world war 2 short essay

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World War II

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 7, 2024 | Original: October 29, 2009

World War II, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involved more than 50 nations and was fought on land, sea and air in nearly every part of the world. Also known as the Second World War, it was caused in part by the economic crisis of the Great Depression and by political tensions left unresolved following the end of World War I.

The war began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and raged across the globe until 1945, when Japan surrendered to the United States after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the end of World War II, an estimated 60 to 80 million people had died, including up to 55 million civilians, and numerous cities in Europe and Asia were reduced to rubble.

Among the people killed were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps as part of Hitler’s diabolical “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust. The legacy of the war included the creation of the United Nations as a peacekeeping force and geopolitical rivalries that resulted in the Cold War.

Leading up to World War II

The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and National Socialist German Workers’ Party, abbreviated as NSDAP in German and the Nazi Party in English..

Did you know? As early as 1923, in his memoir and propaganda tract "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle), Adolf Hitler had predicted a general European war that would result in "the extermination of the Jewish race in Germany."

After becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the “pure” German race, which he called “Aryan,” Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary “Lebensraum,” or living space, for the German race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he secretly began the rearmament of Germany, a violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union , Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s open aggression went unchecked, as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics at the time, and neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the Great War) were eager for confrontation.

Outbreak of World War II (1939)

In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact , which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned an invasion of Poland, a nation to which Great Britain and France had guaranteed military support if it were attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin meant that Hitler would not face a war on two fronts once he invaded Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and dividing the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin’s forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finnish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland, the lack of action on the part of Germany and the Allies in the west led to talk in the news media of a “phony war.” At sea, however, the British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and lethal German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for Britain, sinking more than 100 vessels in the first four months of World War II.

World War II in the West (1940-41)

On April 9, 1940, Germany simultaneously invaded Norway and occupied Denmark, and the war began in earnest. On May 10, German forces swept through Belgium and the Netherlands in what became known as “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war. Three days later, Hitler’s troops crossed the Meuse River and struck French forces at Sedan, located at the northern end of the Maginot Line , an elaborate chain of fortifications constructed after World War I and considered an impenetrable defensive barrier. In fact, the Germans broke through the line with their tanks and planes and continued to the rear, rendering it useless. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated by sea from Dunkirk in late May, while in the south French forces mounted a doomed resistance. With France on the verge of collapse, Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler, the Pact of Steel, and Italy declared war against France and Britain on June 10.

On June 14, German forces entered Paris; a new government formed by Marshal Philippe Petain (France’s hero of World War I) requested an armistice two nights later. France was subsequently divided into two zones, one under German military occupation and the other under Petain’s government, installed at Vichy France. Hitler now turned his attention to Britain, which had the defensive advantage of being separated from the Continent by the English Channel.

To pave the way for an amphibious invasion (dubbed Operation Sea Lion), German planes bombed Britain extensively beginning in September 1940 until May 1941, known as the Blitz , including night raids on London and other industrial centers that caused heavy civilian casualties and damage. The Royal Air Force (RAF) eventually defeated the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) in the Battle of Britain , and Hitler postponed his plans to invade. With Britain’s defensive resources pushed to the limit, Prime Minister Winston Churchill began receiving crucial aid from the U.S. under the Lend-Lease Act , passed by Congress in early 1941.

Black Americans Who Served in WWII Faced Segregation Abroad and at Home

Some 1.2 million Black men served in the U.S. military during the war, but they were often treated as second‑class citizens.

World War II Battles: Timeline

Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II. Over the next six years, the conflict took more lives and destroyed more land and property around the globe than any previous war.

How the Neutral Countries in World War II Weren’t So Neutral

Neutrality was often more complex than simply avoiding choosing sides.

Hitler vs. Stalin: Operation Barbarossa (1941-42)

By early 1941, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had joined the Axis, and German troops overran Yugoslavia and Greece that April. Hitler’s conquest of the Balkans was a precursor for his real objective: an invasion of the Soviet Union, whose vast territory would give the German master race the “Lebensraum” it needed. The other half of Hitler’s strategy was the extermination of the Jews from throughout German-occupied Europe. Plans for the “Final Solution” were introduced around the time of the Soviet offensive, and over the next three years more than 4 million Jews would perish in the death camps established in occupied Poland.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa . Though Soviet tanks and aircraft greatly outnumbered the Germans’, Russian aviation technology was largely obsolete, and the impact of the surprise invasion helped Germans get within 200 miles of Moscow by mid-July. Arguments between Hitler and his commanders delayed the next German advance until October, when it was stalled by a Soviet counteroffensive and the onset of harsh winter weather.

World War II in the Pacific (1941-43)

With Britain facing Germany in Europe, the United States was the only nation capable of combating Japanese aggression, which by late 1941 included an expansion of its ongoing war with China and the seizure of European colonial holdings in the Far East. On December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , taking the Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops. The attack on Pearl Harbor served to unify American public opinion in favor of entering World War II, and on December 8 Congress declared war on Japan with only one dissenting vote. Germany and the other Axis Powers promptly declared war on the United States.

After a long string of Japanese victories, the U.S. Pacific Fleet won the Battle of Midway in June 1942, which proved to be a turning point in the war. On Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon Islands, the Allies also had success against Japanese forces in a series of battles from August 1942 to February 1943, helping turn the tide further in the Pacific. In mid-1943, Allied naval forces began an aggressive counterattack against Japan, involving a series of amphibious assaults on key Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. This “island-hopping” strategy proved successful, and Allied forces moved closer to their ultimate goal of invading the mainland Japan.

Toward Allied Victory in World War II (1943-45)

In North Africa , British and American forces had defeated the Italians and Germans by 1943. An Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy followed, and Mussolini’s government fell in July 1943, though Allied fighting against the Germans in Italy would continue until 1945.

On the Eastern Front, a Soviet counteroffensive launched in November 1942 ended the bloody Battle of Stalingrad , which had seen some of the fiercest combat of World War II. The approach of winter, along with dwindling food and medical supplies, spelled the end for German troops there, and the last of them surrendered on January 31, 1943.

On June 6, 1944–celebrated as “D-Day” –the Allies began a massive invasion of Europe, landing 156,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, France. In response, Hitler poured all the remaining strength of his army into Western Europe, ensuring Germany’s defeat in the east. Soviet troops soon advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, while Hitler gathered his forces to drive the Americans and British back from Germany in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945), the last major German offensive of the war.

