Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War - Essay Example

Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War Introduction The effects of world wars that were fought brought forth a problem to the western countries that might never be done away with. These wars were mainly fought during Churchill and Hitler’s time and are considered as having been very unnecessary. Fighting the two world wars, for instance, brought the western countries to their knees and the position they held as superpowers have been slowly wiped out. Whether or not these wars could be avoided, is still a hot debate among scholars. Yet at the time before the war started, it appeared as the most noble and prestigious thing to do in order to bring peace to the world and set a new world order. Churchill was a much respected statesman who took his country to war and came back with victory. At the time of his leadership, he outstood as a very strong leader both in character and deed. On the other hand, Hitler is seen as a tyrant and during his time, he fueled and fought the world war. The level of human destruction that followed in his wake can only be described in such disturbing terms as holocaust and genocide. The notion of cleansing and wiping out other races from the Aryan race gripped his mind to an extent that insanity became his new name. Yet this man still received praise from some of his countrymen and he had followers that believed in him. Something that has not been fully answered is, if these two men did not exist at all, would the world wars still have occurred? Some would say yes because of the kind of blood thirsty environment that had been created during their time. Others would say no because other leaders would have thought differently and acted differently from these two people. This paper takes a look at Churchill and Hitler, and tries to figure them out in terms of the unnecessary war. The realities of war cannot be erased. The price of the wars that were fought during the times of Hitler and Churchill are very high. Discussion Churchill is celebrated by many people across Britain and the world over as having been a great leader. Churchill has a large group of followers because they consider him as having been not only a peerless leader of war but also a very able statesman who had unmatched vision that is iconic in the eyes of the modern man, which has for years modeled his thoughts and behaviors. To this group of people, anything that is good should be associated with Churchill, while anything that is thought to be bad is attributed to Hitler (Buchanan 3-45). Despite knowing that the war had major effects on the lives of people, Churchill still confessed that he loved every second of it. He is a man who enjoyed seeing enemies crashed and defiant states fallen. For instance, Churchill strategically planned to destroy Germany before Hitler could be able to construct many ships that could be used to divert the trade enjoyed by his country to Germany interests. Instead of building more ships too and competing with Germany in world trade, Churchill thought it wise to attack Germany at the time when it had no aggression. This war was to be started, not for any other thing but the hatred that Churchill and his accomplices had for other nations such as Germany. From these wars, millions of men got killed without a concrete reason to do so but fulfill the selfish desires of a few nobles. Even after seeing the death of millions of men by 1915, Churchill still referred to the war as delicious. The World War I was to be based on democratizing the world but it brought with it more sorrows than it was thought of (Buchanan 3-45). Germany was forced into a blockade that ensured it got no supplies and took no part in international trade. Requests by Germany to purchase food for its people were rejected. America had issues with the blockade and termed it as being a violation of the international law and human decency. However, America soon joined in the blockade. This blockade actually resulted into war which was the main objective of it. This war caused many deaths to the German soldiers and the civilians too died because of lacking basic necessities to support life. Germany’s signing of the Versailles Treaty meant that it was to be disarmed; its territory divided, and disassembled a factor which discredited its democracy. The involvement of Britain in the two world wars became the major cause for problems that have engulfed Britain. This is because it the outcomes were disastrous. Buchanan tries to undermine the cult of Churchill by exposing some of the inhumane decisions that this person took to satisfy his personal motives. Instead of Churchill focusing on building peace and supporting development based initiatives, he was on the forefront of fighting unnecessary wars with Germany. Churchill is still painted as having lust for war. Records show that Germany was trying all it could to avoid going into war before 1914 but it was forced to fight invasion when British left it with no choice. The atrocities that led to the signing of the Versailles treaty changed the trend of Germany in international matters and instead build a people who were nationalistic in nature and very willing to confide in Hitler. This was further supported by the consistent application of the treaty even after the World War I. many trial by Germany leaders to reverse this trend led did not bear fruits because of the interests that subsequent leaders of Britain had in its application (Buchanan 3-45). The Franco-soviet pact was against Germany and Hitler regarded it as a direct and willful violation of the Locarno treaties. In such a case, Germany, under Hitler felt that they had an advantage of a diplomatic weapon which they could use against the French and British. The British’s bombing of cities belonging to Germany during the world war two were very unthought-of of and barbaric (Buchanan 3-45). On the other hand, Churchill still receives the blame for forcing America to denounce its links with japan, a factor that made japan aggressive and sought ally with Germany since they happened to have common interests. The alignment of japan with the axis was a major contributor to the events that took place during World War II. These events would not have happened if Britain had not talked America into breaking ties with japan. Despite all the records that show inhumane and immoral practices by Churchill, many still regard him as a hero. Hitler on the other hand would have received some reprieve if he had not executed the holocaust or other genocide cases. But when it comes to world wars, British and America remain guilty. Rather than seeking ways to build genuine peace and spread their democratic ideologies, Churchill with his friends chose to use hatred and war. These wars were actually avoidable and thus very unnecessary considering the number of people who lost their property, life, and wellbeing (Buchanan 3-45). Conclusion The events that led to World War I and II would have been avoided if personal interests had not taken the lead. Both Churchill and Hitler need to go to historical records as men who cared less for the lives of people and fought wars that had nothing to offer but savage. The repercussions are now being felt with the western world losing its grip on life at a very fast pace. Churchill should be credited with intentionally leading the British to its knees by engaging in wars that were very unnecessary in the industrialized world. This is because he could not account for the deaths and losses that the British Empire underwent. All he did was satisfy his lust for war and the consequences are now being felt. The losses in terms of assets and people cannot be recovered. If Churchill did not behave the way he did, then British would still be a force to reckon in world affairs today. Hitler on the other hand receives the blame for responding in the most insane manner by killing innocent people. When these wars are well analyzed, it is established that indeed there was no concrete reasons for these people to engage in war and thus these wars would have been avoided. Works Cited Buchanan Patrick J, Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. Crown Publishers, New York, 2008, 3-45 Read More