germany ww2 essay

The Second World War

The Nazis’ persecution of the Jews predated the Second World War. However, Nazi policy towards the Jews became genocidal during the course of the Second World War. The war not only brought far more Jews under Nazi control, but allowed the Nazis and their collaborators to disguise, in part, their horrific and murderous actions in the camps and behind the front lines.

This section will give a brief overview of the main events in the Second World War. An understanding of the scale and timeline of the war is vital to understanding the context in which the Holocaust took place.

Causes of the Second World War

The causes of the Second World War are neither singular or straightforward. This section will explore the primary causes which led to the outbreak of war in 1939.

Germany’s foreign policy

Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was not the sole cause of the Second World War, but it was a large contributing factor.

From 1935 onwards, Germany had actively pursued an aggressive foreign policy: reintroducing conscription, creating the Luftwaffe , planning for war as detailed in the Hossbach Memorandum of 1937 , and occupying Austria , the Sudetenland , and Czechoslovakia  before eventually invading Poland in 1939.

By breaking international agreements set out in the Treaty of Versailles and pursuing aggressive expansionism, Germany’s actions made a major European war more likely.

The aftermath of the First World War

Following the end of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles was agreed. Whilst a temporary economic recovery appeared between 1924-1929, Germany remained politically and economically fragile.

The Wall Street Crash in 1929 once again decimated the economy, and the resulting economic instability created political instability. The political instability from 1929-1933 led to disillusionment with politics and a rise in support for extremist parties such as the Nazis.

The Treaty of Versailles also reduced the size of Germany. This had numerous outcomes, among them losing key economic outputs, as well as making people who had previously been German part of other countries. The change in the eastern borders of Germany in particular became a source of contention, and as a result many people within Germany felt that the treaty was unfair. This again led to discontent and was exploited by extremist parties such as the Nazis who rejected of the treaty.

Weakness of the International System and the Policy of Appeasement

Whilst Germany’s foreign policy played a decisive role in the outbreak of the Second World War, the failure of other countries to react, or their inability to react, was also key.

The aftermath of the First World War had also left France and Britain in politically and economically weak situations. This meant that they were often unwilling or unable to respond effectively to German aggression.

Britain in particular felt that the Treaty of Versailles, and its effects on Germany, were harsh. Following the devastation of the First World War, Britain was desperate to avoid another world war. As a result of this followed a policy of appeasement towards Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy from 1933-1939. This policy boosted Hitler’s confidence and as a result his actions became progressively more bold.

Outside of mainland Europe, the USA and the Soviet Union also played key roles in the outbreak of the Second World War. In the lead up to 1939, both countries followed increasingly isolationist policies, keeping themselves out of international foreign affairs where possible.

The USA had not joined the League of Nations, and had passed several Neutrality Acts in 1938 which avoided financial and political war-related deals.

As a major power, the USA’s reluctance to involve itself in other countries affairs helped to embolden Hitler and the Nazis. This contributed to the rise of Nazism in Europe, and its confidence to carry out its aggressive foreign policy without fear of retaliation from the USA.

In addition to this, following the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 , the Soviets ceased to be an immediate threat to the Nazis. This allowed them to start the war for Lebensraum   with Soviet support.

When combined, these factors reduced the chances of an effective challenge to Nazi Germany preceding the Second World War. It meant that Hitler was able to get progressively more confident without fear of retaliation or serious action from other powers.

Creation of the Axis Powers

Throughout the 1930s, new alliances were forged across Europe.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) helped to unite Italy and Germany, who both offered military support to the nationalist rebels attacking the democratic government.  Prior to this, Italy and Germany had not been militarily aligned, and Italy had blocked Germany’s plans to annex Austria in 1934.

Following the Spanish Civil War however, relations between the two countries improved. In October 1936, the Rome-Berlin Treaty between Italy and Germany was signed.

The following month in November 1936, an anti-communist treaty, the Anti-Comintern Pact, was signed between Japan and Germany. In 1937, Italy joined this pact.

The three countries formalised these pacts into a military alliance in 1940. The countries that were part of this alliance became known as the Axis Powers . When coupled with Germany’s aggressive foreign policy, the creation of an alternative military alliance to the Allies, intensified the volatile situation.

The failure of the Allied Powers in summer 1939

The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were ideological enemies. Despite this, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany entered into a non-aggression pact in the summer of 1939, which allowed them to invade and occupy parts of Poland. This pact suited both countries territorial aims.

This situation however, was not inevitable. In 1939, the Soviet Union was initially engaged in talks with the Allies over a defensive strategy for Poland. When these talks broke down, the Soviet Union turned back towards Germany, quickly agreeing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Ultimately, the Allies failed to make a concerted effort to work together to prevent Hitler’s attack on Poland. This failure was a contributing factor in the outbreak of the Second World War.

Invasion of Poland

Following the invasion and occupation of Poland, German soldiers hoist the Nazi Flag over Krakow castle in 1939.

Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections.

The Nazis invaded Poland on 1 September 1939.

The Nazis justified the invasion by suggesting that Poland had been planning to invade Germany, and with false reports that Poles were persecuting ethnic Germans.

On 17 September, the Soviet Union joined forces with Germany and invaded Poland.

The Nazis and Soviets used an encirclement tactic to occupy Poland, sending troops in from all directions. Over 2000 tanks and 1000 planes were used to advance on Warsaw, the Polish capital. By the 27 September 1939, just 26 days after invasion, Poland surrendered to the Nazis.

Following the surrender, the Nazis and the Soviets divided Poland between them, as had been secretly agreed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

The western area of Poland was annexed into the Greater German Reich. The Soviet Union took the eastern section. On 23 October 1939, the area not annexed to Germany or the Soviet Union was placed under the control of a German administration led by Hans Frank . This administration was called the General Government .

The period of war following the invasion of Poland is often referred to as The Phoney War. This is because between the Allied declaration of war and the German invasion of France and the Low Countries there was little real action, with just one small land operation (when the French invaded Germany’s Saar district) in the whole of western Europe.

The term Blitzkrieg means lightening war. It is a term used to describe the military tactics of Germany in their first offensives of the Second World War. Germany managed to quickly break through enemy lines and encircle their enemies by combining fast moving tanks and artillery with air force support in concentrated areas.

It was through this tactic that within four weeks after invasion Germany had completely occupied and divided up Poland, with the assistance of the Soviet Union.

Using the same tactics in the first half of 1940, this victory was quickly followed by the occupation of Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Invasion of the Denmark and Norway

The Nazis ended the period of Phoney War with their invasion of Denmark and Norway on the 9 April 1940.

Control of Denmark and Norway was vital to Germany as it provided safe supply routes for Swedish iron ore. Prior to the war, Germany imported approximately half of its necessary iron ore from Sweden. As such, if access to this ore was limited or denied, it could have had crippling effects on German war efficiency.

Code named Operation Weser übung , the invasions began on the 9 April 1940.

In Denmark, troops crossed over the German-Norwegian border at 4.15am. Six hours of fighting took place before Denmark, fearful of the bombing tactic used by the German’s in Warsaw during the Invasion of Poland, surrendered.

Meanwhile, the Germans had attacked Norway early the same morning. In Norway, the Germans attacked from the sea, hoping to occupy and protect key coastal waterways where the vital iron ore was transported. This sea attack was supported by a small division of bomber planes called the Fiegerkorps.

Ships from the British and French Navy had sailed to Norway pre-empting a campaign against them in early April. Despite this, within 24 hours key towns such as Bergen and Narvik were occupied by the German troops.

The main German land campaign followed, moving north from Oslo with relative ease over the next two months. The last key strategic fort, the Hegra Fortress fell on the 5 May 1940, and the Norwegian Army surrendered on the 10 June 1940.

Through invading and occupying Denmark and Norway in just over two months, the Nazis had secured vital supply routes for iron ore that would supply the Nazis war effort for the majority of the war.

Invasion of France

After the occupations of Denmark and Norway in April and early May 1940, Hitler invaded France on the 10 May 1940.

As a German attack on the French-German border was unlikely due to the Maginot Line of defences, the Allies (Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) had expected and prepared for the Nazis to follow the same line of attack as in the First World War, through Belgium. Thus, the Allies concentrated their troops near the Franco-Belgium border.

The Germans, however, split their attack into three fronts, A, B and C.

Group B were tasked with invading and defeating The Netherlands as quickly as possible, and then engaging the Allies in combat in central Belgium.

Group C were tasked with invading the Maginot Line of defences, engaging the French troops defending this line and distracting them from Group A.

Group A were the main focus of the German offensive. They were tasked with going through the middle of Group B and Group C, through the dense Ardenne Forest in south-east Belgium and Northern Luxembourg.

From here, they advanced straight to the coast, which they reached on the 20 May 1940. Here, they captured key ports whilst also encircling a huge number of French and British troops in Northern France and Belgium, who had been fighting Group B of the German attack.

The Allied troops were divided. Over 300,000 of the Allies’ strongest troops encircled in Northern France and Belgium retreated to England in Operation Dynamno between 26 May 1940 and 4 June 1940.

On 29 May, Belgium surrendered. The German Army pushed on towards Paris, capturing the city on 14 June 1940.

After just six short weeks, France surrendered to the Nazis on 25 June 1940.

Less than a year after invading Poland, Germany had occupied, or become allied with, a large part of Europe.

The Battle of Britain and The Blitz

Following the declaration of war with Germany, and the increasing threat of air attacks, the Ministry of Home Security in Britain issued these guidance leaflets on bomb shelters.

As the threat of air attacks and German invasion increased, the War Office and Ministry of Home Security attempted to prepare Britain for invasion, and a potential occupation. This leaflet finishes with the sentence ‘Think before you act. But think always of your country before you think of yourself’.

Following the invasion and subsequent occupation of France, the Nazis turned their attention towards Britain.

The Nazis assumed that, due to the defeat of almost all of their allies, Britain would be willing to agree to a negotiated peace deal.

The British government, however, doubted that Germany’s true aims were to maintain peace, and were unwilling to consider a peace deal.

In the face of this opposition, the Nazis began to step up planning for Operation Sealion – the code name for the invasion of Britain. The first challenge for the Nazis was to destroy the British Royal Air Force (more commonly known as the RAF). As a result, the Battle of Britain was an air battle between the Luftwaffe , the German Air Force, and the RAF.

The Luftwaffe initiated the first attack as part of the Battle of Britain on 10 July 1940. For the first six weeks the Luftwaffe concentrated on bombing strategic targets, such as air strips, on the south coast. After a series of battles, it became clear that the Nazis were not going to enjoy a swift and easy victory.

In mid-August the Nazis switched tactics and deployed the Luftwaffe to bomb RAF runways and airports.

A key turning point in the battle was the bombing raid on London’s East End on 24 August 1940, and the subsequent bombing of Berlin on 25 August 1940. Göring, who had ordered the initial attack, persuaded Hitler to retaliate and order a mass bombing of London. This decision marked an active switch to bombing civilian targets.