An intensive aerial bombardment in February 1945 preceded the Allied land invasion of Germany, and by the time Germany formally surrendered on May 8, Soviet forces had occupied much of the country. Hitler was already dead, having died by suicide on April 30 in his Berlin bunker.

World War II Ends (1945)

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. Post-war Germany would be divided into four occupation zones, to be controlled by the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States and France. On the divisive matter of Eastern Europe’s future, Churchill and Truman acquiesced to Stalin, as they needed Soviet cooperation in the war against Japan.

Heavy casualties sustained in the campaigns at Iwo Jima (February 1945) and Okinawa (April-June 1945), and fears of the even costlier land invasion of Japan led Truman to authorize the use of a new and devastating weapon. Developed during a top secret operation code-named The Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb was unleashed on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August. On August 15, the Japanese government issued a statement declaring they would accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and on September 2, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

African American Servicemen Fight Two Wars

World War II exposed a glaring paradox within the United States Armed Forces. Although more than 1 million African Americans served in the war to defeat Nazism and fascism, they did so in segregated units. The same discriminatory Jim Crow policies that were rampant in American society were reinforced by the U.S. military. Black servicemen rarely saw combat and were largely relegated to labor and supply units that were commanded by white officers.

There were several African American units that proved essential in helping to win World War II, with the Tuskegee Airmen being among the most celebrated. But the Red Ball Express, the truck convoy of mostly Black drivers were responsible for delivering essential goods to General George S. Patton ’s troops on the front lines in France. The all-Black 761st Tank Battalion fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and the 92 Infantry Division, fought in fierce ground battles in Italy. Yet, despite their role in defeating fascism, the fight for equality continued for African American soldiers after the World War II ended. They remained in segregated units and lower-ranking positions, well into the Korean War , a few years after President Truman signed an executive order to desegregate the U.S. military in 1948.

World War II Casualties and Legacy

World War II proved to be the deadliest international conflict in history, taking the lives of 60 to 80 million people, including 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust . Civilians made up an estimated 50-55 million deaths from the war, while military comprised 21 to 25 million of those lost during the war. Millions more were injured, and still more lost their homes and property. 

The legacy of the war would include the spread of communism from the Soviet Union into eastern Europe as well as its eventual triumph in China, and the global shift in power from Europe to two rival superpowers–the United States and the Soviet Union–that would soon face off against each other in the Cold War .

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World War 2 Essay | Essay on World War 2 for Students and Children in English

February 14, 2024 by Prasanna

World War 2 Essay: World War 2 or the Second World War is the most extensive known global human warfare to date that lasted from the year 1939 to 1945. The war was waged between two opposing military alliances: Allies and Axis, involving the majority of the Global powers and many participating countries from across Europe and the world.

It was the first state of total war where every economic, scientific, and industrial resource and labour of the participating countries were dedicated to waging full-scale warfare, eliminating military and civilian resources. The war involved over 100 million military personnel from more than 30 countries resulting in 70 to 85 million fatal casualties.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on World War 2 for Students and Kids in English

We provide children/ students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic of World War 2 for reference.

Long Essay on World War 2 500 Words in English

Long Essay on World War 2 is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The history of this world is incomplete without the inclusion of the Second World War or World War 2, the most vicious and gruelling warfare waged by humans against each other. It involved the vast majority of the countries and Global powers during the period 1939 to 1945. The war was primarily waged between two opposing military alliances: The Allies mainly comprising the United Kingdom & British Empire, the Third Republic of France, Soviet Union, United States of America and their allies, and the Axis Powers involving Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Empire of Japan and their allies.

It started on 1st September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland and placid support from the Soviet Union and the subsequent declaration of war on Germany by Poland’s allies, France and the United Kingdom. Germany’s Axis Powers had significant gains in the earlier years of the Second World war, mainly between 1939 to 1941 when it conquered and dominated much of continental Europe and parts of Africa.

The largest gain on the Axis side came with the rapid defeat of France at the hands of Germany due to Germany’s advanced warfare technique of Blitzkrieg that involved multi-frontier attack using infantry and armoured divisions. Adolf Hitler, the Dictator/ Fuhrer of Germany during the war, is mainly attributed as the perpetrator of the war due to his Nationalist Fascist and Racial supremacy-based political ideology leading to Germany’s aggressive stance in much of continental Europe.

With France’s fall in 1940, the war was primarily waged between the Axis Powers and the British Empire, with minor gains and losses on both sides. It was a multi-frontier conflict with battles occurring in various regions, including mainland Europe, Eurasia, the Balkans, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Ocean, East Asia, and Northern and Central Africa, and Ariel attacks on the British Isles.

The war took a significant turn in 1941 with two significant events:

• The Invasion of Soviet Russia and its Union in June 1941
• Leading to the largest land warfare in human history
• The Pearl Harbour bombing by Japanese Kamikaze in December 1941

It forced the United States of America to enter the war on the Allies side. Following the US declaration of war on the Imperial Japanese Empire, Germany and Italy’s European Axis powers declared war against the US in solidarity with their Asian Ally.

The Axis Powers had significant strategic gains throughout 1941, including Imperial Japan. It captured and dominated much of the Western Pacific, Eastern China and Manchuria, and Southern Asia. However, its advances were obstructed after a significant naval defeat at the US navy’s hands at the Battle of Midway on the Pacific Ocean. Fascist Italy subsequently suffered significant defeats in North Africa and the Balkans and eventually surrendered to the Allies with their Fascist Dictator, Benito Mussolini, being publicly executed.

The collective Allied invasions of Sicily and the Italian Mainland in 1943, along with German defeat at the Eastern front, forced the Axis powers to retreat on all fronts strategically. The war was concluded in 1945 with the Allied invasion of German-controlled territories, the fall of Berlin at the Soviet Union’s hands, and the Nuclear Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan by the United States of America.

Short Essay on World War 2 150 Words in English

Short Essay on World War 2 is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

World War 2 was the largest war ever waged in human history lasting from 1939 to 1945 between two primary military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It started with Poland’s invasion by Nazi Germany and Communist Soviet Union after the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the two powers that led France and the United Kingdom to declare war on Germany.

The war occurred on multiple battlefronts and involved more than 100 million soldiers from over 30 countries from across the globe. It resulted in a collective casualty of over 80 million military as well as civilian deaths.

It ended with the Axis defeat after the fall of Berlin and the Nuclear Bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. It had a profound effect on the subsequent world politics and histories like the eventual fall of the British and French Empires and their colonies’ independence, significant shifts in global politics, and the United Nations’ formation.

