2nd World War

The Second World was is the deadliest conflict of modern times. It started due to the Global Recession of the 1930s, the failures of the Paris Conference and the expansionist ambitions of Germany, Italy and Japan (together called the Axis Powers). The war began with the invasion of Poland, the Blitzkrieg of Western Europe, the signing of the Tripartite Pact, and expanded into widespread battles in Europe and Asia. The defeat of the Axis Powers, marked by the fall of Hitler's regime and the use of nuclear bombs on Japan, resulted in unprecedented destruction and shaped the post-war landscape, leading to the formation of the United Nations and the beginning of the Cold War.

The immediate post-World War I years were full of problems for almost all countries of Europe. These included reorganization of the economy, resettlement of the survivors of war, and growing unemployment. The working classes in many countries tried to organize socialist revolutions on the Soviet pattern, but they were ruthlessly suppressed. In their place, strong, anti-democratic movements arose in Hungary, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Germany and Spain, which can generally be termed as ‘Fascist’. Hence, in many ways, the World War I was the catalyst for the Second World War.

The roots of the Second World War can be traced back to the aftermath of World War I where the burdensome Treaty of Versailles was signed leaving the German state unstable and impoverished. The treaty failed in disarmament efforts. There was tremendous economic hardship and political tension in Europe. The rise of fascism in Italy, the militarization of Japan, and Germany's revenge for its post-World War I conditions further heightened global instability. World War II began in Europe but soon spread across the entire world as United States and Japan joined.

• World Economic Crisis
  • The global economic crisis of the 1930s caused social unrest, widespread unemployment, and poverty weakening the trust in democratic institutions and fostering the growth of radical political right-wing organizations.
  • Economic hardships and political tensions were made worse by the weight of World War I debts and war reparations.
• Consequence of the Paris Peace Conference
  • Failure of Disarmament: After the First World War, countries continued to amass weapons despite empty promises of disarmament in the Paris Peace Conference as they feared another conflict.
  • Problem of National Minorities: New nation-states formed after the Conference left many minorities under foreign rule. There were German minorities in Poland and Czechoslovakia and Russian minorities in Poland and Romania.
• Failure of the League of Nations: It could not offer effective peaceful resolution to world problems.
  • Major Powers Missing: Several major powers had withdrawn from the league including Germany (1933), Italy (1937), and Japan (1933), due to disputes or dissatisfaction. Other major powers like the United States and the Soviet Union were never members.
  • The league failed to contain the Italian invasion of Ethiopia or the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1930s.
  • It was dissolved in 1946
• Fascist Grab for Power: The fascist countries also called the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan & Italy) wanted to re-divide the world for imperialist gains and thus came into conflict with the Allied Powers (United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States of America & China).
  • Rise of Fascism in Italy: Under Benito Mussolini, a dictatorial rule of extreme nationalism and militarism began. Their aim was to restore Italy’s glory of ancient Roman times. Mussolini formed a private army called ‘Blackshirts’ and overthrew the government.
  • Rise of Japan: Meiji Restoration saw Japan modernize rapidly and undergo industrialisation and militarisation.
  • Germany’s Revenge: Germany was politically, militarily and economically shattered by the Treaty of Versailles signed at the end of World War I. Nazi Party glorified war and promised to its people restoration of lost glory through war.
  • Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Treaty: Under which Japan was given a free hand to expand control in Asia and the region of the Pacific while Germany and Italy would have a free hand in Europe.
  • Aggressive policy of expansion through conquests. Germany annexed Rhineland in 1936, Austria in 1938 and Czechoslovakia in 1938, while Italy attacked Ethiopia. This resulted in social tension and conflicts among European nations.
• Appeasement Policy: To counter communist Russia, European nations supported fascist Italy and Germany. England and France were complicit and looked the other way when Germany showed aggression.
  • This allowed Germany to expand its military and annex Rhineland.
  • Hitler supported overthrow of democratically elected Government in Spain.
  • Munich Pact, 1938: was signed where Germany was allowed to annex northern Czechoslovakia.
  • To stall the expanding Germany, Soviet Union signed a pact with Germany in which both agreed not to attack one another.

After obtaining neutrality of Soviet Union, Germany attacked Poland on 1 September 1939. Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. The war came to an end in September 1945 with USA dropping two nuclear bombs on Japan. The course of the war is traced below-

• The period of Phony War: there was very little actual fighting among the countries.
  • In 1939 Germany annexed Poland with ease.
  • In 1940 Soviet Union also took back Baltic States- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
• The period of Lightning War (Blitzkrieg): swift takeover of many European countries by Germany including Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg in 1940. Northern part of France surrendered, while the southern half called Vichy France collaborated with the Nazis.
  • However, Germany’s efforts in August 1940 to conquer Britain were incomplete as British air force gave a tough fight.
• Tripartite Pact at Berlin, September 1940: Signed by Axis Powers (Germany, Italy & Japan) assuring each other of support. It was joined by Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria also.
• Expansion of War beyond Europe:
  • Germany and Italy invaded Greece and also captured Yugoslavia and North Africa. There were also fights for various African colonies.
  • Germany invaded Soviet Union in June 1941 and made rapid gains however the Russian winter aided their decimation at the hands of the Soviet Red Army by January 1943.
  • Japan attacked United States at Pearl Harbour and also captured Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Burma, by the middle of 1942.
  • While USA sold arms to Britain and Russia, it only entered the war in 1942
• Defeat of the Axis Powers
  • By 1943, Allies won North Africa and overthrew Mussolini’s government leading to Italy’s unconditional surrender. The German army was retreating from Soviet Union and most of the East European countries–Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary–were liberated. The fascists were also driven out of Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania.
  • In 1944, the Allies liberated Brussels, Paris and Luxembourg by entering Europe from the west through naval advances.
  • In May 1945, Hitler committed suicide as Berlin was surrounded by Allied powers. Germany surrendered unconditionally.
  • Nuclear Bombs: were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 to force their surrender.

• Unprecedented Destruction: Around 60 to 80 million died during the war with approximately 50 million civilian lives lost. Millions more were injured, and still more lost their homes and property.
• Peacemaking after the Second World War: Treaties were signed by the victorious Allies with defeated countries.
  • Generally, disarmament, return of occupied territories and reduced defence forces terms were imposed on Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Finland. Italy was made to release its colonies of Libya, Somaliland and Eritrea.
  • End of German Empire: Germany was divided into four zones, each under the control of one of the victorious powers. The Nazi Party was banned and the German army disbanded.
• Nuremberg Trials: was an international tribunal where Nazi Germany leaders stood trial for crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity during the Holocaust.
  • Holocaust: Holocaut is the genocide (also called the mass murder) of select Europeans by Nazi Party of Germany led by Adolf Hitler. It was fully discovered after the War. The number of people killed included 6 million Jews, 200,000 Gypsies, 1 million Polish civilians, 70,000 Germans who were considered mentally and physically disabled, besides innumerable political opponents. Gas chambers were used to kill the most number of people with the least resources efficiently by Nazi Germany.
• United Nations Formed: On 24 October 1945 the United Nations Charter was adopted by the members of 50 nations and the United Nations Organisation (UNO) was formed. It aims to maintain peace and security in the world, to prevent future war, to solve international disputes peacefully and to promote international cooperation.
  • Increase Interdependence Internationally: National interests were now interlinked with international peace, security and development.
• Decolonisation of the Global South: The weakened position of European imperial powers bolstered anti-imperial & anti-colonial movements. Several Asian and African nations obtained independence.
• Cold War: Imperialism of the United Kingdom weakened with USA and Soviet Union emerging as super powers. The world was now divided into two power blocs – the Communist Bloc headed by Soviet Union and the Western Bloc headed by the USA.
  • Arms Race: The two blocs moved to rapidly amass nuclear and other weapons to prepare if another war-like situation arose.
  • Spread of Communism in Eastern Europe.
  • Non Alignment Movement (NAM): In 1960s, recently decolonised developing and under-developed countries sought to distance themselves from each block led by US & Soviet Union. NAM aimed to counter the pressure of the Superpowers and promote mutual understanding and cooperation among the non-aligned states.
• New Economic World Order: To bring economic stability and not repeat the mistakes of post-world war I, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was setup to give long term loans to needy states and the International Monetary Fund provided short-term fund to stabilize exchange rates. Together the World Bank and IMF are called the Bretton Woods Twins.

More than 50 countries had been involved in the Second World war. Such scale of involvement, destruction and loss of lives was never seen before, where 60 to 80 million people died including 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

The need for maintaining peace quickly dawned upon the world leading to not only setting up of the United Nations but also rapid decolonisation as imperialism declined. The legacy of the war would include the spread of communism from the Soviet Union into Eastern Europe as well as its eventual triumph in China, and the global shift in power from Europe to two rival superpowers–the United States and the Soviet Union–that would soon face off against each other in the Cold War.