Whilst devastating for London, the bombing raids on the East End allowed the RAF crucial time to recover from the raids on their own runways and airports.

On 14 September 1940, Hitler recognised that invading Britain was, at that moment, impossible. Operation Sealion was postponed indefinitely. The bombing of London, which became known as the Blitz, continued until 11 May 1941.

North Africa Campaign and El Alamein

On the 10 June 1940, Italy, Germany’s main European ally, declared war in North Africa, hoping to make territorial gains.

The British, who had troops stationed in Egypt (which was a colony at the time), responded four days later by capturing the Italian Fort Capuzzo in Egypt.

A series of counter offensives followed. The Italians soon captured Sidi Barranim, a town near the border of Libya, in September, and the British defeated the Italian Army and the German Afrika Korps in December.

The situation reached a head in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, which became a key turning point in the war.

The First Battle of El Alamein had stopped the German and Italian troops advance completely in July 1942.

The German and Italian troops were expecting an attack, and sheltered behind a minefield. The Allied invasion took place in two parts: an intense bombing campaign followed by infantry attack which then cleared the way for armoured divisions to break through the German defences.

The German and Italian troops were in a weak position, with their leader, Erwin Rommel, in hospital from 23 September onwards. They also had little fuel or transport. As the Allied troops attacked on 23 October 1942, von Stumme, Rommel’s replacement, had a heart attack and died. Rommel returned from hospital to retake command on the 25 October 1942.

By 2 November 1942, the defences were near breaking point. Rommel withdrew his troops on 4 November 1942. By 11 November, the battle was over, leaving the Allied troops victorious.

The battle marked a turning point in the North Africa campaign, reviving the morale of the Allied troops following the failure of the Battle of France. Following the battle, the Allied troops launched the Tunisia Campaign, the last Axis stronghold in North Africa.

After a winter stalemate in 1942, with both sides building up reinforcements, the Allied troops advanced and surrounded the Axis troops.  On 13 May 1943, the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. All Axis territory was captured along with 275,000 experienced troops. It represented a significant reduction of Axis power.

The Allies turned their forces to the war in mainland Europe.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

By 1942, the German Army had annexed or occupied large parts of Europe. This map shows these territories as well as the German advance into the Soviet Union.

Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

This certificate was issued to thank German citizens for their donations of fur and winter clothes in response to a Christmas 1941 appeal for the troops on the Eastern Front.

Following the failure of the Battle of Britain, the Nazis turned their focus towards their ideological enemy, the Soviet Union. Hitler had always envisioned that a successful war against the Soviet Union would be necessary to achieve two of the Nazis ideological aims: Lebensraum   and the destruction of communism .

Hitler had anticipated the attack being similar, if not easier, than that of France, lasting four or five months at most. The Nazis viewed the Russian people as racially and ideologically inferior: no match for the German army.

Hitler authorised preparations for the attack, known as Operation Barbarossa , on the 18 December 1940.

The Nazis invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. This broke the Nazi-Soviet aggression pact which had been signed just two years prior. The Nazis aimed their attacks at three key targets, the Ukraine in the south, Moscow in the middle, and Leningrad in the north.

The invasion took the Soviets by surprise. Initially, the Nazis managed to cover large territories and encircle masses of troops, who duly surrendered. By late September, the Nazis were on the edge of Leningrad, having covered hundreds of miles of Soviet territory.

Despite these tactical achievements, Soviet resistance hardened and the country did not surrender. Although less well trained than their German counterparts, the Soviet Army was extremely large and they were more used to the difficult terrain than German troops.

Having expected a quick victory, the German troops became more and more exhausted and they were unprepared for a Russian winter after months of warfare. Supply chains were slow, leaving troops short of key materials.

In late 1941, the Soviets launched a counterattack on the German troops outside Moscow, pushing the Germans back into a defensive battle.

Einsatzgruppen

The mass murder of Soviet Jews by the Einsatzgruppen was an essential part of the planning that took place in the six months prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union.

The Einsatzgruppen were mobile killing squads that followed the invading German Army into the Soviet Union, slaughtering those believed to be ‘racially inferior’. Their victims included, but were not limited to, Slavs, Jews, Roma and their political opponents.

The Einsatzgruppen were made up approximately 3000 men. They were assisted by the Germany Army and local collaborators. In contrast to the extermination camp system which was used widely for Jews in Germany, Austria and occupied Poland, the Einsatzgruppen murdered their victims where they lived or nearby to where they lived.

Typically, the Einsatzgruppen murdered their victims in mass shootings, however there were also cases of the Einsatzgruppen using mobile gas vans.

The Einsatzgruppen were organised into four units, A, B, C and D. Einsatzgruppe  A covered Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Einsatzgruppe  B covered eastern Poland (from Warsaw east) and Belorussia. Einsatzgruppe  C covered southeastern Poland (from Krakow east) and western Ukraine. Einsatzgruppe  D covered Romania, southern Ukraine and the Crimea.

Over the course of the Holocaust, over three million people were murdered by the Einsatzgruppen in what is referred to as ‘the Holocaust of bullets’ . These murders account for 40% of all Jewish deaths.

Pearl Harbour

On the 7 December 1941, Japanese forces bombed the important American naval base Pearl Harbour. The following day, the United States declared war on Japan.

By unknown author via Wikimedia Commons [Public domain].

Until the end of 1941, the United States of America had remained a neutral country, not involved in the War.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the most important naval base in America, on 7 December 1941 changed this.

The USA were caught by surprise by the attack. Over 2400 people were killed, and more than 1200 people were injured. A large majority of the military vehicles present were destroyed or broken.

The reaction to the sheer devastation caused was immediate. The following day, the United States entered the Second World War, declaring war on Japan.

Hitler supported the Japanese attack, and shortly after, on 11 December 1941, declared war on the USA. The USA immediately retaliated, and returned the declaration.

The bombing of Pearl Harbour, which brought the United States into the war on the side of the Allies, had a huge impact on the final outcome of the war.

Stalingrad was one of the largest and most brutal battles of the Second World War. Here, German troops run through a trench in the north of Stalingrad during battle.

This pamphlet was published in July 1943. It circulated the details of a meeting of German resistance in 1943, shortly after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. The pamphlet helps to evidence the small but growing discontent from some groups against the Nazis in Germany by this stage in the war. However, this discontent and resistance was typically from small, uncoordinated, groups rather than a united national movement.

Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, fighting on the eastern front was continuous. The Germans, who had been close to capturing the capital of Moscow in late 1941, were pushed back over 150 miles to west to the town of Rzhev.

This attack was problematic for German morale but, by February 1942, German troops had reorganised. They counterattacked and destroyed several Soviet divisions.

This counterattack was soon met with further counterattacks from the Soviets and then the Germans.

On the 23 August 1942, the Germans launched an offensive to seize the city of Stalingrad in south-west Russia. The battle was one of the largest and most brutal in history. It was also one of the only battles of the Second World War to feature hand-to-hand combat.

The Germans first attempted to bomb Stalingrad into submission. The city was reduced to rubble with air attacks by the Luftwaffe . German tanks followed the planes, reaching the outskirts of the city quickly.

The German troops entered Stalingrad on the 12 September 1942, advanced quickly and occupied two thirds of the city by the 30 September.  Their rapid advance once again fooled them into thinking that the battle would be quick.

The Soviets put up a strong resistance. Having experienced losses against the Germans almost continuously for the previous year, the Soviet Army saw Stalingrad as an ideological and moral battle as well as a tactical one.

In addition to continuous air bombing, fighting in the rubble of the city was characterised by hand-to-hand combat with daggers and bayonets, as each side ambushed the other under the cover of darkness.

With huge losses, both sides ordered reinforcements.

By November 1942, Marshal Georgy Zhukov , the Soviet general, had gathered over a million men with several tank armies. Zhukov encircled Axis troops in the north-west of the city.

On 19 November 1942, the Russians overwhelmed Romanian armies who were supporting the Germans in the north west of the city. The Germans reacted slowly, and quickly became encircled. Despite General Paulus repeatedly requesting permission to surrender or retreat from Hitler, this was denied.

The 100,000 German soldiers that were surrounded by the Soviet Army quickly ran out of ammunition and food in the midst of the Russian winter. Against Hitler’s direct orders, General Paulus surrendered with his remaining 91,000 men on 31 January 1943.

The battle finished on 2 February 1943.

Of the 91,000 German troops that surrendered, just 6000 eventually returned to Germany. Most died from illness, starvation or exhaustion.

The Battle of Monte Cassino

On the 15 February 1944, the Allies bombed Monte Cassino.

The Battle of Monte Cassino took place from 17 January 1944 to 18 May 1944. It was a series of four offensives carried out by Allied troops in central Italy (who was a key ally of Germany) in an attempt to breakthrough the Winter Line and occupy Rome.

Monte Cassino was the mountain above the town of Cassino where the Germans had installed several defences in preparation for the Allied invasion. An Abbey sat on top of the mountain.

One of the primary routes to Rome ran through the town of Cassino at the bottom of the mountain. Other routes to Rome had become impassable due to flooding and the difficult terrain (made worse by the winter weather). However, due to the German defences above, passing along the Monte Cassino route was impossible without first defeating the German troops on the mountain.

Allied troops landed in southern Italy in September 1943, but only had limited progress due to the harsh winter and Axis defences.

The first attack at Monte Cassino started on 17 January 1944 as British Empire, American and French troops fought uphill against the strategic German defences. The German defences were extremely well integrated into the mountainside, and, following large losses, the Allies pulled back on 11 February.

The Allies suspected that the Germans were using the Abbey (which was situated at the top of a large hill and protected as neutral territory under the Concordat of 1933 ) as a military observation point. In response, the Allies bombed the Abbey, starting the second offensive of the battle, on 15 February 1944.

250 women, men and children were killed in the bombing.  Following the bombing, German troops used the ruins of the Abbey as a fortress and observation post.

The third attack was launched from the north on 15 March. After a large bombing campaign, Allied troops advanced through the town of Cassino. The defences were tough and both sides experienced heavy losses. The German parachute divisions held on to the Abbey.

The Allies fell back, and planned Operation Diadem – the fourth and final battle. The battle involved attacks on four fronts, and took two months to get all the troops in place.

The attack started on the evening of 11 May 1944. By 17 May, the Polish corps broke through the German defences. On 18 May,  Polish troops captured the Abbey at the top of Monte Cassino.

The Battle for Monte Cassino was over, and the Allies had broken the Winter Line. On 4 June 1944, the Allies captured Rome, the capital of Italy.

Despite this success, the Battle had come at a cost. There were over 55,000 casualties for the Allied troops in comparison to 20,000 German casualties.

D-Day and Operation Bagration

Ships carrying Allied troops start to land on Normandy beaches during the Invasion of Normandy.

British troops with captured German soldiers near Ranville on the evening of the 6 June 1944.

By the summer of 1944, the Allies had enough coordinated strength to consider an invasion of France. This invasion became known as D-Day.

On the evening of 5 June 1944, under the cover of nightfall, British, French, American and Canadian troops started to cross the English Channel, landing in Normandy. These troops were supported by paratroopers who were dropped behind enemy lines. The next morning, on 6 June 1944, the attack began.

With a huge concentration of troops defending the eastern front in the Soviet Union and the decoy measures implemented, resistance from the Germans was initially weaker than expected. Despite this, the Allied troops experienced over 10,000 losses on the first day.

Despite these losses, the Allied troops made small but significant progress. By 7 June 1944, the Allies had managed to capture the naval port of Cherbourg.

This acquisition allowed Allied troops to flood in to France, fighting their way slowly across France, pushing back the German troops. The Germans had, by this point, received reinforcements, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Allied troops.

At the same time, to coincide with D-Day, the Soviet Union launched an attack codenamed Operation Bagration in Soviet Byelorussia. Fought between 22 June and 19 August, the attack resulted in huge casualties for German troops and destroyed their front line on the Eastern Front. This pushed the remaining German troops back into Poland.

The Germans were now fighting a war on both the Eastern Front, against the Soviet Union, and the Western Front, against Britain, France, and the United States. They were being defeated and pushed back towards Germany, slowly, by both fronts.

Following D-Day and the Invasion of Normandy, the Germans were fighting a defensive war on two fronts.

At this stage in the war, the Germans did not have the resources to sustain this. They were quickly pushed back in France, and retreated into Germany. By March 1945, the Allied troops had crossed the River Rhine.

On the Eastern Front, following the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 and 1943, the German Army had been pushed into retreat.

By 17 January 1945, Soviet troops had liberated Warsaw, the capital of Poland. On 27 January 1945 the Soviets liberated the Auschwitz Camp complex, which included Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp.

Both sides of the Allied forces soon entered Germany.

On 16 April 1945, the Soviet troops started the offensive to capture Berlin, the German capital. This offensive started the Battle of Berlin, one of the last huge battles of the Second World War.

Led by Marshal Zhukov, who had successfully commanded the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet troops encircled Berlin, and started their advance inward. On 30 April 1945, Hitler took his own life in his bunker underneath the Reich chancellery.

On 2 May, Berlin was surrendered to the Allies. On 7 May 1945, the German army commanders surrendered all forces to the Allies.

This surrender ended the war in Europe. However, the World War was not yet over, and continued in Pacific against the Japanese. On 6 and 9 August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly killing over 200,000 people.

On 15 August 1945, the Japanese surrendered.

The Second World War was over.

Why did Germany lose?

Germany’s loss of the Second World War was the result of a combination of factors, both in German weaknesses and in Allied and Soviet strengths.

German weaknesses

Germany had four key fatal weaknesses in the Second World War. These were: the lack of productivity of its war economy, the weak supply lines, the start of a war on two fronts, and the lack of strong leadership.

Following the invasion of the Soviet Union, using the Blitzkrieg tactic , the German Army marched far into Russia. However, they did so on very slow, overextended, supply lines.  These supply lines hindered the German advance, and eventually led to a huge lack of supplies on the front line. This, alongside key Soviet advances, contributed to the German retreat.

In addition to the poor supply lines, Germany’s war economy could not support the extent of goods needed for the various invasions in the Second World War. As Richard Evans writes, in Germany ‘by 1944, 75 percent of GDP was being devoted to the war in comparison to 60 percent in the Soviet Union and 55 percent in Britain’ [Richard Evans, The Third Reich at War , (England: Penguin Group, 2008), p333]. Throughout the war, Germany became desperately short of fuel, coal and food.

It was not until Albert Speer became Minister of Armaments and War Production in 1942 that Germany  started moving towards a total mobilisation of the economy for war, although this was still with mixed success. In mid-1944, the economy peaked. For Nazi Germany, in retreat with a defensive war being fought on two fronts, this was too late.

Following the Allies D-Day offensive and the simultaneous Soviet offensive Operation Bagration, Germany was fighting a defensive war on the eastern front and on the western front. This meant that the German troops were split, and neither side could have the full weight of the army. As a result of this, the German troops were pushed back into Germany.

In addition to the above, in the closing stages of the war there was a lack of strong leadership in Nazi Germany. Hitler had lost the faith of the German people, he was rarely seen in public and stayed confined to his bunker under the Reich chancellery in Berlin.

On the 30 April 1945, Hitler took his own life. For many, who had seen Nazism and Hitler as one being, the death of Hitler meant the end of Nazi Germany.

Soviet Strengths

Whilst initially the German invasion of the Soviet Union covered a vast area very quickly, the Soviets soon responded. The German presumption that the Soviets were ‘racially’ and economically inferior and the war in the east would be quick soon collapsed.

The Soviet Union had an enormous amount of manpower to call upon, and despite facing the German troops who were both more experienced and more highly trained, there was a constant ready supply of men to face them. The Soviets also heavily mobilised their women to work in almost all areas for the war effort.

In addition to this, as the war continued, the troops in the Soviet Union became better trained and better equipped for combat thanks to the mobilisation of the Soviet Union’s war economy and the Lend-Lease programme.

Allied Strengths

In the beginning of the Second World War, the Allies were forced into retreat due to early German victories, such as the Battle of France.

The American Lend-Lease programme strengthened the Allies. The Lend-Lease programme was an American policy of giving aid in various forms to the Allies prior to and following the American entry into the Second World War. The Lend-Lease programme started in 1938, but was greatly expanded in March 1941.

In total, under the lendlease programme Britain received thirty-one billion dollars of aid, and the Soviet Union received eleven billion dollars. This aid came in the form aircraft, weapons, ammunition and medical supplies.

Following the American entry into the war, the Allies also had a huge injection of fresh manpower. This undoubtedly aided their success during the D-Day invasions.

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World War II

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 13, 2024 | Original: October 29, 2009

World War II, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involved more than 50 nations and was fought on land, sea and air in nearly every part of the world. Also known as the Second World War, it was caused in part by the economic crisis of the Great Depression and by political tensions left unresolved following the end of World War I.

The war began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and raged across the globe until 1945, when Japan surrendered to the United States after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the end of World War II, an estimated 60 to 80 million people had died, including up to 55 million civilians, and numerous cities in Europe and Asia were reduced to rubble.

Among the people killed were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps as part of Hitler’s diabolical “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust. The legacy of the war included the creation of the United Nations as a peacekeeping force and geopolitical rivalries that resulted in the Cold War.

Leading up to World War II

The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and National Socialist German Workers’ Party, abbreviated as NSDAP in German and the Nazi Party in English..

Did you know? As early as 1923, in his memoir and propaganda tract "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle), Adolf Hitler had predicted a general European war that would result in "the extermination of the Jewish race in Germany."

After becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the “pure” German race, which he called “Aryan,” Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary “Lebensraum,” or living space, for the German race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he secretly began the rearmament of Germany, a violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union , Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s open aggression went unchecked, as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics at the time, and neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the Great War) were eager for confrontation.

Outbreak of World War II (1939)

In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact , which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned an invasion of Poland, a nation to which Great Britain and France had guaranteed military support if it were attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin meant that Hitler would not face a war on two fronts once he invaded Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and dividing the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin’s forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finnish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland, the lack of action on the part of Germany and the Allies in the west led to talk in the news media of a “phony war.” At sea, however, the British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and lethal German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for Britain, sinking more than 100 vessels in the first four months of World War II.

World War II in the West (1940-41)

On April 9, 1940, Germany simultaneously invaded Norway and occupied Denmark, and the war began in earnest. On May 10, German forces swept through Belgium and the Netherlands in what became known as “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war. Three days later, Hitler’s troops crossed the Meuse River and struck French forces at Sedan, located at the northern end of the Maginot Line , an elaborate chain of fortifications constructed after World War I and considered an impenetrable defensive barrier. In fact, the Germans broke through the line with their tanks and planes and continued to the rear, rendering it useless. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated by sea from Dunkirk in late May, while in the south French forces mounted a doomed resistance. With France on the verge of collapse, Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler, the Pact of Steel, and Italy declared war against France and Britain on June 10.

On June 14, German forces entered Paris; a new government formed by Marshal Philippe Petain (France’s hero of World War I) requested an armistice two nights later. France was subsequently divided into two zones, one under German military occupation and the other under Petain’s government, installed at Vichy France. Hitler now turned his attention to Britain, which had the defensive advantage of being separated from the Continent by the English Channel.

To pave the way for an amphibious invasion (dubbed Operation Sea Lion), German planes bombed Britain extensively beginning in September 1940 until May 1941, known as the Blitz , including night raids on London and other industrial centers that caused heavy civilian casualties and damage. The Royal Air Force (RAF) eventually defeated the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) in the Battle of Britain , and Hitler postponed his plans to invade. With Britain’s defensive resources pushed to the limit, Prime Minister Winston Churchill began receiving crucial aid from the U.S. under the Lend-Lease Act , passed by Congress in early 1941.

Hitler vs. Stalin: Operation Barbarossa (1941-42)

By early 1941, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had joined the Axis, and German troops overran Yugoslavia and Greece that April. Hitler’s conquest of the Balkans was a precursor for his real objective: an invasion of the Soviet Union, whose vast territory would give the German master race the “Lebensraum” it needed. The other half of Hitler’s strategy was the extermination of the Jews from throughout German-occupied Europe. Plans for the “Final Solution” were introduced around the time of the Soviet offensive, and over the next three years more than 4 million Jews would perish in the death camps established in occupied Poland.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa . Though Soviet tanks and aircraft greatly outnumbered the Germans’, Russian aviation technology was largely obsolete, and the impact of the surprise invasion helped Germans get within 200 miles of Moscow by mid-July. Arguments between Hitler and his commanders delayed the next German advance until October, when it was stalled by a Soviet counteroffensive and the onset of harsh winter weather.

World War II in the Pacific (1941-43)

With Britain facing Germany in Europe, the United States was the only nation capable of combating Japanese aggression, which by late 1941 included an expansion of its ongoing war with China and the seizure of European colonial holdings in the Far East. On December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , taking the Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops. The attack on Pearl Harbor served to unify American public opinion in favor of entering World War II, and on December 8 Congress declared war on Japan with only one dissenting vote. Germany and the other Axis Powers promptly declared war on the United States.

After a long string of Japanese victories, the U.S. Pacific Fleet won the Battle of Midway in June 1942, which proved to be a turning point in the war. On Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon Islands, the Allies also had success against Japanese forces in a series of battles from August 1942 to February 1943, helping turn the tide further in the Pacific. In mid-1943, Allied naval forces began an aggressive counterattack against Japan, involving a series of amphibious assaults on key Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. This “island-hopping” strategy proved successful, and Allied forces moved closer to their ultimate goal of invading the mainland Japan.