10 Lines on World War 2 Essay in English

1. World War 2 or Second World War occurred between 1939 and 1945 and is considered the most massive known warfare in human history. Adolf Hitler was the Fuhrer/ Dictator of Germany. Benito Mussolini was the Duce/ Dictator of Italy during the war. 2. The symbolic tussle between the great powers started much before the war with Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan signing mutual defence treaties forming the Axis Powers. 3. The National Socialist Party (NAZI) of Totalitarian Germany murdered more than 60 million Jews, Slavs, and other European People based on the ideology of Aryan Racial Supremacy during the war, and this event is remembered as the Holocaust. 4. Russian’s were said to be instrumental in World War 2 with the fact that Soviet forces killed more than 76 percent of German soldiers. 5. The United States was placid in the war until the infamous 1941 surprise bombing of the Pearl Harbour by the Japanese, resulting in 2400 civilian and military casualties. 6. The Allied Big Four: United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and China and 22 exiled governments issued the Atlantic Charter at the Declaration of the United Nations in 1942, mutually agreeing not to sign any separate peace treaties with Axis powers. 7. The United Kingdom had a significant political change during the war with Sir Winston Churchill assuming the role of Prime Minister. 8. The most extensive known casualties of the war happened on the Eastern front, with Soviet Russia suffering the highest number of human fatalities. 9. Adolf Hitler committed suicide with his wife Eva Braun in their bunker during the Fall of Berlin. 10. Nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were termed “Little Boy” and “Fat Man.”

FAQ’s on World War 2 Essay

Question 1.  Who was the major belligerent of World War 2?

Answer: Nazi Germany under the leadership of Chancellor Adolf Hitler is considered the primary belligerent of World War 2.

Question 2. Why did Imperial Japan enter a primarily European war?

Answer: The Empire of Japan was a military state that primarily aimed to create resource colonies in Manchuria, Eastern China, and South Asia, which lead them to dominate the Pacific, eventually attacking the United States, the other great power in the region

Question 3. Why did Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union Ally during the Invasion of Poland?

Answer: Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Russia entered into the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in 1939, effectively portioning their European neighbors’ annexed territories, including Poland, Finland, the Baltic States, and Romania.

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The Causes of WWII

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The origins of the Second World War (1939-45) may be traced back to the harsh peace settlement of the First World War (1914-18) and the economic crisis of the 1930s, while more immediate causes were the aggressive invasions of their neighbours by Germany, Italy , and Japan . A weak and divided Europe , an isolationist USA, and an opportunistic USSR were all intent on peace, but the policy of appeasement only delivered what everyone most feared: another long and terrible world war.

The main causes of WWII were:

• The harsh Treaty of Versailles
• The economic crisis of the 1930s
• The rise of fascism
• Germany's rearmament
• The cult of Adolf Hitler
• The policy of appeasement by Western powers
• Treaties of mutual interest between Axis Powers
• Lack of treaties between the Allies
• The territorial expansion of Germany, Italy, and Japan
• The Nazi-Soviet Pact
• The invasion of Poland in September 1939
• The Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour

Treaty of Versailles

Germany was defeated in the First World War, and the victors established harsh terms to ensure that some of the costs of the war were recuperated and to prevent Germany from becoming a future threat. With European economies and populations greatly damaged by the war, the victors were in no mood to be lenient since Germany had almost won and its industry was still intact. Germany remained a dangerous state. However, Britain and France did not want a totally punitive settlement, as this might lead to lasting resentment and make Germany unable to become a valuable market for exports.

The peace terms were set out in the Treaty of Versailles, signed by all parties except the USSR on 28 June 1919. The Rhineland must be demilitarised to act as a buffer zone between Germany and France. All colonies and the Saar, a coal-rich area of western Germany, were removed from German authority. Poland was given the industrial area of Upper Silesia and a corridor to the sea, which included Danzig (Gdánsk) and cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany. France regained the regions of Alsace and Lorraine. Germany had to pay war reparations to France and Belgium. Germany had limits on its armed forces and could not build tanks, aircraft, submarines, or battleships. Finally, Germany was to accept complete responsibility, that is the guilt, for starting the war. Many Germans viewed the peace terms as highly dishonourable.

The settlement established nine new countries in Eastern Europe, a recipe for instability since all of them disputed their borders, and many contained large minority groups who claimed to be part of another country. Germany, Italy, and Russia, once powerful again after the heavy costs of WWI, looked upon these fledgling states with imperialist envy.

In the 1920s, Germany signed two important treaties. The Locarno Treaty of 1925 guaranteed Germany's western borders but allowed some scope for change in the east. The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed by 56 countries. All the major powers promised not to conduct foreign policy using military means. In 1929, Germany's reparations as stipulated by the Treaty of Versailles were reduced from £6.6 million to £2 million. In 1932, the reparations were cancelled altogether. This was all very promising, but through the 1930s, the complex web of European diplomacy began to quickly unravel in a climate of economic decline.

Economic Crisis

The Great Depression, sparked off by the Wall Street stock-market crash of 1929, resulted in a crisis in many economies through the 1930s. There was a collapse in world trade , prices, and employment. In Germany in 1923, there was hyperinflation, which made savings worthless, a blow many of the German middle class never forgot. The regular loans from the United States (the Dawes Plan), upon which the German economy depended, stopped. There was a hostile attitude amongst many states as international trade collapsed. The USA, the world's most important money lender, pursued an isolationist strategy. Britain and France looked only to their empires. Protectionism and trade tariffs became the norm.

Germany became determined to reach self-sufficiency and not rely on world trade partners, a policy that required the acquisition of natural resources through military occupation. Germany saw the route out of the financial mess as one of massive rearmament which would create jobs in factories and the armed forces. The policy involved not only stockpiling weapons but also creating an economy geared towards total war, where the armaments industry was given priority in terms of resources, energy, factories, and skilled workers.

Hitler & the Nazi Party

Nationalist fascist parties were doing well across Europe. From 1922, Italy was ruled by Benito Mussolini (l. 1883-1945), leader of the fascist party there. By 1939, Spain had a fascist ruler in General Franco (l. 1892-1975). In Germany, Adolf Hitler (l. 1889-1945) was the leader of the fascist National Socialist Party (Nazi Party), the largest party after the July and November elections of 1932. There were even fascist parties in democracies like Britain. Charismatic leaders were turning popular nationalist feelings into a much more sinister way of thinking: fascism. Fascist parties, although not exactly the same in different countries, did have some key goals in common. Fascist leaders wanted absolute power and to achieve this new order they emphasised "conformism, hostility to outsiders, routine violence, contempt for the weak, and extreme hatred of dissident opinions" (Dear, 274). Fascist parties initially gained popularity as opponents to communism, seen as a threat by many ever since the Russian Revolution of 1917. Indeed, in Western countries, a deep suspicion of communism prevented a powerful political and military alliance from being formed with the USSR, which might ultimately have avoided war.

Hitler promised the humiliation of Versailles would be revenged and that Germany would be made great again. Many Germans believed they had been betrayed by the high command of the army in WWI and were tired of the endless round of ineffective coalition governments since the war. Hitler, with no connections to the established elite, offered a new beginning, and most of all, he promised jobs and bread in a period when unemployment and poverty were at extremely high levels. The Nazi party promised a dynamic economy which would power German expansion, seen as a glorious endeavour, with the virtues of war championed. Nazism called for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. Nazism identified its principal internal enemies as Jews, Slavs , Communists and trade unionists, all people who were holding Germany back from realising its full potential the Nazis claimed. Nazism called for an international struggle where Germans could achieve their destiny and prove themselves the master race. Such ideas, none of which were radically new, meant war was inevitable. The argument that totalitarian regimes require wars and liberal democracies require peace to prosper may be simplistic but has some validity. Hitler promised the new Third Reich would last for 1,000 years and, using propaganda, show, and brutal repression of alternative ideas, many believed him as he expertly tapped into long-held views in Germany and Austria. As F. McDonough states, "Hitler was the drummer of an old tune accompanied by modern instruments" (93).

In January 1933, the German President Paul von Hindenburg (l. 1847-1934), having run out of all other options, invited Hitler to become Chancellor. After systematically crushing any opposition, Hitler began to put his domestic policies into practice and establish a totalitarian regime, everything he had written in his book Mein Kampf ( My Struggle ) back in 1924. When Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler effectively merged the positions of President and Chancellor and declared himself Germany's leader or Führer. Hitler had become the state, and all that was now needed for him to achieve his impossible dream was a rearmed Germany.

Germany's Rearmament

Hitler was determined to rebuild the nation's armed forces. Rearmament rocketed despite the restrictions of Versailles, which Hitler formally repudiated in March 1935. The army was already four times bigger than permitted. Eventually, Western powers were obliged to take a damage-limitation approach. In June 1935, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was signed, which capped the German navy's strength to 35% of the Royal Navy and allowed Hitler to build giant new ships like the battleship Bismarck .

In another instance of the cult of Adolf Hitler, all armed forces personnel had to swear allegiance to Hitler personally. Thanks to rearmament, Germany had achieved near-full employment by 1938. Hitler had fulfilled his promises to the German people. Germany's new war machine came at a cost. Rearming necessitated huge imports of raw materials, and these could not be bought for much longer as Germany's balance of payments went into tilt from 1939. Occupying territories where these resources could be found seemed a simple solution to the problem. Crucially, Germany had an arms advantage over its enemies, but this situation would not last long. For Hitler, the time to strike was now.

Appeasement

Allowing Germany to rearm was part of the policy of appeasement: giving reasonable concessions to avoid the total disaster of war. Appeasement, which was pursued by Britain, France, and the United States, did not mean peace at any price, but the problem with the policy was that it did give, step by step, aggressive powers the impression that their continued aggression might not necessarily lead to a wider war. To review these steps, we must look at global politics in the early 1930s.

The League of Nations (forerunner of today's United Nations) was established after WWI to ensure international disputes were settled and world peace was maintained. Although US President Woodrow Wilson (in office 1913-21) was instrumental in forming the League, crucially, the United States never joined it, seriously weakening the organisation. Germany joined in 1926 but left in 1933; Japan left the same year. The League proved to be utterly incapable of achieving its aims, as was shown most starkly by its failure to prevent Japan's invasion of Manchuria in September 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in October 1935. Hitler no doubt watched these events and the League's total lack of a military response with particular interest as, with his own armed forces rejuvenated, he prepared to expand Germany's borders.

From 1933 to 1935, Hitler had pursued an ambiguous foreign policy, sometimes promising he had peaceful intentions. He caused confusion with such diplomatic conjuring tricks as a peace treaty with Poland in January 1934 and a statement later the same year that he had no intention of merging Austria into the Reich. Then, from 1935, his plans became ever clearer, even if some historians maintain the Führer actually had no plans at all but was merely seizing opportunities as his enemies presented them. Some historians claim Hitler was not entirely free to act as he would wish, due to constraints within the rather chaotic and factional Nazi party. In March 1935, the Saar was reunified with Germany following a plebiscite. The same year, conscription was announced. In March 1936, Germany occupied the Rhineland. In October, Germany and Italy became formal allies with the Rome -Berlin Axis. In November 1936, Italy and Germany (and later Japan) signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, a treaty of mutual cooperation in empire -building and a united front against communism. In March 1938, Hitler achieved the Anschluss, the formal unification of Germany and Austria. Encouraged by the League of Nations' lack of a strong response, Hitler then occupied the Sudetenland, the industrial area of Czechoslovakia which shared a border with Germany, the excuse being a German minority there was being repressed. Again, the Western powers made no military reaction despite France and the USSR having signed a treaty of assistance with the Czechs. The Munich Agreement of September 1938 was signed between Germany, France, Italy, and Britain, which accepted Germany's new, expanded borders. The USSR was not invited, a lost and last opportunity to present a united front against fascism – perhaps here was the real price of pursuing a policy of appeasement to the exclusion of any other possible strategies. The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (served 1937-40), fluttering before journalists a piece of paper Hitler had signed, confidently declared that he had achieved "peace with honour" (Dear, 597) and that we now had "peace in our time" (McDonough, 121). Chamberlain was nominated for that year's Nobel Peace Prize.

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Appeasement was an attractive policy to Western leaders since the horrors of the last war were still fresh in everyone's minds. France, in particular, was politically weak in this period, experiencing 16 coalition governments through the 1930s. Britain feared losing its empire if weakened by another great war. Public opinion was overwhelmingly against war and rearmament in Britain, France, and the United States. Further, it was by no means certain that Hitler would continue to expand Germany's borders; certainly, he had promised he had no additional ambitions beyond restoring Germany to its previous territories before WWI. Finally, appeasement, even if not actually believed to be a policy with any chance of success, did gain crucial time for Western powers to follow Germany's lead and rearm. In Britain and France, there were, too, strong lobbies which considered rearmament a waste of resources in economically turbulent times and pointed out that Germany was Britain's fifth largest customer for its exports. Hindsight has shown that appeasement was folly since Hitler was intent on occupying as much of Europe as he possibly could, and his track record of breaking treaties proved negotiation was pointless. Keeping the Czech heavy industry out of German hands was probably a better point to go to war over than the subsequent invasion of Poland, but Britain, France, and the USSR were simply not then equipped for war. Not until 1939 did these countries seriously begin to establish economies geared to war.

