Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Relationship between fascism and communism
Ww2 summary essay
Militarism ww 2
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Relationship between fascism and communism
Subject: Explain how World War II is a total war.
Total War
By 1939 France and Great Britain had declared war on Germany. Germany had invaded Poland and was working towards European domination while on the other side of the globe Japan had launched a massive attack on China and Korea and was steadily moving over the Pacific in an attempt to gain complete control over Greater East Asia. Italy was attempting to conquer the Mediterranean and was, thus far, triumphant. All was being broadcast globally on the radio. This was becoming a war unlike any in the 20th century, even the First World War couldn’t compare to this gruesome fight against fascism, communism and world domination. For the first time ever there was a war on nearly every continent and ocean as well as every head and heart. This essay will examine how the media, economic and militaristic mobilization as well as the ideological opinions contribute to the view of the world being engrossed in what has now been called "the last noble war".
This war characterized itself by the complete mobilization of man and his resources. Governments are soliciting the public for money: raising taxes, requesting the buying of war bonds, using every reserve they have including colonies, for soldiers and textiles, for example: coal, steel etc… Also there are strategic bombings of large cities, for the first time civilians fall victim, in great numbers, to the destruction of war. 50,000,000 people died in WWII, approximately 17,000,000 were civilians. With the help of the Nazis the term "genocide" was defined in this war. No genocidal attempt had ever achieved the same amount of success as Hitler’s racial cleansing. This along with Communist Russia only fueled the war time propaganda.
"Lebensraum", "La Grande Croisade, Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchevisme", "Battle of Germany-Join an Air Crew". All of these are slogans or captions of posters propagandizing the war effort on the home fronts. Radios all over the world were broadcasting speeches from world leaders encouraging everyone to do what they can in support of the war effort. Posters and flyers everywhere were distributing the country’s propaganda, urging the public to buy government war bonds and, at least in the US, requesting that women sacrifice their pantyhose to be used for gun powder sacks and other nylon materials. Because of the radio publicity the war is being broadcast into every home around the globe and the soldiers are no longer the only ones to be involved in the war.
Clausewitz emphasizes that “war is a branch of political activity, that it is in no sense autonomous” (Clausewitz, 605). This principle is especially applicable to the post-war period of World War II. The political struggle between the ideologies of democracy and communism would entail global focus for the next 50 years, and the events that brought about the defeat of Germany shaped the landscape of this political struggle.
Adams, Michael C. C. The "Best War Ever: America and World War II" Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 1994. Bailey, Ronald H. The Home Front, U.S.A. Time-Life Publishing, Chicago, IL. 1978 Bard, Mitchell G.
The Great War, now known as World War II, devastated Europe, leaving political and economic instability in Germany to aid the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. World War II began when Hitler invaded Poland on the 17 September 1939. The war lasted from 1939 to 1945 and directly involved over 100 million people. With an estimated death toll of 75 million, World War II was the deadliest conflict in history. Although there can be no definite turning point, many historians consider the Battle of Stalingrad to be the greatest and most significant battle in the war.
The year was 1939; the Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler, was in power and Europe was in a state of distress and soon the whole world would be involved in a war that would devastate mankind for generations to come. World War II involved many great nations of the world, such as the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan; and the Allied Powers: France, Britain, and Russia. On December 7, 1941, America would join the Allies after Japan attacked Hawaii’s coast at Pearl Harbor, Oahu. The war was a terrible fight; however, the fight wasn’t just fought on land, air, or water. There was a more subtle fight being fought by the Axis and Allied government’s movie makers and poster designers. These men and women played an important role in drawing up certain beliefs about their enemies and the war by spreading these types of thoughts to their fellow citizens to bring some type of unity for their nation. These psychological soldiers tried to promote a love for their country through the power of propaganda.
