FREE ESSAY ON WW2

WW2

What is war? Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary describes it as: "an armed clash between
nations or factions in the same nation." That's how a dictionary describes it, but in
fact, it is something much worse. War is the epitome of what is wrong with human nature.
War is devastating. Perhaps no other war was as devastating as World War II. (1)"World
War II killed more people, destroyed more property, disrupted more lives, and had more
far-reaching consequences than any other war in history. It brought about the downfall of
Western Europe as the center of world power and led to the rise of the Soviet Union. The
development of the atomic bomb in 1945 would begin nuclear war." 
There is no one simple cause to World War II. There were many causes, most of which grew
out of World War I. World War II was known as the "war to end all wars." Instead of
fixing old problems, it actually crated new ones. Germany was mad at the Allies for
making it loose its territory. It lost one eighth of its land, and its army and navy were
virtually wiped away. If Germany ever got strong again, it would definitely seek revenge.

On September 1, 1939, the German army stormed across the borders of Poland. First came
the "stuka", dive-bombers that blasted the Polish planes on the ground. Then the German
pilots bombed major railroads and highways. After that came the motorcycle infantry - the
fast soldiers - that moved in to finish the job. This was a new kind of war employed by
the Germans known as "Blitzkrieg", which is a German word meaning "lightning war". The
German soldiers were trained for this and the Polish soil was flat and just right for
it.
Poland had no chance against the German army. Its army had no chance to fight back or
even retreat. Poland was overwhelmed. Within two weeks, Germans surrounded Warsaw, the
biggest city in Poland. In a little over a month, Poland was conquered. 
(2)"The war was only nine hours old that September day. The passengers on the British
liner the Athena - which was traveling from London to Montreal - were enjoying
themselves. Suddenly someone cried, 'Look! There's a torpedo!'" Almost at once, there was
a crashing explosion. The unarmed ship began to sink. Women and children were rushed into
lifeboats. Nearly one hundred people lost their lives that day. This event was an example
of the cruelty of war because so many innocent lives were lost. The British hadn't even
done anything yet to protect their ships at sea. That's why this was such a blatant act
of cowardice on the part of the Germans. The sinking of the Athena did however serve as a
warning to the world that the Germans would stop at nothing to break British control of
the seas.
So on September 3, 1939, Britain along with France declared war on Germany. The US
however remained neutral. (3)"Roosevelt said that "Even a neutral cannot be asked to
close his mind or his conscience.' Within weeks he asked Congress to lift the Neutrality
Acts' arms embargo that prevented Britain and France from buying American weapons." The
United States was determined to avoid war though. World War I had left the US billions of
dollars in foreign debts that couldn't be collected. There were also moral reparations on
the part of the American people. (4)"A congressional investigation revealed that the US
manufacturers had made large profits by supplying arms and credit to the Allies during
the years of 1914-1917. This lead to the notion that the US' participation in World War I
had been arranged by 'Merchants of Death'". 
While the US watched the struggle in Europe, our relationship with China grew worse. The
US resented the growth of the Japanese sea and air power in the pacific area. If Japan
gained control of eastern Asia it would surely interfere with American trade and business
interests there. (5)"Japan's brutalities in China and its joining of the Axis powers in
1942 made it clear that Japan would stop at nothing to conquest the free world". 
For their part, the Japanese were better at what they called American's interference in
their plan to create an Empire in Eastern Asia. They felt that the US stood in their way
for further conquests. Still, Japan dared not risk an open break with the US until
Hitler's first successes in Russia made it clear that the Axis powers would win the war.
(6)"Like the Italian fascists, the followers of Tojo (Japan's dictator) were willing to
risk their necks only on the winning side."
At 7:55 in the morning of December 7, 1941, a messenger boy pedaled his bicycle in the
direction of the American naval station in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He carried a telegram
from General George C. Marshall, the Chief of Staff in Washington, to the commanding
officer of Pearl Harbor. The telegram warned the naval station to be on the alert for a
Japanese attack. (Some say that the telegram was sitting on Secretary of State Hull's
desk and that perhaps he and President Roosevelt had some idea that there was going to be
an attack.) Suddenly, there was a tremendous explosion. "Wow!" exclaimed the messenger