Invasion of Poland

In 1939, there was further significant activity by Germany and Italy in their quest to occupy more and more of Europe. In March 1939, Germany absorbed the rest of Czechoslovakia and Memel (part of Lithuania) into the Third Reich. Increasingly appalled by the Nazis' attacks on German Jews, Western powers now began to question if negotiating with such a regime could ever be justified on moral grounds. Appeasement was finally dead.

On 31 March, Britain and France promised to guarantee Poland's borders, and in April, this was extended to Romania. Turkey and Greece also began talks of mutual protection with Britain and France. It had finally dawned on leaders in Britain and France that the fascists were intent on territorial expansion at any cost. There was already a localised war going on, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, which directly involved German and Italian military hardware on the one side and Soviet aid on the other. In April, Italy occupied Albania. At the end of the same month, Hitler repudiated the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. In May 1939, Italy and Germany signed a military alliance, the ‘Pact of Steel'.

In August 1939, Germany agreed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (Nazi-Soviet Pact), named after the foreign ministers of each state. The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (l. 1878-1953) was increasingly aware that Britain and France seemed perfectly willing to appease Hitler as long as he moved eastwards in his direction. The possibility of 'collective security' (Britain, France, and the USSR working together) was not realised because of a lack of trust between the parties. The Nazi-Soviet Pact, in contrast, allowed Stalin to grab eastern Poland and keep the USSR out of a war for a while, gaining precious time for rearmament. Perhaps, too, the possibility for Germany to wage war only in the West against Britain and France – Stalin's 'blank cheque' for Hitler – would sufficiently weaken all three so that they could no longer threaten the USSR.

Europe was a tinder box awaiting a single spark that would explode it into war. The spark came soon enough with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. The next day Chamberlain warned Hitler war would follow if Germany did not withdraw. Hitler ignored the ultimatum. On 3 September, Britain and France, in order to protect free and independent nations, declared war on Germany. Italy, waiting in the wings to see what might happen to its advantage, remained neutral for the time being. The world, too, awaited with bated breath to see what would happen next. The unexpected answer was nothing at all.

The 'phoney war', when the Allies and Axis powers did not directly confront each other, lasted until April 1940 when Germany invaded Norway. In May, Germany invaded the Low Countries and France. Germany proved unstoppable, and by the end of June, France had fallen. In October, Italy invaded Greece. In 1941, Germany occupied Yugoslavia. Britain was left alone to fight for its survival until Hitler invaded the USSR in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa).

The war became a global conflict when Japan attacked the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. Japan had already invaded Eastern China over concern at the rise in Chinese nationalism and then occupied most of South East Asia in search of imperial glory and natural resources, especially oil, whose import was restricted by a US embargo. Japan perhaps hoped events in Europe would prevent any direct reaction against them, but the United States did finally join the conflict. Peace would not be achieved until the world had suffered four more long and bitter years of war.

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Bibliography

• Dear, I. C. B. & Foot, M. R. D. The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press, 1995.
• Dülffer. Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 - Faith & Annihilation by Dülffer, Jost [Paperback ]. Blomsbury USA, Paperback(2009), 2009.
• Holmes, Richard. The World at War. Ebury Press, 2007.
• Liddell Hart, B. History of the Second World War. Caxton, 1989
• McDonough, Frank. The Origins of the First and Second World Wars . Cambridge University Press, 1997.
• Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich. Simon & Schuster, 1997.
• Taylor, A.J.P. The Origins of The Second World War. Simon & Schuster, 1996.

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9 Questions About World War II Answered

(Read Sir John Keegan’s Britannica entry on the Normandy Invasion.)

What was the cause of World War II?

World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland . Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on September 3. The war between the U.S.S.R. and Germany began on June 22, 1941, with the German invasion of the Soviet Union, known as Operation Barbarossa . The war in the Pacific began on December 7/8, 1941, when Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor and other American, Dutch, and British military installations throughout Asia.

What countries fought in World War II?

The main combatants were the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China). 

What were the turning points of World War II?

The war in the Pacific turned against Japan during the Battle of Midway (June 3–6, 1942), an American victory that destroyed the Japanese first-line carrier force and, together with the Battle of Guadalcanal , ended Japan’s ability to prosecute an offensive war.

The tide of the war in Europe shifted with the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad (February 1943). More than one million Soviet troops and tens of thousands of civilians died in the defense of the city, but the destruction of two entire German armies marked the beginning of the end of the Third Reich . 

Why did Adolf Hitler start World War II?

Adolf Hitler had an overriding ambition for territorial expansion, which was largely driven by his desire to reunify the German peoples and his pursuit of Lebensraum , “living space” that would enable Germans to become economically self-sufficient and militarily secure. Such goals were greeted with support by many within Germany who resented the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles , which had ended World War I. Through various means he was able to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia with little resistance in 1938–39. Then on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, which had been guaranteed French and British military support should such an event occur. Two days later both countries declared war on Germany, launching World War II. 

Did the Pearl Harbor attack signal the beginning of World War II for the United States?

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor marked the beginning of the Pacific war for the U.S., but it did not necessarily mean that the U.S. had become a combatant in the war in Europe. By December 1941, German armies had stalled on the Eastern Front, and it seemed foolhardy for Adolf Hitler to declare war on yet another great power under such circumstances. The Tripartite Pact only obligated Germany to defend Japan if the latter was attacked, not if it was the aggressor. Nevertheless, Germany declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941. Later that month, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met U.S. Pres. Franklin Roosevelt at the Arcadia Conference in Washington, D.C., and the two agreed on a “Europe first” policy for the defeat of Nazi Germany.

What was Benito Mussolini’s role in World War II?

Benito Mussolini was the less dominant half of the Rome-Berlin axis, formalized by the 1939 Pact of Steel between Adolf Hitler and himself. World War II broke out between Germany and the rest of Europe later that year, but Italy—its resources already stretched thin by preexisting economic issues and Mussolini’s Ethiopian conquest in 1935—was hesitant to join. Anxious that he would lose claim to conquered European lands as Hitler advanced, Mussolini entered the war in 1940. Italy fared poorly from the outset, with ignominious defeats in North Africa, Greece, and the Soviet Union. When the Allies touched down in Sicily in 1943, Mussolini’s own government arrested him.