Toward Allied Victory in World War II (1943-45)

In North Africa , British and American forces had defeated the Italians and Germans by 1943. An Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy followed, and Mussolini’s government fell in July 1943, though Allied fighting against the Germans in Italy would continue until 1945.

On the Eastern Front, a Soviet counteroffensive launched in November 1942 ended the bloody Battle of Stalingrad , which had seen some of the fiercest combat of World War II. The approach of winter, along with dwindling food and medical supplies, spelled the end for German troops there, and the last of them surrendered on January 31, 1943.

On June 6, 1944–celebrated as “D-Day” –the Allies began a massive invasion of Europe, landing 156,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France. In response, Hitler poured all the remaining strength of his army into Western Europe, ensuring Germany’s defeat in the east. Soviet troops soon advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, while Hitler gathered his forces to drive the Americans and British back from Germany in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945), the last major German offensive of the war.

An intensive aerial bombardment in February 1945 preceded the Allied land invasion of Germany, and by the time Germany formally surrendered on May 8, Soviet forces had occupied much of the country. Hitler was already dead, having died by suicide on April 30 in his Berlin bunker.

World War II Ends (1945)

At the Potsdam Conference of July-August 1945, U.S. President Harry S. Truman (who had taken office after Roosevelt’s death in April), Churchill and Stalin discussed the ongoing war with Japan as well as the peace settlement with Germany. Post-war Germany would be divided into four occupation zones, to be controlled by the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States and France. On the divisive matter of Eastern Europe’s future, Churchill and Truman acquiesced to Stalin, as they needed Soviet cooperation in the war against Japan.

Heavy casualties sustained in the campaigns at Iwo Jima (February 1945) and Okinawa (April-June 1945), and fears of the even costlier land invasion of Japan led Truman to authorize the use of a new and devastating weapon. Developed during a top secret operation code-named The Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb was unleashed on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August. On August 15, the Japanese government issued a statement declaring they would accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and on September 2, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

African American Servicemen Fight Two Wars

World War II exposed a glaring paradox within the United States Armed Forces. Although more than 1 million African Americans served in the war to defeat Nazism and fascism, they did so in segregated units. The same discriminatory Jim Crow policies that were rampant in American society were reinforced by the U.S. military. Black servicemen rarely saw combat and were largely relegated to labor and supply units that were commanded by white officers.

There were several African American units that proved essential in helping to win World War II, with the Tuskegee Airmen being among the most celebrated. But the Red Ball Express, the truck convoy of mostly Black drivers were responsible for delivering essential goods to General George S. Patton ’s troops on the front lines in France. The all-Black 761st Tank Battalion fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and the 92 Infantry Division, fought in fierce ground battles in Italy. Yet, despite their role in defeating fascism, the fight for equality continued for African American soldiers after the World War II ended. They remained in segregated units and lower-ranking positions, well into the Korean War , a few years after President Truman signed an executive order to desegregate the U.S. military in 1948.

World War II Casualties and Legacy

World War II proved to be the deadliest international conflict in history, taking the lives of 60 to 80 million people, including 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust . Civilians made up an estimated 50-55 million deaths from the war, while military comprised 21 to 25 million of those lost during the war. Millions more were injured, and still more lost their homes and property. 

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 .

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Germany 1945-1949: a case study in post-conflict reconstruction

Chris knowles | 29 january 2014.

Executive Summary

• British and American occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan have shown that ‘regime change’ and victory in war do not necessarily lead to the establishment of stable and prosperous democracies, as was the case in the Allied occupations of West Germany and Japan after the Second World War.
• British experiences in post- war Germany, 1945-1949, highlight some general principles which are relevant today: what happens after the war is won can be more important than the war itself. As Field-Marshal Montgomery said in a message to his troops on Victory in Europe (VE) Day, 8 May 1945, ‘We have won the German war. Let us now win the peace.’
• Restrictive measures to prevent future aggression need to be complemented by positive reconstructive measures so that the occupied can see their own efforts are rewarded. Giving the Germans ‘hope for the future’ was one of Montgomery’s favourite phrases.
• There is a limit to how much preparation can be done in advance because it is impossible to predict actual circumstances on the ground. Therefore military commanders and civilian authorities need to respond flexibly in light of what they encounter.
• Democracy cannot be imposed by force or by totalitarian means. Trying to make local people do everything the victor’s way can be counter-productive. If political structures are to last beyond the occupation, they have to be created by local political leaders and accepted by the population as a whole.
• Personal relationships between occupier and occupied are important. Reconciliation does not happen automatically, but requires a conscious effort on both sides.

Introduction

At the end of the Second World War, in accordance with agreements made between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin at Yalta in February 1945, Germany was divided by the victorious Allies - Britain, the US, the Soviet Union and France - into four zones of occupation. It was originally intended that the country would be governed as a single entity by central German administrations, in accordance with decisions made by the four Allies acting jointly through the Allied Control Council in Berlin, but in practice each of the Allies ran their zone more or less independently for the first two years of the occupation. In 1947 the British and US zones combined economically to form the ‘Bizone’ but remained separate political entities. It was not until 1949, four years after the end of the war, that the three western zones formally joined together to form the Federal Republic of (West) Germany, and the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

This policy paper examines the situation in the British zone, between 1945 and 1949. Many of the conclusions appear to be equally valid for the US and French zones, although the detailed situation, policies pursued and timescales varied in each zone. In the east, the German Democratic Republic was to prove a loyal ally of the Soviet Union for over 40 years until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and become, in the meantime, relatively affluent compared to other members of the Soviet bloc.

Politically and diplomatically, Germany was de-nazified, disarmed as an independent military force and the Western and Eastern parts firmly anchored within the NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances. In the West, currency reform in 1948, free market policies and the generous terms of Marshall Aid provided the pre-conditions for the subsequent ‘economic miracle.’ This success story was reinforced by peaceful re-unification in 1990 replacing the inconclusive and potentially unstable situation created in 1949 of Germany divided into two separate states.

Success, however, was not a foregone conclusion. A superficial understanding of Allied policies and actions and the German response may create unjustified complacency that once victory is achieved and dictatorial regimes removed from power, sufficient financial investment and the adoption of free market economic policies will be enough to create stable and prosperous democracies. The difficult period of transition, between the end of the war in Europe in May 1945 and the creation of an independent Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, involved hard choices. Governing the British zone of occupied Germany offers relevant lessons for contemporary operations.

The situation in Germany in 1945

In May 1945 Germany was in chaos. Observers reported that the destruction in some of the larger cities had to be seen to be believed with, for example, 66% of the houses in Cologne destroyed, and in Düsseldorf 93% uninhabitable. The economy was at a standstill and no central government remained to implement instructions issued by the Allies. Millions of people were homeless, or attempting to return to homes that no longer existed. They included German civilians evacuated from the cities or trying to escape from the fighting on both Eastern and Western fronts, former forced labourers from across Europe (known as ‘Displaced Persons’ or ‘DPs') and ethnic Germans expelled from Czechoslovakia or from former German eastern territories now ceded to Poland. Ivone Kirkpatrick, later appointed head of the German Department and subsequently Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, described his first impressions of Germany in 1945: there were ‘hundreds of thousands of Germans on foot, trekking in all directions … as if a giant ant-heap had suddenly been disturbed.’

Although numerous plans for the occupation had been compiled during the war by officials based in London, and a set of directives issued by the War Office in October 1944, these seemed inappropriate for the conditions the soldiers found on the ground in Germany, once victory had been achieved. Field-Marshal Montgomery, appointed Commander-in-Chief and Military Governor of the British zone of occupation on 22 May 1945, later recalled the immediate problems they faced: what to do with 1.5 million German POWs, a further million wounded German soldiers, similar numbers of civilian German refugees and Displaced Persons of many different nationalities, no working transport or communication services, industry and agriculture at a standstill, a scarcity of food and the risk of starvation and epidemics of disease. He added that: ‘I was a soldier and I had not been trained to handle anything of this nature … However something had to be done, and done quickly.’

In his second ‘Note on the Present Situation’ in July 1945, Montgomery wrote that they had only recently become aware of ‘the full extent of the debacle’ and ‘the magnitude of the problem that confronts us in the rebuilding of Germany.’ Part of the problem, he continued, was ‘a tendency to adhere too rigidly’ to earlier instructions which were now out of date and a new general directive was required. A week later he added, ‘Our present attitude towards the German people is negative, it must be replaced by one that is positive and holds out hope for the future.’

Physical and economic reconstruction

Montgomery and his senior staff responsible for Military Government and the civil administration of the British zone assumed that their most urgent task was to create order out of chaos. Writing in January 1946, his deputy, General Brian Robertson, described the first phase of the occupation, immediately before and after the German unconditional surrender in May 1945:

The directives were not many, and much was left to the initiative of individuals … the detachments entered into a land of desolation and bewilderment. Government above the level of the parish council had ceased. Everything was in disorder; people were stunned and helpless … “First things first” was the motto when Military Government first raised its sign in Germany…

Montgomery had served as a young officer in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) after the First World War, during the occupation of the Rhineland, when British troops occupied Cologne and surrounding areas to try to ensure that the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles were enforced. Robertson’s father, Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson, had commanded the BAOR for a time. Faced with problems which appeared alarmingly similar to those their predecessors had faced only 25 years earlier, Montgomery, Robertson and their colleagues tried to avoid the mistakes they believed had been made then. The lessons they drew from the failure to secure a lasting peace after the First World War, were not only that Germany should be completely demilitarised and its industries controlled to prevent future re-armament, but that law and order had to be restored, steps taken to prevent epidemics of disease, and economic activity re-started, to try to prevent the unemployment and social unrest which had, they believed, contributed to the rise of extreme political parties and the Nazi seizure of power in 1933.

Montgomery decided to treat the task of governing their defeated enemy as if it were a military operation, referring to the need to fight the ‘Battle of the Winter’, to secure food, work and homes for the former enemies. The resources available under his direct command were the army and the civilian Control Commission, which had been established in the final year of the war and transferred to Germany in July and August 1945. As early as July 1945, less than three months after the end of the war, he issued a new draft directive to British army commanders and Control Commission heads of division, finalised on 10 September 1945. Unlike earlier wartime directives, the new directive identified steps to be taken to reconstruct German economic and political life, address shortages of food, fuel and housing, improve transport facilities, re-open schools, permit freedom of assembly, licence political parties and prepare for future elections. Con O’Neill, a senior Foreign Office official and leading authority on Germany, minuted that the new directive ‘gives me, in general, the impression that British Military Govt. has now embarked on a policy of Full Speed Ahead for German rehabilitation.’