boy, "that's no joke!" 
"He dove into a ditch. He stayed there for the next few hours while bombs fell all around
him."
There had been signs that something was wrong earlier on. At 6:45 that morning a
patrolling American destroyer, the Ward, had found a sunken Japanese mini submarine in
waters where the Japanese had no right to be. (7)"Two army privates, working at a radar
station, spotted planes many miles away. They were worried, but their lieutenant said
they were probably American B-17's." It was a Sunday morning and most of the ship and
plane crews were on holiday leave.
Then it happened. (8)"Flying low out of the morning haze, came the first wave of Japanese
bombers." The bombs began to drop. It was a murderous attack. The battleship Arizona was
almost completely destroyed by a direct hit. The Oklahoma, struck by many torpedoes,
turned over and sank in shallow waters. In all, some fourteen big warships and many
smaller ships were wrecked or damaged. United States planes were smashed to bits on the
ground before they ever had a chance to rise. In a matter of minutes, American naval and
air power in the Hawaiian Islands was paralyzed. Nearly 2,500 soldiers, sailors and
civilians hid in the fire, most of them Americans. One day later, on December 8, the
United States of America declared war on Japan. 
The speed at which the United States industries converted to wartime production was
amazing. When Franklin Roosevelt talked of producing 50,000 airplanes a year, some
thought he was crazy. Yet, by 1944 the number of planes produced annually rose to about
100,000. Mass production in the ship industry was also extremely effective. The average
time for building a freighter dropped from a year to less than two months. 
(9)"To raise funds for the war effort, the government increased taxes and war bonds. In
1942 the government extended the income tax to include middle and lower income people for
the first time". 
The war increased employment and workers earnings rose as wartime production brought
longer workweeks and overtime. (10)"As people had more money and wartime production made
consumer goods scarce, prices rose. To combat inflation, in 1942 Congress created the
Office of Price Administration, which set up ceilings on consumer products and began to
ration goods that were in short supply". 
Women were a vital part of the war effort. Women were encouraged to take over the jobs
that the men had left behind. Five million women entered the workforce during the war.
"Rosie the Riveter" became a national symbol of the integral contribution women made to
the war effort. Women did jobs that were traditionally not theirs. They worked on
production lines, in steal mills, on the docks, and in other jobs that required heavy
laboring. 
The need for workers also worked in favor of African Americans. It helped to provide a
switch from a focus on agriculture to manufacturing. Many African Americans left the
south and migrated north and West to fulfill jobs in war industries. 
Towards the end of the war, it was apparent that Japan's navy and airforce had been
almost destroyed and there was virtually no chance for the Axis powers to win the war.
But, Japan's military obligated them to fight to the bitter end. It was the Samurai code
of honor. So Japan took what little planes they had left and turned them into flying
bombs. Young men were now Kamikazes, suicidal pilots willing to give up their lives for a
Japanese victory. 
What could the United States do to combat this terrible danger? The answer was that the
United States would have to invade the home islands of Japan. The best solution to end
the war quickly seemed to be to make a bomb of enormous power and bomb Japan. That is
exactly what the United States did. They had already offered an ultimatum to Japan to
surrender unconditionally and Japan refused to do this. The US was compelled to back up
their ultimatum. A German physicist named Albert Einstein (not an American citizen) told
Roosevelt that such a bomb was possible. The president immediately went into action and
shortly after the bomb was created. Experiments went under way, and a preliminary bomb
was tested in New Mexico. The first bombing of Japan took place in Hiroshima, the second
in Nagasaki. This nuclear warfare caused immediate destruction of whole cities and many
deaths of innocent people. 
After Japan was bombed, the war ended. On September 2, 1945, the United States and Japan
signed a treaty that officially ended the war. 
Here we are, 55 years later, and the world has been living in peace (for the most part).
We cannot afford another world war however. It would most likely be a "two button" war.
Almost every country in the world now has nuclear weapons that put the atomic bomb to
shame. Another world war really could be the war to end all wars because there are enough
nuclear weapons to annihilate the earth and all its inhabitants. War is destructive and
useless. It very rarely solves problems and only takes the lives of the innocent. We see
this especially with World War II.