My Academic Writing Sample # 2
This paper was written for my World War II ~ Causes, Course and Outcome class.
In relation to the studies that we have done for this particular course, my paper will address what I consider to be three of the most significant consequences of the war. These would include, and not necessarily in any particular order, civilian experiences in war, because that was changed and not for the better; Hitler and his 'Final Solution' because it played such an important role in the Jewish community and the entire world; and finally, the use of bombs, how we bombed Germany and Japan and why. There are, of course, other factors and important consequences that resulted from the war, but there are quite a number of significant ones that only three can be chosen to be represented here. These represent what I believe to be the most important consequences; in terms of how it affected worldwide societies and governments in the decades after the war, even in today's modern times.
When considering a civilian's experience during war, one must consider the fact that usually it will be quite significantly different than from the combatant's point of view. However, during the Second World War, the effects of wartime on the civilian population began to veer off and take on a different face and meaning. Although it wouldn't be the first time in history that civilians would suffer from the ravages of war, it would be the first time however, that the civilian population would be directly aimed at by both combatants in the war.
The reason civilian experiences differed in WWII from previous wars is for the simple fact that in this war, enemy combatants made direct military plans to attack the civilian population of their enemies. This was seen during the bombings of Hamburg and Dresden in 1945, in an effort of Britain and the United States to bring their enemy, Germany, to surrender. It had the desired effect; not only did Germany surrender in May of 1945, but the civilian losses were staggering; both in lives lost and personal property that was destroyed. It was important for the combatant countries to inflict pain and suffering on the general population in a move that was designed to show how deadly war can be and to inflict the most suffering on the enemy in hopes of ending the conflict.
The United States inflicted the damage to the Japanese; it was our bombs, 'LittleBoy' and 'Fat Man' that we dropped on the two Japanese cities. The motive was to bring the Japanese to the peace table and to end the Pacific War and most especially before the Soviets could become involved, although they did become engaged in the war conflict. There were no retaliatory moves made by the opposing side, because Japan did not have the capacity or the efforts to strike back at the U.S. with the force of the blow that we dealt them.
Hitler, of course, was the central Nazi "...propagandist and decision maker...exerted his will at times through public statements about what working towards the Fuhrer meant" (Herf, 2005). This means that Hitler would show through both public and private statements and conversations what he meant to do for the Jewish problem. Was he successful at his 'final solution'? Given the fact that over six million, or two/thirds of European Jews were incinerated, one could say that Hitler was rather successful at it; although he did not rid the world of all the Jews. Many Jews did manage to escape Germany prior to the implementation of Hitler's plans on the 'final solution'. Initially, these plans did not include mass murder; it was a way of how to rid Germany of the Jews by mass movements or an 'exodus'. However, as time moved forward, Germany began to lose ground in the war, the SS began to implement their own versions of what they believed the Fuhrer wanted; thus the murders began.
World War II was the first war in which nuclear weapons were used. This devastating weapon of mass destruction was thought out, planned and developed by both the United States and Britain. It was during the year of 1939, with Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States, that the atomic bomb began to be considered. The president had been notified by famed scientists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard that a "...bomb of unprecedented power could be made by tapping the forces of nuclear fission" (Njolstad, 2003). These scientists had fled Germany and Nazism, fearing that Hitler might be onto this scientific discovery and that it would make it possible for Hitler to win the war and rule the world; not to mention that there wouldn't be much to rule as near total destruction would be an almost sure thing.
In looking forward to the Cold War that would ensue shortly after WWII ended, one can see that the development of the nuclear weapons and the buildup of these weapons only further exacerbated the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. In other words, it kept the war going much longer than it would have, had there been no nuclear weapons.