Word War II: The Causes, Events, and Legacy of the Second World War - Research Paper Example

WORLD WAR II: The Causes, Events, and Legacy of the Second World War Due Date INTRODUCTION The average American has a rather selective and limited memory for history. They know major events through the repetition of key phrase and famous names. When you ask the average citizen to explain the Second World War they know Pearl Harbor, Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust, and, possibly that the United States and its allies won the war. However, there is a lot more to the history of events in the Second World War than just the few tidbits of information the average person remembers from the high school history classes. All the same understanding the causes, events, and legacy of WWII is essential and important period in our history and the history of the world; it is deserving of deeper review and reflection. BACKGROUND World War I was fought from July of 1914 to November of 1918. It began as a response to the assassination of The Archduke of Austria. Austria-Hungary declared war upon Serbia and eventually the bulk of Europe and the United States were pulled into the conflict. This bloody and trench warfare led to devastating losses. The Treaty of Versailles is the document essentially credited with the conclusion of World War I. The treaty’s signing put an end to the fighting amongst the allied and axis powers. However, it still took another 6 months to come to absolute agreements. The highlights of the Treaty included requiring Germany, along with Austria and Hungary to be held responsible for the violence and damage caused by the hostilities throughout Europe; this equaled more than 34 billion dollars in total damages, more importantly, Germany was required to demilitarize. Despite the peace they had brokered Germany was economically crippled by the high war reparations they were expected to pay. This created resentment towards the treaty, the majority of Western Europe, and the United States (Hickman 1).This continual anger, “bad blood,” and the financial disasters occurring in Germany set the stage for what would inevitably come to be known as WWII. DISCUSSION WWII is truly a global war. While the majority of the fighting would be in Europe, the United States faced the effects of war, but were, also, the economic and financial devastation that was still being felt throughout he Untied States from the “Great Depression” that occurred a decade earlier. For this reason, it is no wonder that entering any war came with a certain level of reluctance. There are a number of contributing factors that would ultimately be remarked as those most likely to resulted in declarations and acts of war, including Rise of Fascism, German militarization, invasion of Poland, and the attack of Pearl Harbor (Hickman 1-2). In order to understand these different contributions it is best to discuss the individually. Rise of Fascism: Benito Mussolini came to power with his fascist party in Italy as a fear of communism and a reaction to the failing economic situation throughout the country. By 1935 Mussolini would rise to be the dictator of the country held under a forceful military in a police state. While in Germany another such fascist party was rising. They called themselves the National Socialist German Workers Party; the world knows them better as Nazis. They quickly became the dominant political force. By 1933 Hitler was in a position to take power and begin his tyranny, violence, and attempted conquering of Western Europe (Hickman 1). In the image below we see the growing masses that were falling in line under his manipulations. German Militarization: The rejuvenation of the military was enough to draw the attention of, both, other Western European powers, as well as, the United States as a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles (Hickman 1). Hitler’s military plans included a reunification of Germany with the Rhineland army. The images show that this army was already well organized and well armed. Britain and France, not wanting to get embroiled in fighting did not protest the move. All the same Hitler continued to quietly defy the Treaty of Versailles by developing the German Air Core and Navy (Hickman 1). Invasion of Poland: World War I left unpleasant feeling between Germany and Poland; it was no surprise that Hitler would place a certain amount of attention there. The Germans lined the Polish border prepared to invade. France and Britain insisted that Germany cease its actions; they refused. On September 3, 1939 Germany crossed the border of Poland and, both, France and Britain, declared War on Germany. Soviet forces allied with Germany attacked Poland from multiple directions. Eventually the Polish forces were overrun. Britain and France would now be embroiled in the Second World War (Hickman 2). The Attack on Pearl Harbor: The United States officially held a neutral position during the first 2 years of WWII, but that does not mean that they had not already had negative wartime relations with both Germany and Japan. The Americans were completely unprepared on December 7, 1941when, at least, 350 Japanese Kamikaze pilots attacked the American Base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In the two waves of the attack they dropping barrages of explosives upon the fleet of battleships and cruisers stationed there. After about an hour and a half, the attack ended leaving in its wake 188 aircraft destroyed, sinking 2 destroyers, and four battleships. More than 2,000 Americans were killed during the attack and another 1250 were injured. The images below detail only a portion of the wreckage left behind. Immediately after the attack Japan officially declared war on the United States. The following day, then, President Roosevelt gave the famous “…day that will live in infamy…” speech and declared war upon Japan. A few short days later Germany and Italy would, both, join Japan in declaring war on America; America quickly reciprocated (Taylor 1). When we discuss the great warfare that has occurred throughout human history we often remember the Great Names and leaders that war has produced. In WWII we know that Adolf Hitler controlled the German forces and Mussolini controlled Italy as Winston Churchill rallied British forces to the defense of the land. However, Josef Stalin in Russia and General Tojo, who are not