What did Winston Churchill do during World War II?

As prime minister (1940–45) during most of World War II, Winston Churchill rallied the British people and led the country from the brink of defeat to victory. He shaped Allied strategy in the war, and in the war’s later stages he alerted the West to the expansionist threat of the Soviet Union. 

What was the significance of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II?

The Battle of the Bulge marked the last German offense on the Western Front . The catastrophic losses on the German side prevented Germany from resisting the advance of Allied forces following the Normandy Invasion. Less than four months after the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Germany surrendered to Allied forces.

How did World War II end?

The Allied landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944, opened a second front in Europe, and Germany’s abortive offensive at the Ardennes in the winter of 1944–45 marked the Third Reich’s final push in the west. The Red Army advanced from the east and effectively claimed all the territory under its control for the Soviet sphere. The Allied armies converged on Berlin. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, and the war in Europe ended on May 8. 

The American “island hopping” campaign had destroyed key Japanese installations throughout the Pacific theatre while allowing bypassed islands to wither on the vine. Hundreds of thousands were killed in firebombings of Japanese cities, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 knocked Japan out of the war. 

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World War Two: Notes for UPSC World History

World War Two, also known as World War II, was a devastating global conflict that began in 1939 and ended in 1945. It involved 100 million people from over 30 countries. 

World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities. Tens of millions of people died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), premeditated death from starvation, massacres, and disease. To this date, it remains the deadliest conflict in human history.

World War II is an important topic covered in the world history segment of the Civil Services Examination.

Origin of World War II

The causes of World War II are many and varied but in the end, it all boils down to the aggressive and expansionist policies of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. Plus, the harsh Treaty of Versailles years before only laid the foundation of future conflicts.

Other events such as the Spanish Civil War and the Japanese invasion of China only served to highlight the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations that had been created following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Both the conflicts saw the involvement of these future Axis powers and it showed that they could carry out their imperialistic whims with no consequences to be faced from other nations. As a result, the conflict became inevitable. 

To know more in detail about other causes of World War II , visit the linked article.

Beginning of World War II

World War II began on September 3, 1939, two days after Hitler’s armies invaded Poland. Poland’s sovereignty was guaranteed by Britain and France. When the protests by the two fell on Hitler’s deaf years, they declared war. The war would be fought between the Axis Powers consisting of Germany, Italy and Japan and the Allies – Britain, France, the Commonwealth countries, the United States and the Soviet Union.

To know more about the differences between Axis and Central Powers , visit the linked article

Initially, Hitler had signed a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union launched an invasion of Poland from the east. It also took over Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and launched campaigns against Finland. Nazi Germany followed up its invasion of Poland with the conquest of Denmark, Norway, and Belgium in the Spring of 1940. The invasion of France later lasted from 10 May 1940 – 25 June 1940. It was the pinnacle of the German ‘Blitzkrieg’ campaign. Only Britain stood against the full might of Germany. Italy joined the war in June 1940. 

To invade Britain, it was necessary to achieve total air superiority. Thus the German air force, the Luftwaffe, attacked southeast England and London in daylight raids. In August and September, the battle of Britain was fought over its skies in which the numerically inferior British Royal air force defeated the German air force. It shelved any future plans of the Germans to invade Britain, but it did not stop bombing campaigns that saw the devastation of many British cities and towns in the following months.

Expansion of the Conflict

A new battlefront opened in September 1940 when Italian troops invaded Egypt. They clashed with the British troops stationed there. By February 1941, the British managed to defeat the Italian army and even managed to push into Italian held-Libya. By February 1941, the Italians had been defeated, but German troops, commanded by Field-Marshal Rommel, then arrived and managed to push back British troops back to the Egyptian border.

Buoyed by his success in Europe, Hitler declared war on his former ally, the Soviet Union in June 1941 invading the country with the help of Finland, Hungary and Romania. By the end of 1941, however, Allied fortunes were about to change as the United States joined the war, following the unprovoked attack on its navy at Pearl harbour in Hawaii, by the Japanese air force.

The attack on the Pearl harbour marked the start of the war in the Pacific and by May 1942, Japan had taken control of Southeast Asia including Burma, Singapore, the Philippines and New Guinea, from where they threatened the coast of Australia. The Japanese also took control of many islands in the Pacific, but by August 1942, the US Navy had defeated the Japanese at the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway Island and Guadalcanal and stopped them from invading any more territory. More victory followed in which several pacific islands held by the Japanese fell. This gave them bases from which they could bomb Japan.

The Tide turns against the Axis

In Africa, British troops led by Field-Marshal Montogomery won a decisive battle at El Alamein in October and November 1942. Montgomery quickly advanced across Libya to meet allied forces in Morocco and Algeria. The Axis armies trapped between the Allies were forced to surrender in May 1943.

German troops fighting in Russia fared no better. Although they had been within sight of  Moscow by November 1941, the Russians had begun to fight back and they had defeated the Germans at the Battle of Stalingrad. It took until August 1944 to expel the last German troops from the Soviet Union, by which time they were needed in the west to defend Germany itself from an Allied invasion.

The Allied invasion of Europe started on June 6, 1944, and by July 2 one million troops had landed in Normandy, France and started to advance towards Germany via Belgium and via the Netherlands. Reinforced by troops coming from the Soviet Union, launched a last-ditch counter-attack to reverse their fortunes in December 1944. But by January 1945, the offensive had failed. In March 1945 Allied troops had crossed the Rhine and reached the Ruhr valley, the heartland of Germany’s manufacturing production. At the same time, the Soviet army pushed in from the East

Realizing that the war was lost, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker on April 30, 1945. On May 2nd Soviet Troops captured Berlin. On May 7th, 1945 World War 2 came to an end with the surrender of Nazi Germany at Reims in France. This became official when the surrender documents were signed on May 9th in Berlin.

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End of World War II and aftermath

Although the war ended in Europe the fighting in Asia still raged on. In September 1944, US troops began to recapture the Philippines and the British troops had begun a push into Burman following the battle of Imphal and Kohima. An Allied invasion of Japan was planned for late 1945, but dogged Japanese resistance led to Allied commanders looking for alternatives. The alternative came in the form of an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 . It was followed by the bombing of August 9th, 1945 on Nagasaki. The casualties that resulted from these two events prompted the Japanese government to surrender on August 14. The war was over.