The new policy of reconstruction had some limited success, but fell short of achieving sustained economic growth or more than a basic subsistence level of existence for the German civilian population. Over a million German soldiers, captured and detained at the end of the war and held in the British zone, were released between June and September 1945 to work on the land and bring in the harvest, in a project named ‘Operation Barleycorn’. A similar project, ‘Operation Coalscuttle’, was less successful, with around 30,000 former soldiers released to work in the coal mines, far fewer than were needed to restore output to pre-war production levels. British army engineers restored much of the transport infrastructure and the economy started to revive, but severe shortages of labour and raw materials meant that production remained at very low levels.

Despite widespread concern over incidents of TB, Hunger Oedema and other diseases, there were no serious epidemics in post-war Germany. The supply of food, however, was a constant problem. Rations in the British zone had to be reduced to a near starvation level of 1,000 calories a day in March 1946, which limited workers’ productive capacity, as they took time off from work to travel to the countryside for additional supplies. Rations did not exceed 1,500 calories a day until 1948-9, following a substantial increase in US financial aid and food exports to both the US and British zones (by comparison, food consumption in ‘austerity Britain’ during the immediate post-war years was significantly higher, averaging 2,800 calories a day). Due to the high cost of food imports and the lack of exports to pay for these due to low levels of production, shortages of labour and raw materials, the zone proved to be an economic liability instead of the expected asset. It cost the British taxpayer £80 million in 1946-7, despite containing much of West Germany’s industrial and manufacturing capacity.

The economic historian, Werner Abelshauser, and others have shown that the first stages of German post-war economic recovery, leading to the ‘economic miracle’ of the 1950s and 1960s, pre-dated the currency reform of 1948 and the economic and financial stimulus offered by the European Recovery Programme (Marshall Plan). What contribution to revival was made by British economic policies during the first four years of occupation? There were some notable achievements, such as restoration of transport infrastructure, and the preservation and effective management of some enterprises taken into Military Government ownership, such as Volkswagen. Yet the essential British contribution to future German economic revival lay in providing a period of stability after the war, restoring order and the rule of law, and securing the provision of basic services, even though in many areas, such as food and housing, this could only be done at a low level. In so doing, the British provided an environment which enabled Germans to succeed and create economic prosperity through their own efforts.

Political renewal

Responsibility for re-establishing democratic structures and processes of government in the British zone was devolved to the Administration and Local Government (ALG) branch of the Control Commission. The set of directives issued by the War Office in October 1944 contained no guidance on the issue, apart from instructions to remove all former Nazis from public office and positions of responsibility, and a general requirement to promote decentralisation and the development of local responsibility. None of the senior officials in the branch had previous experience of working in local government positions in Britain. Those who did have suitable qualifications generally preferred to stay in Britain, where there was great demand for skilled personnel in a labour market distorted by six years of war. Harold Ingrams, the head of branch, was a former colonial official. He reported to an army general. Soldiers and former colonial officials, with no personal experience of democratic processes, were therefore given the job of creating a democratic system, in a country that had been ruled by a fascist dictatorship for the past 12 years.

Ingrams believed that the purpose of their work was to prevent another war, writing that ‘We are trying to beat the swastika into the parish pump, and the parish council does not go to war.’ In his view, they had to do more than remove former Nazis from positions of responsibility, disarm what was left of the German army and destroy weapons factories. They had to create a new political system, in a foreign country, that would prevent another Hitler coming to power. This, he believed, could best be achieved by a policy of decentralisation, starting the process of political renewal at local level, giving people responsibility for their own communities.

Montgomery, as Military Governor, banned all political activity for the first four months of the occupation, while Army ‘Civil Affairs’ detachments took over direct control of civil administration of towns and districts and assumed responsibility for the immediate needs of the inhabitants. Ingrams and his colleagues in the ALG branch then built from the bottom up, creating nominated representative councils for towns, cities and rural districts. British local detachment commanders selected German council members to represent all the ‘party or sectional’ interests in the area, which were defined widely, to include religious groups, trade unions, political parties, farmers and industrialists, or geographically by residential areas.

During the first two years of the occupation, British policy in local government moved from direct to indirect rule. Political parties were licensed from late 1945, initially at local, then at regional and zonal level, and elections were held in October 1946 to select representatives for city, district and regional councils. Following the agreed principle of decentralisation, considerable power was devolved to the regions, the German Länder , Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Hamburg. Only those functions of government which could not be performed regionally, such as central economic planning or managing the transport infrastructure, were retained at zonal level under Military Government control, pending agreement between the Allies on the future governmental structure for Germany as a whole.

Over time, British officials learnt that they could not impose democracy by force. At first, Ingrams tried to introduce a British model of democracy in Germany. He attempted to impose British practices, such as the ‘first past the post’ method of voting in elections, and the appointment of unpaid and non-executive chairmen of local city councils, to replace the German Bürgermeister or elected city mayors. These attempts were generally unsuccessful. Leading German members of the newly formed democratic political parties argued that there had been a strong tradition of local democracy in Germany before the Nazi seizure of power, and it was wrong to impose an ‘alien’ British system. They were supported by German exiles in London, and by John Hynd, the Minister for Germany, who had close links with some of the exiles.

When discussing future political structures, both sides agreed on many key principles – that individuals should be safeguarded against excessive demands from an authoritarian government, and that the electoral system should be designed to promote stable government with an effective but loyal opposition, and discourage extreme political parties. In many cases, the outcome was a compromise, containing elements of both the British and pre-Nazi German systems. The electoral system eventually adopted in Germany and still used today, for example, is an elaborate compromise between proportional representation – choosing multiple candidates from a party list – and the British ‘first past the post’ electoral system.

A policy of introducing democracy by persuasion, not by force or by unilateral decree, appears to have succeeded, despite well-publicised concerns (which emerged from the 1950s and continue to the present) that some former Nazis remained in positions of authority and influence. When elections were held in the Federal Republic of (West) Germany in August 1949, the great majority of people voted for the democratic parties, the Christian Democrats (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Free Democrats (FDP).

Personal reconciliation

In the first two years after the war, instructions issued to British administrative staff and army personnel regarding personal relations with German civilians changed completely, from non-fraternisation and a ban on all contacts with Germans other than those necessary for their work, to official support for all forms of activity that promoted mutual understanding and personal reconciliation. The change in official policy appeared to reflect changes in attitudes among the troops on the ground, who came to see Germans as individuals and ‘people like us’ rather than the national stereotypes promoted in wartime, which had portrayed all Germans as aggressive, militaristic and not to be trusted.

British soldiers and administrators have recorded in diaries, memoirs and oral history interviews how they came to know Germans during the occupation through work, meeting socially as friends, as lovers, or eventually as husbands and wives. Around 10,000 British soldiers and officials married German women they met during the occupation. Official initiatives to promote mutual understanding and personal reconciliation included Anglo-German discussion groups, exchange visits, town twinning projects and a network of reading rooms and British information centres known as Die Brücke , ‘the Bridge’. Once power started to be devolved to local German administrations, British officials could no longer issue instructions to German subordinates. Many believed that their influence over the future development of the country was best maintained through personal relationships, especially with a German ‘elite’ in responsible positions in government, business, the media and education.

Relations between British and Germans were not harmonious throughout the occupation. There were some tense conflicts, hunger strikes and demonstrations. Requisitioning of accommodation for the occupying forces was especially unpopular among the Germans, at a time of massive housing shortages. Many Germans also objected to the privileges of the occupying forces, such as clubs and hotels exclusively for their use, and reserved compartments on some local trains in cities such as Hamburg.

But in general, reconciliation worked in post-war Germany, because personal initiatives, at many levels, received official support and encouragement and were combined with active collaboration between the British and local German administrations. Reconciliation required a conscious effort on both sides. It did not happen automatically.

The military occupations of Germany and Japan after the Second World War are probably the most prominent examples in modern times of the economic and political reconstruction of a defeated country. Historian John Dower, for example, has suggested that they were used by US policymakers in 2002 and 2003 as examples of successful military occupations. Despite the successful outcome, however, post-conflict reconstruction in occupied Germany should not be seen as a direct model for countries where specific circumstances may be very different.

If there had been armed resistance in occupied Germany, requiring British troops to fight back and possibly kill civilians, as has occurred in other post-conflict situations such as Iraq, the outcome might have been very different. There was no armed resistance because Germany had been completely defeated in war and the Nazi government utterly discredited. Acceptance by a majority of both occupiers and occupied that the previous regime had been illegitimate, together with the establishment of law and order, peace and internal security, adequate supplies of food and measures to prevent disease, were the crucial pre-conditions for the positive work of reconstruction.

The British experience, however, illustrates some general principles which are relevant today. Firstly, political solutions cannot be imposed from above by force or by decree. Secondly – and correspondingly – there is a need for flexibility. The occupying authority’s high command must respond to the changing conditions relayed by those on the ground, as happened in Germany. Thirdly, it is important to provide a period of stability after the end of a war and the removal of the previous government, to give local people the space to develop political, economic, social and cultural institutions and practices. Finally, after war a period of subsequent occupation is not, in itself, any effective guarantee of achieving ‘regime change’, however desirable that may seem; the outcome is always uncertain, contingent on the wishes of the occupied, and never a foregone conclusion.

This policy paper is based on an article first published in The RUSI Journal , December 2013, ‘The British occupation of Germany, 1945-49: A case study in post-conflict reconstruction’, The RUSI Journal , Vol. 158, No. 6 (Dec. 2013), pp. 78-85.

• Knowles, Christopher
• International perspectives

Further Reading

Richard Bessel, Germany 1945: from War to Peace (London, New York, Sydney, Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2009)

Peter Stirk, The Politics of Military Occupation (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009)

Alan Kramer, The West German Economy, 1945-1955 (Oxford: Berg Publishers Ltd, 1991)

About the author

Christopher Knowles is a postgraduate research student at Kings College London. He recently completed his PhD thesis on ‘Winning the Peace: The British in Occupied Germany, 1945-1948’.

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Germany, Hitler, and World War II : essays in modern German and world history

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205 World War 2 Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for good World War 2 topics to explore? Look no further! In this list, we’ve collected the best topics of WW2 for middle school, high school, and college students. No matter what aspect you’re interested in, you will definitely find here something for yourself.

In addition to WWII topics, we’ve also included some helpful tips and essay examples. Check them out below!

🤫 Secrets of Powerful Essay on World War 2

• 🏆 Best WW2 Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

👍 Good Essay Topics on World War 2

• 🥇 Most Interesting WW2 Topics to Write about

🔎 Simple & Easy World War 2 Essay Topics

❓ ww2 essay questions, ✅ world war 2 research topics, ✍️ world war 2 topics for a project.

From diplomacy and espionage to battlefield events and the fate of nations, World War 2 essay topics are broad in range and require their writer to have an in-depth knowledge of various details.

Thus, writing a World War 2 essay may seem daunting due to the weight of the necessary historical analysis. However, writing an excellent paper is as easy as keeping in mind a few minor but cornerstone circumstances.

