Critical Issue Paper Two - Essay Example

Critical Issue Paper Two Some historians say that the Second World War was the “best war” that happened in history. It is said to be better than World War I and the Vietnam War. Does good ethics and good moral principles have anything to do in winning wars? Before being able to comment on the principles of war and judge whether the Second World War was the best war ever, details regarding the United States homefront and the war itself will be accounted for through the works of the authors/historians in the following paragraphs and pages. During the Second World War, the United States homefront had a controlled economy wherein all aspects of the industrial and agricultural sector are managed for the interest of the national security. Production of houses, new automobiles and new appliances were stopped creating a shortage within the consumer market. Housing shortages, especially in the munitions center (industrial sections) of the country forced married couples to live with parents or any makeshift facilities. And since little housing was done during the Great Depression years prior to World War II, the home shortage problem grew worse till 1948. Incidentally, the “wartime efforts were focused on aircraft engines, army trucks and tanks.” Mass production for aircrafts, where the requirement was to build a thousand planes a day needed new methods and a larger less skilled workforce (composed of women workers), were implemented. Basic goods and commodities like meat, sugar, butter, coffee, gasoline, tires, shoes and clothing were rationed. Purchase of any desired item requires three (3) things, which are: 1) the store keeper must have the items; 2) the purchaser must have cash, and 3) the purchaser must have ration coupons. In general, the rationing activity was supported by the civilians, although black marketing activities existed. Black marketeers were usually hunted down and prosecuted for engaging in such activities that was considered illegal at that time. Rationing was necessary during the World War II at the United States homefront, because the needs of men and women who are serving abroad must be met and considered. Conservation of the aforementioned commodities and other basic items were significant factors for the overall success of the war efforts, since shipping capabilities were limited due to the conversion of public cargo ships to military use in order to aid the war efforts. Good paying jobs were available for anyone who liked to work, although salaries and wages were also controlled. Women joined the workforce to replace men who joined the armed forces. And since women came into the workforce with much lesser skills than their male counterparts, most machine jobs were “retooled” so women would be able to handle them. Labor for the agricultural sector of the country was short, even though few farmhands and farmers were drafted for military service. The reason behind this was a vast number of the rural residents moved to the cities for employment at the factories. African-Americans left the cotton fields and went to the cities. But since many agricultural products were needed for the military and civilian population of the Allies, schools in the rural areas close down temporarily during harvest time so the students could help with the farm chores. In relation to the foregoing, personal income was at all high and so were the federal taxes. Every employed American at the homefront was religiously paying his/her federal income tax return. High income taxes were imposed to sustain the needs of the war abroad. Thus, price control was likewise imposed and monitoring of most products in the market was done to avoid hoarding and inflation. The economic situation was not favorable then because there were more dollars to spend but few items available for purchase. Seeing this as a very critical economic problem, the United States Federal government introduced the purchase of war bonds – where an individuals excess money was invested on said bonds and returned with proceeds after a certain period of time. In terms of propaganda and culture, the media fully cooperated with the federal government by presenting “the official view” of the war. World War II posters had a big impact on how the civilians feel about Axis nations at that time, thus, it mobilized the whole nation by making the United States governments war a personal mission and advocacy of every American citizen. According to John Keegan1, in his book “The Battle for History: Re-Fighting World War II,” historian AJP Taylor commented that World War II was a “wonderful war”. Tending to deviate from that opinion, Keegan said that the Second World war was far from being wonderful since it “destroyed a vast cultural heritage, devastated economies, depraved politics and devalued the moral basis of civilization.” He goes on to say that many observed the fact that Hitler does not care how things were done so long as he achieved his goal – describing Hitlers state of mind as “violent, vindictive and vengeful”. The cause of such a mind state according to Keegan was the fact that the First World Was must have been a “supreme experience” for Germany where his country suffered a humiliating defeat. __________ 1John Keegan, The Battle for History: Re-Fighting World War II. (New York: Vintage Books, 1995). Moreover, peace was actually being offered and Hitler was prepared to leave Britains fleet in return for doing what he will for the rest of the European Continent. However, he did not expect that Britain and France will make good their guarantee of support to Poland in case Germany brings war into the latter nation. He also asserted that while the Allies may have won the war, the bombing campaign of the Allies did little damage though it destroyed the Luftwaffe. For Adams2, the Second World War was a “good war” since the veterans of World War II would not endure post traumatic effects, that many soldiers who served during the “bad war” in Vietnam suffered. He further stated that if the Allies had attacked earlier despite insufficient of armaments and planes without resorting to diplomacy the war outcome would have been different and a deadlock would have happened. He likewise remarked on the economy trend of World War II on the United States homefront where consumers must “spend and spend money to show patriotism”. Adams also explained that the war which was said to have created prosperity and economic growth on the United States home front is another American myth told out of proportions. Both Keegan and Adams in their respective books had an analysis of whether