The wide-scale destruction had caused massive military and civilian casualties on both sides, but none suffered more than the Jewish population of Europe. Out of the 9 million Jews that lived in Europe in 1939, 6 million would perish in concentration camps set up by the NAzis through Germany and occupied Poland.

After the war, Allied troops occupied the Western half of Europe while the Soviets occupied eastern Germany. The fragile alliance between the two would evolve into the Cold war .

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World War II Research Essay Topics

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Students are often required to write a paper on a topic as broad as World War II , but you should know that the instructor will expect you to narrow your focus to a specific thesis. This is especially true if you are in high school or college. Narrow your focus by making a list of words, much like the list of words and phrases that are presented in bold type below. Then begin to explore related questions and come up with your own cool WWII topics. The answer to questions like these can become a good starting point for a thesis statement .

Culture and People

When the U.S. entered into war, everyday life across the country changed drastically. From civil rights, racism, and resistance movements to basic human needs like food, clothing, and medicine, the aspects of how life was impacted are immense.

• African-Americans and civil rights. What impact did the war years have on the rights of African-Americans? What were they allowed or not allowed to do?
• Animals. How were horses, dogs, birds, or other animals used? Did they play a special role?
• Art. What art movements were inspired by wartime events? Is there one specific work of art that tells a story about the war?
• Clothing. How was fashion impacted? How did clothing save lives or hinder movement? What materials were used or not used?
• Domestic violence. Was there an increase or decrease in cases?
• Families. Did new family customs develop? What was the impact on children of soldiers?
• Fashion. Did fashion change significantly for civilians? What changes had to be made during wartime?
• Food preservation. What new preservation and packaging methods were used during and after the war? How were these helpful?
• Food rationing. How did rationing impact families? Were rations the same for different groups of people? Were soldiers affected by rations?
• Love letters. What do letters tell us about relationships, families, and friendships? What about gender roles?
• New words. What new vocabulary words emerged during and after WWII?
• Nutrition. Were there battles that were lost or won because of the foods available? How did nutrition change at home during the war because of the availability of certain products?
• Penicillin and other medicine. How was penicillin used? What medical developments occurred during and after the war?
• Resistance movements. How did families deal with living in an occupied territory?
• Sacrifices. How did family life change for the worse?
• Women's work at home. How did women's work change at home during the war? What about after the war ended?

Economy and Workforce

For a nation that was still recovering from the Great Depression, World War II had a major impact on the economy and workforce. When the war began, the fate of the workforce changed overnight, American factories were repurposed to produce goods to support the war effort and women took jobs that were traditionally held by men, who were now off to war.

• Advertising. How did food packaging change during the war? How did advertisements change in general? What were advertisements for?
• Occupations. What new jobs were created? Who filled these new roles? Who filled the roles that were previously held by many of the men who went off to war?
• Propaganda. How did society respond to the war? Do you know why?
• Toys. How did the war impact the toys that were manufactured?
• New products. What products were invented and became a part of popular culture? Were these products present only during war times, or did they exist after?

Military, Government, and War

Americans were mostly against entering the war up until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, after which support for the war grew, as did armed forces. Before the war, the US didn't have the large military forces it soon became known for, with the war resulting in over 16 million Americans in service.   The role the military played in the war, and the impacts of the war itself, were vast.

• America's entry into the war. How is the timing significant? What factors are not so well known?
• Churchill, Winston. What role did this leader play that interests you most? How did his background prepare him for his role?
• Clandestine operations. Governments went to great lengths to hide the true date, time, and place of their actions.
• Destruction. Many historic cities and sites were destroyed in the U.K.—Liverpool, Manchester, London, and Coventry—and in other nations.
• Hawaii. How did events impact families or society in general?
• The Holocaust. Do you have access to any personal stories?
• Italy. What special circumstances were in effect?
• " Kilroy was here ." Why was this phrase important to soldiers? 
• Nationalist Socialist movement in America. What impact has this movement had on society and the government since WWII?
• Political impact. How was your local town impacted politically and socially?
• POW camps after the war. Where were they and what happened to them after the war? Here's a starting point: Some were turned into race tracks after the war!
• Prisoners of war. How many POWs were there? How many made it home safely? What were some long-lasting effects?
• Spies. Who were the spies? Were they men or women? What side were they on? What happened to spies that were caught?
• Submarines. Were there enemy submarines on a coast near you? What role did submarines play in the war?
• Surviving an attack. How were military units attacked? How did it feel to jump from a plane that was disabled?
• Troop logistics. How were troop movements kept secret? What were some challenges of troop logistics?
• Views on freedom. How was freedom curtailed or expanded?
• Views on government's role. Where was the government's role expanded? What about governments elsewhere?
• War crime trials. How were trials conducted? What were the political challenges or consequences? Who was or wasn't tried?
• Weather. Were there battles that were lost or won because of the weather conditions? Were there places where people suffered more because of the weather?
• Women in warfare. What roles did women play during the war? What surprises you about women's work in World War II?

Technology and Transportation

With the war came advancements in technology and transportation, impacting communications capabilities, the spread of news, and even entertainment.

• Bridges and roads. What transportation-related developments came from wartime or postwar policies?
• Communication. How did radio or other types of communication impact key events?
• Motorcycles. What needs led to the development of folding motorcycles? Why was there widespread use of military motorcycles by the government?
• Technology. What technology came from the war and how was it used after the war?
• TV technology. When did televisions start to appear in homes and what is significant about the timing? What TV shows were inspired by the war and how realistic were they? How long did World War II affect TV programming?
• Jet engine technology. What advances can be traced to WWII needs?
• Radar. What role did radar play, if any?
• Rockets. How important was rocket technology?
• Shipbuilding achievements. The achievements were quite remarkable during the war. Why and how did they happen?

"America's Wars Fact Sheet." U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, May 2017.

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World War II: A Very Short Introduction

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World War II: A Very Short Introduction examines the origins, course, and impact of the Second World War on those who fought and the ordinary citizens who lived through it. Starting with the inter-war years and the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, it examines how the war progressed by examining a number of key events: the war in the West in 1940, Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Japan's war with China, developments on the home front, and the Allied victory from 1944–45. Exploring the costs and effects of the war, this VSI considers the long-lasting mark World War II has left on society today.

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Home — Essay Samples — War — Aftermath of World War II — The Effects of World War Ii in the World

The Effects of World War Ii on The World

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The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions Expository Essay

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Introduction

Struggle for national independence, works cited.