WWII Topics: Important Events

Everyone knows about the Atlantic and D-Day, but World War 2 essay prompts go further than the standardized level of knowledge. Paying due attention to the topic of the Eastern Soviet front, the French Vichy government, and the Blitz over Britain should be essential centerpieces of your essay.

All Ally members, just like all Axis partners, had their crucial moments and roles to play, and focusing on standalone countries does a disservice to a war that involved more than 30 countries.

Even if your central theme centers on a single country, you can gauge the independence of their politics and tactics per its allies. Remember that all events are interconnected and each action creates a reaction!

Creating a timeline, or finding one, will help you understand the continuity of the war’s narrative.

You should frame for yourself the time between events, the countries affected by them, and their outcome. Doing so, regardless of the problem you are tackling, will make your paper flow smoothly from one subject to another, touching upon interconnected ideas.

Topics of WW2: Prominent Personalities

When writing about World War 2, most essayists focus only on Adolf Hitler’s adverse role and outright criminal actions. However, you can and should go beyond even Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill.

Focus on the country that you are tackling; find what connections it had, and what tactics it pursued, and note its leader.

For example, if you are writing about the Eastern front, then mentioning the characters of Zhukov for war-related events, Molotov for diplomacy, and Kalinin for internal affairs will illustrate that you have a comprehensive knowledge of various interconnected topics.

Do your research keeping in mind the essentiality of the personal factor, even in worldwide affairs.

WW2 Topics: The Positive and Negative Consequences

Even today, there are demographic implications and political repercussions of the war. Thus, World War 2 essay questions should demonstrate all consequences of such an event, if possible with vivid examples.

Use quotations, studies, and book and journal titles to support the information you are presenting.

From the accounts of the event’s contemporaries to photo materials and recordings, there are millions of sources on the circumstances of World War 2, many of which are readily available online.

Let your bibliography be representative of your academism and include relevant, credible, and varied sources in it.

Paper Structure

Creating an outline for your paper in the pre-writing stages will help you overview the planned working process and see its weak aspects. Doing so includes seeing what themes are underdeveloped and which you have overpowered with information, as well as correcting this issue promptly.

Furthermore, doing so gives you an understanding of excellent World War 2 essay titles, which are pivotal in getting your readers interested in your work.

If you feel like your paper is lacking something, structurally or informatively, then you can read sample essays on similar issues and judge for yourself what you can apperceive from them.

Does your paper still feel daunting? Let IvyPanda give you some inspiration! Get motivated, writing, and graded “excellent”!

🏆 Best World War 2 Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

• The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions The Effects Of The 2nd World War: The fall of world major powers: The war did not just end, but it had some positive and negative effect to the countries both involved and those that […]
• World War 2 Consequences The major causes of this Great War were the unresolved issues that resulted from the World War 1. Another thing that led to the World War 2 was the failure of the League of Nations.
• Miscommunication Problems: the US and Japan in World War II At the beginning of 1945, the leaders of such countries as the United States, the United Kingdom, and China offered the document that outlined the conditions of the Japanese surrender under which Hirohito could stay […]
• Could the US Prevent the Start of World War II? Some believe that the United States of America could prevent the outbreak of the war. Therefore, it is possible to assume that the USA could not have prevented the start of the Second World War […]
• World War II Propaganda Posters in America The imagery of the boot stepping on the American church is not just a threat to the religious ideals of the country but a threat to freedom itself as the church often doubled as the […]
• Shintoism and World War II in Japan The impact of religions on the world throughout history is undeniable, it can be seen how different religions include in their teachings all of the life aspects and affect them in a way or another.
• Causes of World War II Therefore the desire by the Germans under Hitler to conquer other countries and the desire by the Japanese to expand their territory was the key cause of the war in Europe and subsequently the World […]
• Effects of the Pact of Steel Agreement on World War II He was a strong believer in the strength of the people as the backbone of the country and not the strength of the individual.
• Nationalism in World War II Another critical “nation-statehood making” is the break of the Soviet Union and the end of cold war between Soviet Union republic and the United States.
• How Cars Changed the United States After World War II The national rail network allowed the farmers to become part of the national economic recovery that started at the beginning of the Second World War and continued throughout 1960.
• World War II Innovations Named as the Manhattan Project during World War II, the nuclear program of the Allies led to catastrophic consequences for the Axis forces, particularly in the context of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which […]
• World War 2 Leaders Comparison: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler World War 2 remains one of the most significant and historically important events in the entire world because the United States of America, Japan, and the majority of European countries were involved in it.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower: World War II Hero and U.S. President In addition to his leading role as a peace and desegregation crusader, prior to his election as the 34th American president and even after his rise to the top seat, Eisenhower was a well known […]
• Development Theories After Second World War Consequently, the rate of growth and development could be measured by the level of savings and investment in physical capital in the country. This theory has included changes in technology into the model of growth […]
• The World War II: Impact and Consequences The Allies and the Axis were reluctant to follow any line that risked running into the antagonism of the other for fear of alienating their ally and therefore endangering one of the precepts of their […]
• World War II Propaganda and Its Effects The purpose of this paper is to examine the confrontation between the German and the Soviet propaganda machines during the period of the Second Patriotic War, outline the goals and purposes of each, and identify […]
• Propaganda During World War II The Second World War was a complicated time for both the general public and the authorities since while the former worried for their safety, family, and homeland, the latter needed to maintain the national spirit […]
• World War II in “Slaughterhouse-Five“ Novel by Kurt Vonnegut To make a detailed description of the expressed opinion and to prove it, we should consider the characteristic features of the heroes and the general perception of novels which are directed at the description of […]
• American Women in World War II: Oral Interview In fact, the participation of women in the event was prepared during the First World War. Interviewee: Yes, I will give you any information that you may want because I was part of the historical […]
• Women in World War II The involvement of women in the war was quite significant to the women as they were able to have a strong arguing point after the war and this made it possible for the women to […]
• World War II: A Very Short Introduction The questions addressed in the book were not very often discussed previously, as the author states in the introduction; Weinberg examines Germany’s responsibility for World War II, the reasons behind the eventual victory of the […]
• WWII History: How Hitler Died From the onset of the war, Hitler proved to be a trustworthy leader. In the US, tests done on a part of the skull purported to be Hitler’s have given unconvincing results.
• Causes of WWI and WWII: Comparing and Contrasting In the following paper, Kenneth Waltz’s levels of analysis will be used for the comparison and contrast of causes of WWI and WWII. The second similarity refers to the distribution of power and the division […]
• The Neutrality of Vatican City During World War II Despite the moves made by the Pope Pius XII for the Vatican City to remain neutral in the World War II, the actions he made were seen as a great violation of stance.
• War Crimes During the World War II It is clear that the holocaust was a war crime by the fact that, these were innocent civilians who were targeted specifically because of the hatred that Hitler had for them.
• World War II, Causes and Outcomes: Lesson Plan It includes the key concepts, objectives, materials, and the description of the activities that teachers can use to introduce new material to the students in the 11th and 12th grades.
• V-2 Rocket and Its Impact on World War II and Today US Army The V-2 rocket was influential not only in the Second World War but also shaped the concept of the future of the US Army and is the prototype for many modern weapons.
• US Holocaust Policy During World War II However, the anti-Nazi campaign was not successful, and the main reason for this was the harsh foreign policy of the USA.
• Canada’s Role and Experiences in World War II The book emphasized the painful experiences the victims of the soldiers went through and the traumatizing memories they had. In the accompaniment of readers, the authors describe strategic bombing as a series of military activities, […]
• The Bonds or Bondage World War II Poster Analysis The current paper explores an example of a poster created in the early years of the war. During WWII, tax increases did not cover the military spending enough, and Henry Morgenthau, Jr, Secretary of the […]
• Important Questions on America Since World War II A significant part of Truman’s failures happened due to the inconsistency of his actions and his unwillingness to commit to social change.
• The US Foreign Policy in the Post-World War II Era In other words, rather than concentrating on maintaining peace in the region, the government deployed military troops to alleviate the domination of any power hostile to the US and its citizens.
• German Strategy During the Beginning of WWII The German’s use of the Nine Variables – Elements of Strategy aided them with great success at the beginning of the war from 1939 – 1941, and the failure to accurately access the Nine Constants […]
• The Office of Strategic Services Operational Groups in World War II The study of the importance of O.S. To investigate the impact of O.S.
• World War II and the US Decision to Stay Out The United States was not involved in the war until 1941 since it had a Neutrality Act which established limits to the sale of weapons to fighting parties.
• The Result Japan’s Fall in World War II The Allies needed to stop the advance of the Imperial Japanese army along the Solomon Islands and prevent the occupation of New Guinea.
• The Role of Propaganda During World War II The poster encourages men to enroll in the army to protect the peaceful lives of women and children. By manipulating emotions and feelings, propaganda influenced people to enroll in the army or work harder.
• Researching of Turning Points in WWII The most discussed battles that possibly created or marked the momentum of the remaining part of the war are the battle of Midway, where the United States were able to gain advance, and the battles […]
• The Effectiveness of WWII Bombing Campaigns The German trial with two-engine fighters was a failure; the American one, on the other hand, was notably effective in the Pacific because of the broader range.
• Wartime Conferences of World War II The wartime conferences of World War II were genuinely significant in deciding the strategy undertaken by the Allies but also helped shape the world order during and in the aftermath of the world.
• D-Day: The Role in World War II By the end of 1944, Paris was released after the Allies approached the Seine River. D-Day became a significant event that influenced the pace of World War II.
• Promoting Production During World War II As the fighting continued, there arose the need to produce equipment to sustain the war: this came to be called wartime production.
• The World War II Discussion: The Convoy Tactics The last year of the war accounted for 60% of the total volume of military supplies that passed along the path of the polar convoys.
• The World War II Propaganda Techniques All the parties to the war, including Germany, the Soviet Union, and Britain, invested many resources in propaganda, but the present essay will focus on the United States’ effort. Furthermore, propaganda messages were created to […]
• World War Two and Its Ramifications The United States imposed economic sanctions on Japan in order to deter Japanese aggression and force the evacuation of Japanese soldiers from Manchuria and China.
• South Africa During World War II Years Clark’s topic is the impact of World War II on the independence of South Africa. The main point of the author is that South Africa’s history during and immediately after World War II is underresearched.
• Contribution to World War II of Chinese and Native Americans Despite the dire conditions many of them lived in and white Americans’ discrimination against them, they used the war as the opportunity to prove themselves as loyal patriots.
• The Role of the United States in World War II The policy worked under the terms that the United States could sell arms provided that the buyer could pay in cash and seek their means of transportation.
• Doing Academic World War II Research Researchers can use the information on the authors at Britannica to determine the reliability of the information provided on the website.
• The Use of Radio in German Propaganda During the World War II One of the techniques used by the Nazis to persuade German people and shape their worldview was the use of such media as radio.
• Arguments Against the Use of Nuclear Weapons in World War II The firebombing campaign was against the use of atomic weapons in the form of nuclear bombs as it was aimed at urban centers and completely discriminatory.
• The European Theatre of Operations in WWII The Eastern front fought against the Western front, demonstrating various air and land campaigns. Battle of the Bulge.
• The Significance of the Iron Curtain at World War II and the Cold War Churchill encouraged the US and the UK to unite and ensure that they ended the actions that the Soviet Union was exercising.
• Soviet and American Perspectives on World War II Through Movies The theme is the same to show the rise and fall of the German Nazi empire. The first remarkable feature of the movie is the humor with which Mikhail Romm, the director of the movie, […]
• Pre-World War II South Africa: Centuries-Old Exploitation Afrikaners: from agriculture to “white-collar” work 1970s: 90 per cent of state top executive and managerial positions are taken by Afrikaners.
• Wikipedia: Posts About World War II There have been arguments voiced against the reliability of internet sources such as Wikipedia as a source of scholarly information. Wikipedia commands a huge following on the internet as a source of information.
• Winston Churchill, a Leader During the World War II He faced this disorder before the development of effective medication, and hence had to live with untreated Bipolar Mood Disorder throughout his life.
• Battle of Kursk: Germany’s Lost Victory in World War II Although the fighting efficiency of the Nazi troops decreased due to a decrease in the number of available equipment and the transfer of auxiliary units to the front, it was still a formidable force.
• The Decolonization in Asia and Africa in the Post-WW2 Period According to Tignor et al, WW2 resulted in the following – the war itself left the unresolved issues of WW1 and heightened them, such as plans of Germany and Japan to expand their political impact […]
• Kurt Vonnegut. Wailing Shall Be in All Streets and Slaughterhouse-Five. Reflections on World War II The two literature pieces under consideration in the following paper can be acclaimed as a strong attack to the motives of those participating in the World War II along with the use of powerful irony.
• Comparing World War II to September 11th Both attacks were condemned on a global scale, and a huge fraction of the rest of the world rallied behind the US. Over 16 million soldiers were deployed to settle the score with the Japanese, […]
• Americanization in Germany Post WWII Most of these changes have indeed played a major role in improving the status of Germany only that the Germans now have little to be proud of in terms of heritage as most of it […]
• World War Two Marked the End of Modern Age All major countries in the whole world were eventually involved in the war that remarkably led to the transfer of the title of the ‘world’s superpower’ from Western Europe to USSR.
• Women in Canada During World War II The analysis of the role of Canadian women in the most devastating war of the century presents special interest for us due to nontrivial results concerning the place of women in history that can be […]
• World War II and Germany’s Invasion Plans The invasion of Great Britain was important to Adolf Hitler because in this way the great air force power of Great Britain would have been destroyed.
• American Culture in the Post World War II Years Further still, the improvisation of Jazz music set a stage for new music culture in the American society that incorporated and appreciated the works of the black population.
• Women’s Role in World War II The significance of this event is not only due to the destruction and the great number of people that were killed in the said conflict but also the numerous precedents that help changed the course […]
• The Nature of the Fighting in World War I and World War II So, the results of this war were awful, but still, speaking about the losses of the World War II, it can be said, that it was the bloodiest conflict in human history. The most obvious […]
• Soviet Strategy Before World War II A closer look at the soviet strategy before WWII reveals that the government has almost destroyed the ability of the people to become the army as the program of collectivism, hunger, and the increasing dissatisfaction […]
• The Influence of the Second World War on the 20th and 21st Centuries’ Cinema The movie follows the lives of a German Wehrmacht infantry platoon as they are shuttled from the North African front to Italy and finally to the Russian front where they find themselves part of the […]
• Anti-Japanese Propaganda During World War II The content of propaganda was much the same as that of broadcast propaganda: emphasis on the Allies’ growing war potential, ridicule of the more preposterous assertions of the National Socialists, evidence of self-contradictions in the […]
• American Economic History After World War II In the beginning, it’s been the United States displacing Great Britain as the world’s largest economy and in the end it’s the globalization that made the biggest noise.
• Politics and Warfare of World War II Realism in the background of international relations includes a diversity of hypotheses and advances, all of which allocate a belief that states are chiefly inspired by the desire for military and financial power or safety, […]
• WWII to 1965: Administration, Policies, Preeminence The legislation that created it aimed to unify and streamline the governance between the whole army while in turn maintaining the individuality of the various army units.
• Issue of World War II Regarding Comfort Women In 1991, the issues regarding comfort women exploded in the public when a woman from South Korea came out to the public and testify the issue regarding comfort women.
• Culture and Customs of Japan After WWII It must be admitted, however, in the interests of truth, that the traditional mode of living and ways of thinking, both good and bad, are deeply rooted in the life of the Japanese people of […]
• Impacts of the Pacific War and World War II in Japan Japan surged with the inversion trend undeterred, in 1937, it launched a large-scale inversion of China and four years later in 1941, it attacked the US, triggering the entry of America to the Second World […]
• Could the World War II Have Been Avoided? First of all, arguing on the matters of the inevitability of World War II it is necessary to point out, that the causes of it take the roots at the end of World War I, […]

