The Second World War: Causes, Events, and Aftermath
The Causes of Conflict in the Second World War
The remote origin of the Second World War must be sought in the new international order that emerged from the First World War. The Treaty of Versailles, rather than creating a climate of reconciliation between nations, encouraged resentment and humiliation. Many Italians and Germans did not accept the dictates of Versailles, and this stimulated the desire for revenge.
The crisis of 1929 created a context of depression that favored the emergence of fascism. Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany developed aggressive foreign policies of military expansionism, which were justified by economic needs (Hitler’s theory of “living space”) or historical prestige (reconstruction of the Roman Empire). In addition, the fascist powers developed an intense arms race that promoted a climate of tension in pre-war Europe.
Finally, against the aggressive policies of the authoritarian regimes, the democracies sought to keep the problems at bay (U.S. isolationism), worrying about their own internal problems (rising unemployment, social unrest, etc.). Thus, the weakness of democracies and the failure of the League of Nations to curb the Nazi and fascist regimes stimulated warmongering and finally led to war.
1.2. The March Towards War
Since the early 1930s, the authoritarian states launched a series of attacks towards other countries.
- In Asia, Japan sought to expand their territories at the expense of China. (In 1931, they occupied Manchuria, and in 1937, they began the invasion of China.)
- In Africa, in 1935, Italy occupied Ethiopia with a desire to expand their colonial empire. They also invaded Albania.
- Italy and Germany participated in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939, providing soldiers and arms to the rebel military, while France and Britain remained outside it (Non-Intervention Pact).
- Germany developed a policy of territorial expansion with the idea of creating a great empire with the lands inhabited by Germanic peoples. In 1936, against the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland region. Later, in March 1938, Austria was occupied militarily (Anschluss), which had entered into the Nazi theories. Months later (September), he demanded the surrender of the Sudetenland territory to Czechoslovakia, an important region with German minority villages. France and Britain convened the Munich Conference (1938) to curb German aspirations but eventually shut down before Hitler’s promises to stop their expansionism. As a result, Czechoslovakia disappeared as a state: Bohemia and Moravia became a protectorate of Germany, and Slovakia became a satellite state.
Partnerships and the Outbreak of Conflict
In 1936, Germany signed an alliance with Italy known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. This alliance was renewed in 1939 under the name of the Pact of Steel. In 1936, Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. France and Britain had remained outside of these alliances. In 1939, when Hitler claimed the Danzig Corridor (German territories that separated East Prussia), France and Britain agreed with Poland to go to war if necessary.
Europe Under Nazism
Nazi occupation was the subjection of European territories for the benefit of Germany. Depending on the area, the Nazis organized the conquered territories: some were incorporated into the Reich, others into regions (Alsace, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Bohemia), colonized regions (Eastern Poland, the Baltic countries), and satellite states (France, Ukraine, the Netherlands, etc.).
In all these territories, the industry was geared towards German interests. There were requisitions of raw materials, and many workers were forcibly deployed to Germany. The occupation was also significant due to the extent of terror and repression on the subject population. The Germans found civilian collaborators, but many who did not accept the new Nazi order organized clandestine resistance. The Gestapo and the SS implemented a regime of violence and terror on the population, especially the resistance, who were arrested, tortured, and executed. Persecution was widespread and was particularly harsh on the Jews in the so-called Holocaust.
The Allied Victory
In June 1942, the war situation took a turn when the United States and the USSR reinforced the Allies. In June, the Americans stopped the Japanese in the North Pacific (Battle of Midway), and the British stopped the Germans in North Africa (El-Alamein). But Hitler’s first major failure took place in Stalingrad (August 1942-February 1943). At this time, the Allies began their offensive. The American landing in Normandy (June 1944) allowed numerous soldiers and vehicles to enter Europe. The Anglo-American advance began in the west while the Russians advanced from the east, and the two armies met at the Elbe River on April 26, 1945. Days later, Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered on May 8. But in Asia, the Japanese continued fighting. To hasten the Japanese surrender, U.S. President Truman decided to use a new weapon: the atomic bomb. It was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945). On September 2, Japan surrendered. The war was over.
The Impact of War
When the war ended, Europe was materially and morally destroyed, and its population decimated. Over this landscape of ruin and desolation emerged two new powers, the United States and the USSR, relegating Europe to a secondary role. The demographic balance of the war stood at around 50 million deaths, almost half of which corresponded to the USSR, followed by Germany and Poland. For the first time in history, the majority of victims were not soldiers but civilians. The material destruction was very significant and affected many areas, especially cities, infrastructure, and industrial facilities. The looting in the cities, the practice of scorched earth during the war, and the destruction of industries resulted in a drastic reduction of agricultural and industrial production in the belligerent countries. In contrast, countries that had remained outside the conflict (Canada, Australia, Sweden, etc.) and became suppliers experienced significant economic growth.
The war left a profound moral impact. Border changes and the expulsion of ethnic minorities led to a large number of population displacements. During the war, human rights were systematically violated, and violence and cruelty had been installed in Europe for six long years. In addition, knowledge of the Jewish Holocaust and the consequences of the atomic bomb left a deep trauma on the population.
The Peace Conference
The three allies (Britain, the United States, and the USSR) met for the first time at the Tehran Conference (November 1943), which was attended by Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. They agreed on the first joint military actions to accelerate the end of the war, which was already considered won. The second major conference of the three allies was held in Yalta (February 1945), where they decided on the elimination of the Nazi regime in Germany, the division of Germany and Austria into four occupation zones, and a similar division of the cities of Berlin and Vienna.
Deterioration of Relations Between Allies
After the Second World War, the antagonism between the Western and Soviet blocs became apparent. The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences had divided Europe into two zones of influence, and both the Americans and the Soviets were determined to maintain them and prevent their rivals from gaining new positions.
The British and Americans distrusted the dominance that the Soviets were exerting in areas liberated by the Red Army, and the Soviet Union felt threatened by the U.S.’s possession of the atomic bomb. These were not only territorial or military differences but also fundamentally ideological because the two states represented two opposing models of political, social, and economic organization.
To strengthen control of their respective areas, the United States was forced to expel the communists from coalition governments in countries within their sphere of influence (France, Italy, Belgium, and Denmark). Meanwhile, the USSR ensured that the Communist Party took control of power in the states occupied by the Soviet army (Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, East Germany, Albania, and Yugoslavia), promoting the formation of so-called “people’s democracies” in which a system inspired by the Soviet communist model was established.
The Breakdown of the Iron Curtain
The final break between the two sides took place in 1947 when the U.S. president outlined what is known as the Truman Doctrine. It denounced the creation of communist regimes in countries occupied by the Red Army and projected U.S. intervention to stop the communist threat in Europe.
Thus, the number of U.S. troops and bases in Europe increased, and the Marshall Plan was proposed to provide economic aid to Europe. In this way, by moving Europe away from poverty, the risk of the spread of communism would diminish. Most Western countries accepted U.S. aid, which was rejected by the Soviet Union and the countries of the Eastern Bloc.
The Partition of Germany into Two States
: The first scenario denfrontament between the two sides took place in Germany. After the uerra, this country had been divided into qualitative
three zones occupied by British, French, Americans and sovietics.El 1948, the three Western allies decided to signify their territories and create a state-Fede ral alernany.