World War II was a better or a good war in comparison to World War I and the Vietnam War. They similarly agreed on the fact that if Hitler was not afforded diplomacy and preventive measures were immediately done, Germany would not have been able to get a head start on the war. While Keegan explores the technical and human impact of the conflict Adams related on how things __________ 2Michael C.C. Adams, The Best War Ever: America and World War II. (Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1994). were from the position of the American public, the military and the political leaders. Overy3 in his book “Why the Allies Won” related that the bombing offensive of the Allies forced the Germans economy to substitute their large resources for the fighting fronts and using them instead to combat the bombing threats of the Allies. He goes on to alleged that “strategic bombing during the Second World War” contributed less to the war victory because the land battles were already being won by the Allied forces. Hence, the air strikes that were made were not very damaging to the German economy as expected definitely because the defensive fronts which were erected by the Axis forces were already breaking at the East and West sides. Therefore, the allocated resources for the large number of bomber planes produced within the United States homefront could have been better appropriated elsewhere. Overy as well pointed out that the Allies had a moral stand on the war, that was why they won. Also stating the fact that leadership is a factor during war. According to Overy, “the right leader at the right time could lead conflicts at a victorious end.” He elaborated that the Alliess main objective was to liberate nations and their people giving them the reason to fight harder and better. He goes on to say that the Axis powers were unsure of their actual reason for engaging in the war except for the fact that they are after increasing military strength by acquiring massive areas of land through the use of arms conflict. In a similar mode, Weinberg4 discusses the arms used during the Second World War __________ 3Richard Overy, Why the Allies Won (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1995). 4Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World At Arms: A Global History of World War II (Cambridge University Press, 1994). in his book “A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II”. He relayed that according to the Allied Armed Forces viewpoint - the development of the dive bomber planes increased naval effectiveness and that the strategic bombing enabled the Allies to “strike at the heart of the enemys capacity and disrupt their willingness to continue with the war.” With which Weinberg countered by stating that “the extraordinary extreme predictions of the advocates of strategic bombing turned out to be erroneous.” He goes on to emphasize that the moral barrier against bombing civilian populations was violated during the early stages of the war when the Germans attacked London. Besides the preceding statements he said that the atrocities done by the Germans, killing through starvation, execution and exposure to diseases, were “not random measures” but an organized style of routinely killing which were participated in willingly by the German army, police and civilian authorities. The purpose of which is to eradicate unfit racial groups ruled by the Germans who consider themselves the “master race”. The proof of said atrocities were the concentration camps uncovered after the war was over. Allan M. Winkler5 accounts World War II through the civilians point of view in “Home Front U.S.A.: America During World War II.” Winkler details the contributions made by ordinary citizens behind the fighting fronts. He relates the imposed domestic changes required of the American civilian where he goes on to examine the finer details of the American society, women, ethnic groups, war mobilization and politics. Likewise, his book also showed numerical figures that indicate aspects regarding the economic growth and increase pertaining to __________ 5Allan M. Winkler, Home Front U.S.A.: America During World War II (Internet – Amazon) http://www.amazon.com/Home-Front-U-S-America-during/dp/0882959832, 16 July 2008. cash outlays and gross national product (GNP). Overy and Weinberg assertions on the bombing strategy of the Allied forces are correlated, indicating that the manufacturing and the task that was done by such planes were economically strenuous and not effective respectively when taking into consideration the resources sacrificed by the civilians at the United States homefront to be able to produce the bomber planes. While both authors related facts about the armaments used during the war, they similarly laid out that the Allied nations moral good objectives propelled and aided their efforts in winning the war. Taking all the authors perspective of the war, it could be said that their books are good references of what World War II was all about. Although there may be inconsistencies on the numerical figures given and how they were interpreted, their findings were based their on numerous reputable resources. Assertions why the the strategic bombing campaign against the Germans did not work; why there was economic growth on the United States homefront despite the on-going war and why the Allies won despite losing previous battles were effectively examined and written. From my personal point of view there is no “good war” or “best war” because any kind of war brings forth destruction at a massive scale. It also undermines a nations integrity and its peoples self esteem. The end usually does not justified the means and winning the war does not necessarily mean appeasement and sublime satisfaction. While it may be true that cultures and beliefs differ, it may be better to approach any kind of misunderstanding objectively and thresh out differences in a civilize manner to maintain sovereignty and peace. Bibliography Adams, Michael C. C. The Best War Ever: America and World War II. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1994. Keegan, John. The Battle for History: Re-Fighting World War II. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Overy, Richard. Why the Allies Won. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1995. Weinberg, Gerhard L. A World At Arms: A Global History of World War II. Cambridge University Press, 1994. Winkler, Allan M. Home Front U.S.A.: America During World War II [book-on-line]. Accessed 16 July 2008; available from http://www.amazon.com/Home-Front-U-S-America-during/dp/0882959832;Internet. Read More