🥇 Most Interesting World War 2 Topics to Write about

• Nazi’s Crimes Against Jews During World War II The holocaust of the 20th century was the worst persecution of the European Jews by the Nazis in German between 1933 and 1945.
• Newspaper Coverage of Japan-America Internment in WW2 and the Civil Rights Movement The media covered this because this movement persuaded whites to join them in their mass protests and they were killed in the event.
• Post-World War II Propaganda Art According to Arendt, the “who” is revealed in the narratives people tell of themselves and others. We humanize what is going on in the world and in ourselves only by speaking of it, and in […]
• The United States From the World War II to the 1990s From the economic boom enjoyed in the 1950s, to the rise of civil rights movement in the 1960s, to the concern about the Vietnam War in 1970s, to the end of the Cold War in […]
• Politics, the Israel-Palestine Conflict, and Oil: After the WWII In retrospect, the current situation regarding the confrontations between the ME and Israel, as well as the tensions in the ME’s political arena, can be seen as the inevitable side effects of the self-determination process.
• Shifting Images of Chinese Americans During World War II Therefore, it is important to elaborate on the history of relationships between Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans in the period between 1920 and 1940. Thus, the tendency for the distinguishing and distancing of the Chinese […]
• World War II and Its Impact on Asian Americans In general, most Asian Americans benefited from war as the Filipino, the Chinese, and Indians were wartime allies of the United States.
• Atomic Bomb as a Necessary Evil to End WWII Maddox argued that by releasing the deadly power of the A-bomb on Japanese soil, the Japanese people, and their leaders could visualize the utter senselessness of the war.
• Women Photojournalists During World War II Her photographs worked as evidence of indignities at the camps, and due to this, her work was greatly censored by the then government.
• The Marshall Plan’ Effects on Post WW2 Design To, some extent, the impacts of the Marshall on design can be explained by the economic situation in Europe at that time, and especially the necessity to reduce the costs of production.
• Deindustrialization After the World War II The battle for equality in different working environments led to the passage of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. The tightening labor market in the country also resulted in new employment patterns.
• “Western Renaissance” in Europe After World War II Modernization in the economical sphere, particularly in trade and agriculture created an opportunity to improve the activities of such countries as Italy, Great Britain, Western Germany, and the USA. However, the problems remained and in […]
• The Major Pivot of Post-WWII American History Nowadays, it became a commonplace assumption among many Americans that the causes, behind the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, during the course of the 20th century’s sixties, had to do with the fact that […]
• World War II Facts in Wikipedia Article This article will use the information from the article written by Harris to evaluate Wikipedia’s article on World War II with the aim of establishing if the information from the site can be regarded as […]
• Civilians as Victims of World War II The aim of this paper is to explore the suffering of civilians in the pursuit of victory in World War II.
• Post-World War II and Modern Women in the US I would be used to the things that, according to Dubois and Dumenil, the society demanded of women at the time, and I would readily stay at home and take care of my children, husband, […]
• Racism in the United States: Before and After World War II The U.S.government went from supporting racism against African Americans in the New Deal era to fight against racism by the 1960s because of World War II.
• Australian Workforce Changes After WWII It should be noted, however, that the Australian male breadwinner model is of particular concern, as in the early fifties the model was totally revaluated.
• Roosevelt’s New Deal and Joining World War II It led to the restructuring of the American economy and the establishment of the new model of relations between business, labor force, and the state.
• American Homefront During World War II The people who remained at home also had to change their lives to suit the war. On the same note, the people left at the homefront had to work together in order to survive.
• France Before World War I and After World War II To overcome the negative consequences of the Franco-Prussian War, France needed to focus on new perspectives for the state’s economic and political development, and such an approach could provide the state with the necessary resources […]
• Hitler’s and British Policies in World War II Britain was among the countries that did not welcome the idea of another war due to the bloodshed that had ensued in the World War I.
• Child Labor, Great Depression and World War II in Photographs The impression is of isolation and yearning for daylight, freedom, and a childhood foregone, in the midst of a machine-dominated world.
• Invasion of Normandy in World War II One of such legendary operations is the one that happened on D-Day, the day that shifted the balance of powers of the whole war, the put the beginning to the victorious march of the armies […]
• World War II in “Our Secret” by Susan Griffin The details she provides about various events and the manner in which she chooses her words clearly points out that this is not a work of fiction.
• Japanese Americans Internment During the WWII Besides, the treatise reviews the historical dynamics that allowed for the internment of Japanese Americans and the impacts of internment in the Japanese American communities during and after the end of WW II.
• World War II in Eurasia and America The war ended with the defeat of the far rights; however, conflicts of interests of the winners led to the tension that persisted for long years after the war.
• The Life of a Freedom Fighter in Post WWII Palestine As World War II was coming to an end, the Zionist Movement leaders were hopeful that the British government would amend the White Paper policy, allow the Jews to migrate to Eretz, Israel, and govern […]
• Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Role in World War II That is why historians and the public pay much attention to the discussion of the role in this war of those personalities who persistently led the Western anti-Hitler coalition to the victory over Nazi Germany […]
• Has Security Been the Main Driver Behind European Integration Since World War Two? Backed with the spirit of its member states and the United States, the Union has continuously executed its mandate and enlarged in order to advance and augment its efficacy in its operations.
• The Post World War II Nuclear Arms Race Costs The nuclear arms race led to a monumental increase in the military expenditure of the US and the Soviet Union.
• Peace and Normalisation Treaties Signed After World War II The treaty that was signed by Japan and Taiwan and the one between Japan and Korea had the same specificity. Treaties signed between Japan, Korea, Taiwan and People’s Republic of China each have unique characteristics […]
• The Art of Being Lonely: A Portrayal of the Lives of Chinese Women of the Post-WWII Generation. Wang Anyi’s “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow” Analysis Because of their being not ready for the shift from a WWII to the post-WWII environment and the change in values, Chinese women were highly susceptible and extremely vulnerable to the lures of the “New […]
• WW II and Hitler’s Army After the massive defeat and deaths of the German army in the war that took place in the eastern side, it was evident that the traditional groups of the army were no longer working as […]
• “The Second World War: A Short History (Struggle for Survival)” by Robert Alexander Clarke The author traces the cause of the war from the Europeans and the Germans who were the key participants in the crisis.
• Was the American Use of the Atomic Bomb Against Japan in 1945 the Final Act of WW2 or the Signal That the Cold War Was About to Begin Therefore, to evaluate the reasons that guided the American government in their successful attempt at mass genocide of the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, one must consider not only the political implications behind the actions […]
• Japanese Soldiers in the World War II Japanese recruits were forced to torture and maim their victims by their seniors to display their commitment and loyalty. Japanese soldiers thought they were highly respected by other Japanese civilians because of their willingness to […]
• United States – China Relations During World War II The war involved the greatest number of nations with all the major countries in the world playing a role in the war.
• Military Fascism in Pre-WWII Japan The military fascism was a way of expressing the Japanese economic, power and policy dissatisfaction by the west, and it hence contributed in some ways to the rise of World War II.
• Nazi Germany and Jewish Question The main theme of the entire speech made by SS in which we shall be analyzing in this section of the paper is about this group’s mission and strategies towards the implementation of orders handed […]
• The Influences of Neutral Countries in WW2 The validity of this suggestion can be illustrated, in regards to what historians know about the influences of the mentioned countries on WW2: Sweden Up until the year 1944, Sweden used to be in the […]
• Motivation in Combat: The German Soldier in World War II Omer Bartov’s Hitler’s army: Soldiers, Nazis, and war in the Third Reich represents a good example of such a literature, because in it, the author had made a point in trying to reveal the conceptual […]
• “The Blitzkrieg Myth: How Hitler and the Allies Misread The Strategic Realities of World War II” by John Mosier In order to present a clear picture of German participation in the war and the reasons, which provoked these people to fight and kill, it is necessary to concentrate on various sources and perspectives and […]
• Role of WWII in Shaping America’s History Boost to the Economy The entry of the United States into WWII was a major boost to the economy that was still reeling from the effects of the Great Depression of 1930.
• Controversies of World War II It is believed that Roosevelt wanted to engage Japan in war and the only way to achieve this was by allowing Japan to attack the Harbor.
• The Causes and Consequences of World War Two Some studies reported that the war caused around 62 to 80 million deaths, and this made it the deadliest fighting in the global history in terms of reported number of deaths compared with the world […]
