The War for Whom Essay Example

The War for Whom Essay Example The War for Whom Essay The War for Whom Essay The Second World War was the most destructive armed conflict on the planet since the dawn of mankind.   It is basically a continuation of the First World War where a disgruntled Germany attempted to fight back, re-invaded what it lost in the past, and attempted to occupy more land to control the entire European continent.   It lasted from 1939 to 1945 and was fought between Allies led by the United States and Axis powers led by Germany.   The Allies were not organized as one body in the beginning since they wanted to abstain from war, but as Germany occupied more countries, eventually France and Britain became involved.   And after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, eventually even the United States, as hesitant as it was to join a European conflict, joined Britain and France.   The Soviet Union under Stalin also tried to avoid a war with Germany and Stalin himself was doubtful at first when Hitler started to attack parts of the Soviet Union, but eventually the Soviets joined the Allies in a war against Germany, Japan and Italy, united by the ideology of Fascism or Far Right extremism.In 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States called the Allies the â€Å"United Nations,† which eventually developed later into the current United Nations (Wikipedia, Allies of World War II†).   There were many other less powerful countries that joined the Allies, including Canada which sustained Britain with much-needed supplies during its most desperate times.   And even humble nations such as the Philippines joined the Allies in fending off the Japanese who occupied much of South East Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands.   The Axis powers under Germany and Italy were able to control Western Europe, except Britain, and much of Eastern Europe, except the Northern and Eastern parts of the Soviet Union.   The Axis powers were also able to occupy North Africa.   However, in the end, the Allies defeated Germany and Italy in Europe; and after the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons, the first ever to be used, Japan surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II in 1945.The CauseThe East Asian front and Pacific Theater of World War II began with Japan’s aggressive attacks against China, Mongolia and the Soviet Union.   However, in the European theater, Germany’s defeat after World War I led to much disgruntlement among the German people which prompted them to take vengeance through Adolf Hitler (Wikipedia, Axis Powers).Britain, Italy, France and the United States prepared the Treaty of Versailles, which dictated conditions that Germany had to accept after being defeated in World War I.   Under this treaty, which Germany thought to be harsh and unfair, they were explicitly blamed as the cause of the First World War.   They also had to pay 6.6 billion Sterling Pounds to other countries that were damaged during the First World War as reparations.   The German armed f orces were also dismantled, and it was limited to a harmless, puny army and six ships for their navy.   They were not allowed to have submarines, airplanes or military battle tanks.   German troops were also not allowed to occupy the â€Å"Rhineland,† the area along the Rhine River bordering the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium in the West.   The Treaty also took away German territory which was awarded to other countries.   Unification with Austria was also not allowed.However, the treaty was too much for the German people (History on the Net.com, World War Two Causes).   They suffered much during the 1920s and could not even afford basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter, which were all very expensive to the average German.   Thus, they could not pay back the billions of pounds demanded of them.   It was here where an art-school reject named Adolf Hitler grabbed the opportunity to take power by not only promising to rid Germany of the Treaty of Versailles but also to restore German pride.   It was because of these promises that Germans hailed Hitler.Consequently, in 1933, Hitler moved up as Chancellor.   He then secretly developed the German armed forces by requiring service in the German military which increased the strength of the German army.   Hitler also ordered the manufacture of new military aircraft and warships.   He eventually remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936 and forged alliances with Italy under Benito Mussolini, through the Rome-Berlin Axis Pact, and Japan, through the Anti-Comitern Pact.   Then in 1938, Hitler violated again another condition of the Treaty of Versailles.   He invaded Austria and forced its unification with Germany.Meanwhile, France and Britain did not do anything since they were fearful of communist expansion from Russia and believed that a mighty Germany could prevent communism from spreading westward.   Hitler took advantage of their fear by demanding more.   This time he wanted Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland, and since Britain wanted to avert war, they gave in to Hitler’s demands and awarded it to him.   But to add insult to injury, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939 after Britain thought that he would end his expansionist campaign.   Again Britain and France did nothing to aid Czechoslovakia.   Within the same year, Hitler invaded Poland, and this time Britain and France had to declare war.   World War II in Europe officially began.AftermathThe communist Soviet Union would eventually become uneasy allies of the capitalist governments of Britain, France and the United States, in order to defeat Hitler.   But after the Soviets occupied a defeated Germany, they refused to leave.   East Berlin and East Germany was occupied by the Soviets under communist rule while West Germany was occupied by the capitalist allies.   The Soviets also occupied several Eastern European nations, and this became the so-called †Å"Eastern bloc,† dividing Europe with an imaginary â€Å"Iron Curtain.†The unconditional surrender of Japan in 1945 also led the United States to occupy most of Japan.   The Soviets only took some islands from Japan, and the country became a capitalist nation under the tutelage of the American government (Wikipedia, World War II).However, communism spread in Korea.   Ã‚  In the 1950s, North Korea invaded South Korea.   The Americans sent troops to aid South Korea, but the North was protected by China and the Soviet Union.   Consequently, it resulted in a stalemate, and the country was divided into two after a ceasefire agreement.The United States and the Soviet Union also developed a â€Å"Cold War,† where no actual warfare took place; only intimidation, competition, propaganda and threats took place.   Allies of the United States were under NATO while Soviet allies were under the Warsaw pact.   Later, aggression between the two nations led to the Cub an Missile Crisis, where Soviet nuclear warheads were transported to Cuba for delivery to the United States.   The US was on the brink of a nuclear war, but eventually the Soviets backed off, the Iron Curtain collapsed, and the Cold War ended.Allies of World War II. Wikipedia.   4 Aug 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_IIAxis Powers. Wikipedia.   4 Aug 2010.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powersWorld War II. Wikipedia, 4 Aug 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIWorld War Two Causes. History on the Net.com.   5 Feb. 2010.   Retrieved on 4 Aug 2010.   historyonthenet.com/WW2/causes.htm