always mentioned, were the leading forces behind the Japanese order through the bulk of the war to its conclusion. All of these men were intelligent, cunning; unfortunately these leadership skills were dedicated and misguided to tyranny and overweening and ambitious need for power. There is also misunderstanding of history that the Nazi Party was strictly an ideology invented by Hitler and joining the Party was a matter of coercion and physical threats. This is not true the Ideal of Nazi Party could be found in every country Allied with Hitler, even countries populated by people of color, who would be “sub-human” in the eyes of the Hitler’s “final solution.” (Lichtblau 1). Again the fighting of the Second World War took place far from the American shores, which did not spare American citizens from the difficulties economically, physically, and socially. Women filled the workforce throughput the United States in ways never expected of the feminine gender before to compensate for 1000s upon 1000s of American men called to the war effort. Sadly, Western Europe was war-torn; Towns, villages, and cities leveled by Germany tanks and bombs. It was said that 1 in 3 of every 20,000 Europeans in the areas most immediately affected by war lost someone in WWII (Kesternich, Siflinger, and et al 2). Aside from the general horrors, the harsh conditions, and unending fears of violence of war WWII brought with it a whole new element that changed the nature of the war and the purpose of succeeding in subduing and defeating Germany, but more so, defeating Hitler himself. The War began as all wars do; mutual hurt, intolerances, and an inability to resolve problems democratically; however when Adolf Hitler began to speak out regarding his “final solution, ” and what that meant, for Germany and the whole of Europe the war became one with an ethical and humanitarian edge. Throughout the course of Hitler’s leadership he blamed all of the problems facing Germany upon the foreigners, non-white, non-German peoples. This would result in the Jewish, Gypsy, and other Romanian immigrants being forced to move to poor and prison-like ghettos. Stripped of much of their property and dignity they were forced to submit. As time passed Hitler’s hatred and disdain for peoples of other religions and races grew more and more intolerant; these sentiments which he imparted to the loyal Nazi Party members and military who served him. This resulted in Hitler’s ultimate final solution ( Lichtblau 1). This involved ridding Germany and all of Europe of all of these peoples permanently. The Jews and other foreign immigrants were literally rounded up, forced out of hiding places, and loaded onto trains that would take them to literal death camps. Many would not survive the train rides, resulting in the filling of mass graves. Even more horrifying most of those that would find themselves at the camps would be executed in mass incinerators that they were told were showers. There are even sources that verify that many children, particularly, twins, were used in horrible experiments that defy logic or science ( United Holocaust Memorial Museum 1). The holocaust remains one the truly unbelievable, unimaginable, and sickening events of human history. The images below share some of that reality, but hardly the true scope. These atrocities being committed against the Jewish peoples would not be entirely understood until long after the war concluded, however, at the time it was these cruelties that fired the war effort, the need to win, and the need to defeat the dictator and his Nazi Party. In every war there are a number of significant conflicts. The event known as D-Day marked the largest invasion of American troops during the course of the war, as well as, the event that many historians mark as the first step towards the ending of WWII and victory against Hitler’s German forces. D-Day began June 6 1944 when nearly 150,000 American troops invaded the shores of Normandy, France to a barrage of Nazi machine gun fire. More than 9000 troops would lose their lives on the beach at Normandy. However, historians today agree that the sacrifices made that day were certainly not in vain. Despite the losses American soldiers were victorious that day and pushed back the German forces (Encyclopedia Britannica). Along with the victorious invasion at the Beach at Normandy benefitted the morale of the soldiers it was the final major invasion plan of WWII that America believed would end the war for good. As Allied forces continued to push back German forces it would not be long before American troops made their way to Berlin. The outspoken and tyrannical leader Adolf Hitler committed suicide as the city fell and Germany’s participation in WWII came to an end May 9, 1945. Additionally, America planned a number of attacks on more than 60 Japanese cities. Then on August 6 1945 American bombers dropped the first atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and 3 days later dropped another, nicknamed “Fat Man,” on the city of Nagasaki (The History Channel). The combined losses from these bombings were just shy of 100,000 people. At the same time Russia declared war on Japan. The Japanese knew that they could not withstand attacks from these two great powers from differing directions at the same time. They ultimately surrendered to American forces in September of 1945 (The History Channel). Adolf Hitler had been very interested in science and technology. He was actively developing atomic and nuclear weapons with every intention of using them. Many of the scientists involved in this research were German physicists and mathematicians like Albert Einstein. However, seeing the dangerous potential of the technology, especially in the hands of someone like Hitler, was compelled to write a letter to the United States government warning them of his plans and the scientist’s intention to defect to the United States where they would help America to develop the same technology. It is the devastation of this technology as a weapon, partially developed by great thinker, like Albert Einstein, that made them wish they had not participated in making such technologies available. Almost 4 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the America entry into war WWII it finally came to an end. However, politically speaking the negotiations to broker lasting peace with Japan would continue into the 1950s. Interestingly