• Western Women in World War Two The only means to win the war was to involve large population of women in employment since millions of men were at war and the rest of the male population was not enough to occupy […]
• Critical Analysis of “Walking Since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Heart of Our Century” by Modris Eksteins The author presents a story of a people mixed with fear, anxiety and hope as the main characters of the book are caught in the traumatic experience of the war.
• World War II History The consequences of the war had an impact on the political affairs of the world and resulted in a major change of the course of the history of the world.
• New Zealands Diplomatic Relations With China Since World War II The Interaction between China and New Zealand became formal in 1976, as a mechanism for curbing USSR influence.”This event was marked when Muldoon travelled to Peking in 1976 to meet Mao Zedong”.”It was plainly stated […]
• Historical and Geographical Dynamics That Had Shaped China by the End of World War II The end of the World War II was made possible by the initiation of the so-called development processes in the nations that had been involved in the rapid wars, i.e, the implementation of policies that […]
• The Arab States After the Second World War and the Six-Day War The paper will also discuss the events that led to the six-day war, the major events of the war, the outcome of the war and its contribution to the current political situation in the Middle […]
• World War II as the Most Devastating War in World History The devastation of the war was mainly due to the advanced military weapons used, from the infantry on the front line to the ships in the sea and the planes in the sky, these weapons […]
• The Impacts of the Second World War on Asia The period after the Second World War saw the emergence and expansion of the world economies. Countries such as Japan and China started rebuilding their economies so as to compete with the rest of the […]
• The Role Played by Texans in World War II Involvement in the war was expected because the US was against Japan’s entry into Middle East, and colonization of Africa and certain regions of Europe by Germany and Italy. The US was greatly perturbed after […]
• World War II and Humanism Considering the problem of the effects of the World War II in the long term period it is also possible to find the remnants of the humanistic effect, if it was, or to come across […]
• The Second World War Unrest The Second World War was the greatest world unrest in the history of humanity. The war came at the time in which the global economy was recovering from a deep depression.
• European History During World War II This concept was crucial in the Second World War in Europe as there was a “large-scale mobilization of state resources for war to anticipate the modern concept of total war that was typically associated with […]
• The Major Powers of the Second World War After the First World War, the victors stated that they would do everything to preserve peace in the world. The countries that resisted Hitler’s ambition were referred to as the Allies of the Second World […]
• The Effects of the Second World War on US The war provided Americans with an opportunity to take control of the world and stamp authority in regions that belonged to other world powers.
• Analysis of Some US Documents in the Second World War The importance of this speech is in the statement of the reasons of the war, the development of the USA before its intrusion in the war and the betrayal of Japan which attacked the USA […]
• United States and the Second World War According to article 25-1, the attack on the Pearl Harbor was one of the reasons that forced the US to join the war.
• America in World War II – Experiences and Impacts During the World War II, aggression of Adolf Hitler and Nazi party led to persecution of Jews who lived in Germany.
• American History During World War Two The Nazi under the leadership of Hitler is ready to kill all the Jews as witnessed in the atrocities against them.
• Use of Arts in the Second World War by Nazi The films featured several themes such as the virtue of the Nordic or Aryan, the strength of the military and the German industry, and the evils of those who were perceived to be enemies.
• Second World War in U.S. History Studies on the Second World War have yielded varied perspectives; according to Erdelja, “there is no other experience that was more crucial to the development of the U.S.and Europe in the 20th century than the […]
• Race in World War II During the war and after the incarceration of the Japanese Americans, the American public was shown video footage and pictures that justified the confinement of Japanese Americans in the concentration camps.
• Pearl Harbor in the World War II Pearl Harbor is very significant in the history of the World War II because it is the place where the war started. This was another factor that contributed to the World War II, which began […]
• Political Causes of WWII for America and Germany This paper is an examination of the causes of involvement of America and Germany in the WWII. He is, in fact, said to be the person responsible for the start of the war.
• Thinking Government: Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism in Post World War II Canada This leads to the second implication which was summarized by political scientists in the following statement: “nothing can be guaranteed in life and that all individuals are also free to fail, to stumble to the […]
• Challenges and Suggestions That British and American Government Faced After the Second World War In order to overcome these problems, the British politician insists on the necessity to singly out clearly the purposes, to grant simplicity of the decisions made, and declare the human rights and freedoms on the […]
• Foreign Policy: What Has Been the Main Emphases of America’s Foreign Policy From World War 2 to the Present Day? The main emphases of the foreign policy of the United States from World War 2 to the present day have been the containment of the Soviet Union and its allies, military domination, expansion of economy, […]
• Baby Boomers After World War II The government is campaigning for extension of retirement age, as this would boost the capacity of the social security trust fund to pay retirees.
• The Bombing of Dresden in World War II The first planes from the Royal Air force started the journey from 1,100 kilometers away and they were tasked with the role of identifying Dresden and releasing Magnesium flares to light up the areas that […]
• Developing Economy in Russian Federation After World War II Despite the presence of the war, Russia was able to sustain production in parts that were not affected by the war and this trend continued even after the war.
• Japanese Internment in the US During World War II The Japanese moved fast to occupy the territories previously in the hands of the US, and the more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry in the west coast raised issues for the president’s cabinet.
• Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During WWII and US Occupation in Japan He is the sole author of five titles, all of which are related to wars of the past and crimes against persons committed during the time.
• Was the Second World War Necessary?
• Why Did the British Government Decide to Evacuate Children From Britain’s Major Cities in the Early Years of the Second World War?
• Was London Prepared for the Outbreak of the Second World War?
• What Role Technology Played in the Second World War?
• How Far Did the Aims of Nazi Propaganda Change During the Course of WW2?
• Was the Second World War Inevitable and What Caused the Second World War?
• How the Relationship Between Australia and Japan Changed After WW2?
• Why Did the United States Fail the Second World War?
• Was Hitler Primarily Responsible for the Outbreak of the Second World War?
• How Did the Treaty of Versailles Help Contribute to the Start of WW2?
• How the Great Depression Ended by United States Entry Into the Second World War?
• How Did WW2 Affect American Society?
• How Did Germany Lose WW2?
• How Did WW2 Start?
• Was the Holocaust Planned During the Second World War?
• What Were the Cold War Fears of the American People After the Second World War?
• How Responsible Was Hitler for the Outbreak of WW2?
• Why Did Germany Lose WW2?
• How Did the Second World War Affect America?
• Why Did Germany Lose the Second World War?
• Was the Second World War a Consequence of Appeasement as an Aggressive German Foreign Policy?
• How Did WW2 Impact Canada?
• Were Japan and Germany Treated Differently by the United States During the Second World War?
• Was the Cold War in Europe the Direct and Logical Outcome of the Second World War?
• Which Factor Was the Most Important in Causing the End of the Second World War?
• How the United States Got Involved in WW2?
• How Did the First World War Set the Global Stage for the Second World War?
• How Did the Second World War Affect Family Life in Britain?
• How Did the Roles of Women Change During WW2?
• Women’s Contributions to World War II
• Battles and Strategies in the War against Japan
• The Complex Factors That Triggered World War 2
• How Technology Impacted Warfare and Military Strategies in WWII
• The Holocaust and Its Horrific Consequences
• How the Battle of Stalingrad Became the Turning Point of WW2 on the Eastern Front
• The Atomic Bomb and Its Impact on the Second World War
• The Nuremberg Trials and the Post-War Pursuit of Justice for War Crimes
• The Role of Propaganda in Shaping Public Opinion During WW2
• The Home Front and Civilian Experience During World War II
• Resistance Movements and Underground Networks during World War II
• The Global Economic Consequences of World War II
• The Strategies of Allied Commanders
• The African-American Experience in World War 2
• Espionage and Intelligence in World War 2
• The Scientific Legacy of Technology Transfer During WW2
• World War II and the Birth of the United Nations
• How Did Civilians Survive the German Air Raids?
• Post-War Reconstruction of Europe and Japan
• The Impact of World War 2 on Art and Popular Culture
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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IvyPanda . 2024. "205 World War 2 Essay Topics & Examples." March 1, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/world-war-2-essay-examples/.

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IvyPanda . "205 World War 2 Essay Topics & Examples." March 1, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/world-war-2-essay-examples/.

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