For the great lesson which history imprints on the mind…is the tragic certainty that all wars gain their ultimate ends, whether great or petty, by the violation of personality, by the destruction of homes, by the paralysis of art and industry and letters…even wars entered on from high motives must rouse greed, cupidity, and blind hatred; that even in defensive warfare a people can defend its rights only by inflicting new wrongs; and that chivalrous no less than self-seeking war entails relentless destruction.
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
“World War Two: Government Posters. How did Britain encourage people at home to help win the war?” The National Archives. 2008. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/education/propaganda.pdf
Industrialized countries began to realize their identities and began to work on creating what they never had before the war. The government learned how to use propaganda and diplomatic tensions grew throughout the world with allies and axis powers. Technology allowed soldiers to fight from a distance with newer weapons of destruction, thus the weapon industry grew, but not only with machine guns and ammo, also with gas that harmed and killed people and which still effects western civilizations to this day. The countries involved in the war suffered a great loss or a great gain but will have been forever effected by this war that should not have happened. The war caused civilian strikes across the nation and had many consequences even though some nations gained territory, regained territory and independence after the war. Some nations lost territory or
Historians generally refer to WWI as the first 'total war'. It was the first conflict in which modern industrialized societies mobilized their complete economic, technological and psychological resources in order to wage war. Unlike earlier wars, which involved relatively small numbers of soldiers on the battlefield, it affected many aspects of the lives of civilian populations and demanded enormous sacrifices and support from them. Mobilization of the home front was crucial to achieving military victory. Some of the main aspects of Total War include conscription of men into the armed services, increased government control of the economy and daily lives of citizens and subsequent loss of personal liberty. Control of the labor force, physical safety and security of civilian populations threatene...
However, when confronted with a strict policy of appeasement, by both the French and the English, the stage was set for a second World War. Taylor constructs a powerful and effective argument by expelling certain dogmas that painted Hitler as a madman, and by evaluating historical events as a body of actions and reactions, disagreeing with the common idea that the Axis had a specific program from the start. The book begins with the conclusion of the First World War, by exploring the idea that critical mistakes made then made a second war likely, yet not inevitable. Taylor points out that although Germany was defeated on the Western front, “Russia fell out of Europe and ceased to exist, for the time being, as a Great Power. The constellation of Europe was profoundly changed—and to Germany’s advantage.”
25€ Personalised tour of the Viking Ship Museum which is located at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. The museum is recognised for the perfectly extant Oseberg ship, which was excavated… a long time ago. What’s more, it’s really well-preserved! Estimated time of the tour: 2 hours.
WWII has a ripple effect across the globe causing changes both internationally and domestically. Internationally, The sun finally began to set over the British Empire with the majority of her majesties colonial possessions gaining independence in the years following the war. Britain’s stage left exit from its hegemonic role resulted in the start of a new “Great Game” between two burgeoning superpowers. A new world order began to take shape with the United States and USSR vying to establish their own hegemony.
Unlike what most of the people were expecting, the war had horrible devastations. At least 10 million soldiers died in war while 21 million were wounded. Civilians faced dangers and hardships since the world experienced food shortages. Economies were neglected because every effort was directed towards the support for the war. Hunger, influenza pandemic and other diseases caused civilians to die not only in warring countries but even in neutral c...
During World War II, propaganda was an ideal and important part in making American citizens boost much production upon war efforts, at work, and at home. Most propaganda within the U.S. followed six main themes that were controlled by the Office of War Information, or the OWI, that helped make citizens on the home front become more active in helping the war. These six themes that the posters followed were: The Nature of the Enemy, The Nature of our Allies, The Need to Work, The Need to Fight, The Need to Sacrifice, and lastly The Americans. Each encouraged people, in their own ways, to aid in any way they can with the war, and the most convincing was inside of the work place, where many American went during the war. Many posters conveyed
The National WWII Museum (2016) estimates that over 100 million people, military and civilian, worldwide were killed during the war. The ferocity that was exhibited by German leader, Adolph Hitler, was legendary as was his alliances that made up the Axis powers. As the war loomed on, it became increasingly more evident that the US would have to enter into the war as well.