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- 1. THE END IS JUST THE BEGINNING December 24th, 1945 World War II leaves behind the bodies and tears of Nations Their Finest Hour…. The effects of World War II in Europe One of the causes of the war was the one that had come before it. World After the fall of Poland, came War I left Germany in financial and Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, political ruin, with hyperinflation and Norway, and even France. It appeared reparations causing her to further that Britain was cornered, with no real suffer. Plunged into desperation, the allies. Many believed the war to be chaos gave the Nazi party and Hitler a already over – if Britain fell, what was foothold. They rose to power within the to stop the rest of the world from chaos, offering the German people hope, following? scapegoats, and a sense of superiority. However, the following battle broke When Adolf Hitler accepted the the chain of Nazi victories and embodied Chancellorship, things began to England’s refusal to stand down. The deteriorate in Germany. From his purge Battle of Britain, fought when the of political rivals to his persecution of German air force tried to conquer the Jews, it was clear that Hitler was English Royal Air Force, proved to the instigating a plan. world that the Nazis could, indeed, be He began to directly violate the defeated. The battle was a perquisite Treaty of Versailles, with acts like for the possible invasion of England by reanimating the air force, occupying the land and naval German forces. Rhineland, and staging a coup over However, the English Air force inflicted Austria. However, the rest of Europe heavy losses, securing their victory. was fearful of another war and Another decisive battle was the protested only mildly. North African Campaign. This struggle On September 1st, 1948, Hitler for control of the Suez Canal was disobeyed the Munich Pact, which stated important in the sense that Great that he would not try to acquire more Britain relied heavily on oil for the war territory. The Germans invaded Poland, effort. The fighting began when Italy much to the distress of Great Britain declared war on the Allies, continued and France. They ordered the fighting to for 3 years with battles through Libya cease, but when their demands were and Egypt, and finally ended when U.S. ignored, they declared war. and British forces pushed the Axis forces back into Tunisia. If the Axis powers had won, they could have effectively starved Britain of oil and thus gained the upper hand. A turning point in World War II was the battle of Stalingrad. Germany believed that if the battle were won, it would be the end of Russia. However, the Russians, despite being outnumbered, held out and defended the city until the harsh winter aided them and the Germans were forced to surrender. Perhaps the last and most important battle was the Invasion of Normandy. This was an attempt to invade France
- 2. and free her from German control. The the shock of the holocaust stamps a deep German’s failure to defend the beach imprint upon every nation. Although the marked the beginning of the end – of the end of the war brings celebration, it war, the Nazis, and Hitler’s dream of also leaves grief. Never before had we world domination. If it had been lost, seen fighting on such a huge scale, or perhaps the Allies’ victory would not the full capacity of human evil. One have been achieved. thing is certain – the war has upset the The war has left Europe weakened old order, and nothing will ever be the and in shambles. The debut of nuclear same again. bombs, the rise of “super” powers, and The Fate of An Empire… World War II in Asia During the events leading up to the war, the Japanese Kwantung army attacked Chinese soldiers in Manchuria, around the year 1931. Six years later, Japan furthered her aggression by attacking China and signing a pact with the Germans and Italians, sealing her alliance with the Axis powers. The United States grew wary of Shocked and enraged by the attack, Japan’s alliance and her wish to the U.S. declared war on Japan the dominate all of East Asia. This would following day. The rest of the Axis include toppling one of the largest powers followed suit and declared war Pacific powers – the U.S. herself. Hoping on the United States. World War II to appease her aggression and finally had begun in the Pacific. encourage the withdrawal of troops After Pearl Harbor, Japan began from China, the U.S. imposed economic to gain a considerable number of sanctions on Japan. Because of the victories. By 1942, the Guam and Wake sanctions, Japan found herself Islands, the Philippines, the Dutch East desperately in need of natural resources Indies, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, (such as oil) and even more ambitious to and Burma had all fallen to the displace the United States. Japanese forces. Only Thailand On December 7th, 1941, Japan remained neutral. launched the infamous surprise attack During the middle of 1942, there was on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, using fighter a change in the tide. New Zealand and and bomber planes to cripple the U.S. Australian forces were able to repulse naval base. the Japanese in New Guinea, while the British halted their advance in India. A turning point in the war came during the Battle of Midway. In 1942, the American Navy managed to inflict heavy enough losses on the Japanese fleet to drive them back. After the
