SECOND WORLD WAR

War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. – Jimmy Carter

SECOND WORLD WAR: Watershed of 20^th Century

SEP.1 1939 – SEP.2 1945

The principal belligerents were the :

Axis powers - Germany, Italy, and Japan

Allies - France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and to a lesser extent, China.

  

Cause: The cause of the Second World War as under –

1. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) The treaty of Versailles had in itself the germs of the Second World war. Germany was very badly treated. She was forced to sign the treaty at the point of a bayonet, in a spirit of revenge, To tear away the treaty of Versailles, Hitler joined hands with Mussolini of Italy.

2. Nationalist Movements of Germany & Italy: The rise of the national movement in Germany & Italy added fuel to the fire. Although Hitler tried to assure the world that he meant peace, he could not conceal his ambition for long. He embarked of a carrier of aggression which ultimately led to war. the same was the case with Mussolini who had established his dictatorship in Italy in 1922.

3. Conflict of Ideology between Dictatorship & Democracy: Country like Germany, Italy & Japan represented the ideology of dictatorship while Great Britain France & USDA represented the ideology of democracy. Mussolini described the conflict between the two worlds can permit no compromise .Either we or they.

4. The inefficiency of the league of Nation: Unfortunately, when hostility was growing between the two camps there was no effective international organization which could bring the leaders of the two camps on a common platform and brings about a reconciliation between them. The league of Nations was practically dead. 

 “The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history. 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.” World War II ended with the unconditional surrender of Germany in May 1945, but both May 8 and May 9 are celebrated as Victory in Europe Day (or V-E Day). This double celebration occurs because the Germans surrendered to the Western Allies, including Britain and the U.S., on May 8, and a separate surrender took place on May 9 in Russia.

Important Dates & Battles:

·        1 September 1939: Germany invades Poland

·        3 September 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany

·        17 September 1939: The Phoney War

·        10 May 1940: Germany invades France

·        14 June 1940: German soldiers enter Paris

·        19 July 1940: Battle of Britain

·        22 June 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union

·        7 December 1941: Pearl Harbor

·        15 February 1942: Fall of Singapore

·        2 February 1943: Germans surrender at Stalingrad

·        1 April 1945: Battle of Okinawa

·        8 May 1945: Germany is defeated

·        6-9 August 1945: Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki