World War II

A Descent into Dystopia

World War II was a trying time for most citizens of Europe, Asia, and the United States. Even those who were not officially fighting in the war suffered consequences including oppression, exploitation, or even extermination. It was not only in Germany where rights were lost and civility ceased to exist. On three separate continents civilians were oppressed or imprisoned for reasons that were not directly due to physical military action. That collective and cultural descent into dystopia changed the world forever.

In many ways, the numerous countries occupied by Nazi Germany serve as both ground zero and the prime example of injustice towards civilian populations. It is both interesting and disheartening to note, however, that military combat in occupied nations was limited to the beginning and end of the war, therefore much of the lasting carnage that occurred was actually the result of civilian action. Unlike in wars of the past, even those who did not fight on the front lines were not safe from some form of oppression.

Throughout Western Europe, unjust aggression was not only limited towards the Jews, although they were primary targets, but included other ethnic groups as well. The Germans saw themselves as the superior race. To that end, concentration and labor camps were established where Jews, gypsies, and the ethnically impure were sent, often to be murdered, en masse as a way to purify the population. It was therefore Hitler and Germany's goal to eliminate or exterminate all non-Aryan races.

While the United States did not attempt to systematically exterminate entire races, some of its war policies certainly lacked civility. As a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America feare...

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... Although historical documents evidence their cruelty towards other civilians during the war, they too prefer to deny their disgraceful acts. Debates continue about who was a victim, who was an aggressor, and how the monstrous the acts were perpetrated. Regardless of how it happened, a flood of facts has emerged showing that even among civilians during these war years human kindness was at an all-time low during these war years.

World War II showed humanity that it was capable of perpetrating horrors on even our closest neighbors. Although memorials have been built to commemorate the past events of the war, some of the effects from darkest moments of this time period still live on today. These memorials will forever be a reminder of the depth of darkness that humanity demonstrated during this period and how a descent into dystopia had altered the world forever.