- 3. battle, the U.S. initiated a counter- Three days later, they dropped another offence called island hopping, on Nagasaki. Over 120,000 citizens died methodically jumping from island to from the blasts, and even more from island, conquering them and inflicting radiation. On August 8th, the Soviet heavy causalities. Union declared war on Japan and The Allies were slowly gaining invaded Manchuria. ground on the sea and in the air, but the This proved to be too much for Japan Japanese still held control over – she formerly surrendered on September Mainland China. In 1945, the United 2nd, 1945. States freed the Philippines and the As we reflect on the war, we British freed Burma. In the same year, realize it marked the end of imperialism. the costly battles of Iwo Jima and It tore apart the nation of Japan, and Okinawa were fought. Despite heavy introduced the cruel power of nuclear causalities and Kamikaze (Japanese war. Heavy human losses and enormous suicide) attacks, the U.S. was the victor. amounts of destruction leave a On August 6th, the U.S. dropped an generation that must be ready to pick up atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. the pieces. OPINION Letters to the Editor Exploring the Issue: The Allies and Auschwitz order to plan an effective bombing. However, at the time, the United States had information on the layout of Auschwitz from the eyewitness accounts of several escaped prisoners. The reports of horrors occurring in Auschwitz were not always taken serious – the Allies usually believed them to be exaggerated. Although it’s true that wartime propaganda usually embellishes things, it appears that the reports were not investigated thoroughly enough and were briefly dismissed. We cannot be sure why they chose not to The gates of Auschwitz. The German bomb the camp. There were many other concentration camps through Poland, and phrase translates to “Work is liberty” or destroying one would be like severing only “Work makes you free.” the limb of a monstrous beast. The Allies must have believed that winning the war was a bigger priority, thus destroying the Dear Editor, entire monster. The Allies’ failure to bomb Auschwitz However, the bombing of Auschwitz did not appears to be an example of a desire for seem to be an impossible task. Prisoners victory replacing regard for human life. would have been killed, but they were This topic, of course, is one of the most already marked for death. Most of these controversial subjects of the war. prisoners worked outside of the camp, anyway, and during a daylight raid they Many people have stated that the Allies did would not have been affected. Would not have enough information on Auschwitz in casualties have been minimal? The better question would not be how many would have
- 4. been killed, but how many would have been we calculated the odds and they were not in saved. our favor. As history tells us, however, the allies did But if even only a single life had been saved not bomb the camp. Winning the war proved at Auschwitz, who are we to say that he to be more important. However, even with was not worth it? Perhaps if history had patchy intelligence and a risk of failure, I taken a different course, the world’s most make my stand on the fact that they did not infamous concentration camp would now be try. Nothing was done – no effort was made. remembered as having a happier – and earlier - ending. At least if they had tried and failed, we would have been assured that we did all that we could. However, we only know that - R.M.S, New Hampshire · SPOTLIGHT · Examining the Role of Women During World War II… common enemy. It was a frightening time, but for those on the home front, it was exciting – even thrilling. Everyone was eager to band together, to triumph over evil, and It is most important, especially today, make sacrifices for the war effort. Women that we neither forget nor neglect the were just as eager to do their part as the contributions made by our ladies during these men, and as the war progressed, they gained hard times. From the Americans, to the a new sense of freedom. English, to the Russians, women have not As the men were sent off to fight, been absent. companies suffered from severe shortages of It cannot be denied that the war bound labor. Industry and production had been America together in patriotism. Through retooled to fuel the war, and factories propaganda, we felt united against a needed hundreds of more workers. Instead of
- 5. employing children as the previous century had done, women stepped forward to take created in America and given full military their places. They now filled a variety of status. By 1945, there were more than positions that were once only available to 6,000 female officers and 100,000 members men. Even woman who were married and had operating in the war. The Navy, Marine young children – although it was still Corps, and the Coast Guard also began to undesirable – joined the work force. employ “Women Accepted For Volunteer Women’s roles also began to change in Emergency Service”. The greatest changes the military. The Women’s Army Corps was occurred in the aviation field – by 1943, over 65% of the U.S. Aircraft Industry’s workforce consisted of women. Also created was the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, which contained more than 1,000 members and was granted the Congressional Gold Medal. Even at home, women were never idle. Propaganda stressed the need for women to enter the work force and contribute. They sent letters to the men serving, tended Victory Gardens, hosted troops, dealt with rations, raised the children, talked to lonely soldiers, recycled scarce materials, collected blood, raised money for war bonds, aided in civil defense, and dealt with the emotional turmoil of the war. This Christmas, we must strive not to forget the contributions made by our sisters, our daughters – even our mothers. Without them, the outcome of the war – perhaps - could still be uncertain. ADVERTISIN G
- 9. Windows on the World Museum Report (WWMR) References: