blandness that can plague some text histories. Information such as the uprising at the Warsaw Ghetto that killed over three hundred Germans as the population of 60 thousand Jewish inmates revolted rather than be shipped Client Last Name 8 to extermination camps. While the end of the uprising had a result of death to almost all of the inmates, some from gunfire, others when the camp was set on fire, and the rest in the extermination camp of Treblinka (Noble 879), the human appeal of this side story within the text of the related history gives texture to the information that is being imparted through the book. However, the film cannot be topped for its emotional appeal with the visual records and the interviews with survivors of the war that create a real-life dialogue as opposed to a factual written record that has less human contact to the events. As the face of the creator of the nuclear bomb states that he realized the doom he has unleashed on humanity, his pain can be understood. As the film records of the political actions of the Nazi party during the 1930’s are revealed, a sense of the chaos that the narrator describes can be felt in the masses of people who will soon see the deterioration of their moral compass as humanitarian concepts flee their ideology. In the comparison of the film to the text, each can be appreciated for its informative value. Having the emotional content to the atrocities that were committed during the war allows for a deeper connection to the importance of remembering the events that culminated to such horrible results. However, understanding the economic and political details of the environment that supported the events of World War II is also of deep importance in preventing this type of war to be made again in the world. However, as one begins to see the decay that was the infection that the Nazi party became to its country and the slow slide into this state, one must wonder how easy it would be to see it happen again. Client Last Name 9 Works Cited Noble, Thomas F. X. Western Civilization: Beyond Boundaries . Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. The Nazis: A Warning from History. Dir. Laurence Rees and Tilman Remme. Narrator Samuel West. BBC. 1998. Read More