enough that while many treaties were signed, there has never been a treaty between Japan and Russia. To this day both countries continue to claim 4 offshore islands as their own (Hall 1).The aftermath of WWII at the time, most likely seemed overwhelming.. There was so much devastation and destruction that would take decades to rectify. As American and Allied troops moved through occupied Europe they were exposed to the true horrors of Hitler’s Holocaust, the reality of the death camps, mass graves, and incinerators. Many American scholars today feel that it was the Second World War that helped to re-stimulate the United States economy and helped put the losses of the Depression behind it. There would be long years of building throughout Europe and many, many war criminals would be hunted and brought to justice for decades to come. Sadly, war does not always end just because the fighting has stopped but the globe was made wiser and stronger for the experience (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen 1) In totality history records that there were hundreds of WWII battles fought on land, sea, and air across and above more than 50 countries. In totality the loss of life l in the aftermath of WWII is shocking; 15,000,000 men died in battle, another 25,000,000 were wounded or injured in WWII, and, finally, most disturbing are the 45,000,000 civilian causalities caused by active warfare (The National WWII Museum).The mathematics on those statistics are incredibly shocking because there were more civilian, non-military live lost than military deaths and injuries. These numbers do not include the losses of Jewish and Romani peoples murdered. While there are believed to be millions of Jewish killed during the course of the Holocaust, current researchers have discovered that there may have been far greater losses. Recently more than 92,000 new ghettos, labor, and death camps than previously believed have been discovered. This only infers that the death toll may be far higher than history has ever believed before (United Holocaust Memorial Museum 1). There are many facts, figures, dates, and details about the Second World War that can be called common knowledge. However, there are people and events that are far less focused on, yet their contributions were and remain significant; they deserve to be remembered and acknowledged. General Dietrich von Choltitz served in the German forces and was appointed by Hitler to Govern Paris, France. Hitler had had a long standing policy that insisted that if German forces are to lose an occupied city they would leave that city as ash and rubble. However, von Cholitz, has lost some faith in Hitler after having met him, and did not support the destruction of locations like and the burning of the Louvre was called for. He would ultimately surrender his forces to the French army, primarily refusing to follow Hitler’s orders. Had he followed through the City of Paris would likely have burned and might not be the city of history and art it is today. It is a huge misrepresentation of history that women’s contributions to the war effort were strictly on the “home front,” many have seen the “Rosie the Riveter” image, like below. It is true that many women entered the American workforce to keep the economy and the society going during the time of war, however, that was not the only female contribution during World War II. There were 350,000 or more women who were enlisted in the armed forces, including the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs. In, both, Russia and Germany there were a number of French women who favored the Nazi Party who were skilled marksman and became snipers in the war effort; in fact many of the gunfire being reigned down upon the American troops on the beach at Normandy were fired by female snipers (National Womens History Museum 1). CONCLUSION In the end, there is nothing good about the reality of warfare regardless of what you are fighting for or what side you are on. War is harsh, destructive, and carries consequences that can affect generation upon generation that comes after them. World War II the largest, most globally shared, and ultimately destructive war taking an incredible toll and leaving an unimaginable loss of life. It was an era of the discovery of weapons of mass destruction and the age of unbelievable human atrocities but these events do have meaning. They teach us of our past, for better or worse, so that we have the opportunity to make different choices and wiser choices than we have made throughout history. Warfare should always be the last and most undesirable solution relied upon only when all other options have been exhausted. For this reason the events of WWII was one of the most significant events in history and remains so today. WORK CITED Hall, Michelle. "By the Numbers: End of World War II." CNN World. 2 Sep 2013: 1. Web. 10 May. 2014. . Hickman, Kennedy. "World War II Europe: The Road to War." Military History. (2014): 1-2. Web. 8 May. 2014. . Kesternich, Iris, Bettina Siflinger, et al. "The Effects of World War II on Economic and Health Outcomes across Europe." RAND Labor and Population: Working Papers. (2012): 1-37. Print. Taylor, Alan. "World War II: Pearl Harbor." Atlantic. 31 Jul 2011: 1. Web. 8 May. 2014. . Lichtblau, E. “The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking.” The New York Times. 1 Mar 2013. 1. Web. May. 2014 . Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen , . "Economic history: The long shadow of World War II." Science Daily. (2014): 1. Web. 8 May. 2014. . Encyclopedia Britannica, . "Normandy 1944." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. . The HIstory Channel, . "This Day In History World War II." The History Channel. A & E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. . National Womens History Museum, . "Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II." National Womens History Museum. 2007: 1. Web. 10 May. 2014. . The National WWII Museum, . "BY THE NUMBERS: WORLD-WIDE DEATHS." The National WWII Museum. The National WWII Museum, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. . United Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Children During the Holocaust.” The Holocaust Encyclopedia. 2014. United Holocaust Memorial Museum. n.d. Web. 8 May. 2014. < http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php$2ModuleId=10005142>. \ Read More