It all started on 1 st September 1939 when Germany attacked Poland without warning and that was when the world entered into war with itself. For a period which lasted 6 years, manhood was under the threat of extinction as men slaughtered fellow men like goats and destruction of property worth billions took place (Bachrach 4).

The World War 2 began in the year 1939 and ended in the year 1945 after the United States of America dropped two atomic bombs in the two Japanese islands of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing more than 120000 in the two islands and leaving thousands of others suffering from the radiation effects. Surprisingly, some Japanese soldiers, who were on the isolated islands in the pacific who never got the message that the war had ended or thought it was just but a trick, continued fighting even after the war had ended.

The war was the deadliest conflict ever experienced in human history with the figures of the possible lost lives being estimated at 50 to 60 million people around the world. Most of these people were civilians who were either killed, maimed or were left homeless by the aerial bombings. With most of the soldiers having gone to the war as young and energetic people, on their return time most of them came missing limbs and also suffering from several diseases.

The Effects Of The 2 nd World War:

The fall of world major powers: The war did not just end, but it had some positive and negative effect to the countries both involved and those that were not involved with the main actors in the war suffering enormously.

To the Germans, with the defeat of Hitler and collapsing of the Nazi regime, its leaders were arrested and tried for crimes against humanity though Hitler, the leader, did not go through the trial as he committed suicide to escape the trial and the execution. Germany was then divided into four zones by the victorious ally sides.

Japan, another casualty of the war, was also in ruins due to the numerous bombings. The leaders were tried and the country was placed under the US rule for some years.

For England, having been bombed severally by its neighbors (Germany), the country economy relied heavily on the aid by the US to develop and prosper to its previous economic level. Centrally to the losses countries like England, France and Germany among others experienced, the Russians in the process of defeating the Germans had established a powerful army which now occupied most of the Eastern part of Europe.

The country’s vast resources made sure that the USSR along with the USA could emerge the superpowers. For the USA, the war stimulated the economy, new industries were built all over the United States of America due to the fact that the country had escaped the physical destruction that many other countries went through thus rather than building a nation it was increasing investments.

With the main colonial powers coming from Europe, the 2 nd World War left many weak and unable to manage their colonies due to the scarcity of resources. Many of them were preoccupied with own problems and the rise of anti- imperialist sentiments back at home easened the process of decolonization. The weakness of England and France and the defeat of Germany greatly encouraged the struggle for independence as these countries concentrated on rebuilding their economies.

War soldiers who had participated in the war came back enlightened and bearing the fact that they had seen white men also die in the war, the belief that whites were immortal was erased and the struggle for independence began. Colonies were not ready to be colonized again after what they saw during the 2 nd World War.

Colonies that had helped their colonial masters during the war were granted independence after the war ended. For example countries that regained their independence were the Philippines from the United States of America in 1946, India from Britain followed in 1947, Ceylon and Burma in 1948 among others (Linter 1). The technologies on fighting diseases were advance and this reduced mortality cases leading to soaring populations.

Upon Science and technology, the World War II brought enormous technological changes for example the English developed the radar, there were also advancements in the world of electronics. The development of the atomic bomb not only did it transform the potential in future wars but also opened up the world of nuclear power industry.

The World War II also resulted in the use of women for comfort, especially in the Asian region. To reduce the stress and depression of the soldiers involved in the war, women as young as eleven years old were abducted and imprisoned where they were raped in the war camps. It is estimated that a single comfort lady could serve about 50 soldiers in a day.

Not only were these women harassed but they were also forced to procure abortions as they were not allowed to get pregnant. The small proportion that survived endured physical and emotional breakdowns through out their lives.

The disproportionate death of mostly young men who were involved in the World War II resulted in changes in sex ratios among the people left behind. This resulted in reduced number of marriages as well as low fertility rate with children born out of wedlock increasing.

With the war ending and human race threatening itself, the world swore never to fight against itself and in 1945, an international organization to oversee peace in the name of the league of nations was formed, which later transformed to the United Nations that had the full support of the world major powers. The World War II also led to the formation of the International Monetary Fund and also for the formation of international tariffs, which were to be regulated through the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).

The World War 2 had both its positive and negative repercussions. Though human losses cannot be equated with any economic or technological empowerment it is advisable to note that the world also got some benefits from the war. For example, the economies of countries such as the USA expanded and there was also technological advancements and exchange between countries.

Trade relations were also improved by the end of the war as there was formation of the body GATT to guide and ensure there was free trade, colonies gained independence due to the weakening of their colonial masters and there was also the emergence of United States of America and USSR as the world super powers and finally the increased investments in the field of nuclear energy not only for war but also for economy purposes.

One thing that should remain clear is that as the countries develop and compete with others never again should the world ever fight against itself? We should always find alternative ways of solving our problems other than fighting with fellow humans.

Bachrach Susan. “ History Of The Holocaust: An Overview .” Ushmm , 1994. Web.

Linter Bertil. “ How World War II Shaped Burma’s Future .” Asiapacificms, 2005. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2019, February 20). The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-war-2-2/

"The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions." IvyPanda , 20 Feb. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/world-war-2-2/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions'. 20 February.

IvyPanda . 2019. "The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions." February 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-war-2-2/.

1. IvyPanda . "The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions." February 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-war-2-2/.

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IvyPanda . "The World War 2 Positive and Negative Repercussions." February 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-war-2-2/.

World War 2 Essay: Outline + 100 WW2 Research Topics

This time you have to write a World War II essay, paper, or thesis. It means that you have a perfect chance to refresh those memories about the war that some of us might forget.

So many words can be said about the war in that it seems you will simply get lost in a variety of WW2 research topics and questions.

Still, you do not know what to write about in your World War 2 essay for middle school. Of course, you may look through several free essays in search of ideas. However, you may find our suggestions interesting or get instant writing help right here.

• 🔝 Top 10 Topics
• 🎓 Essay Topics for Student
• 🎖️ WW2 Argumentative Essay Topics
• 💡 More Topic Examples
• 📑 Outline Examples
• 💁 General Info

🔗 References

🔝 top 10 ww2 essay topics.

• Was the battle of Dunkirk a failure?
• WWII technologies that changed our lives
• The outcome of the Nuremberg trials
• Medical experiments during the Holocaust
• Battle of Midway as a turning point in WWII
• Why is penicillin a wonder of World War 2?
• Why is the Bataan Death March a war crime?
• The impact of propaganda during WWII
• Racial segregation in the armed forces during WWII
• What makes the Battle of Stalingrad the deadliest in WWII?

🎓 WW2 Essay Topics for Student

• Contributions of women pilots in World War II
• “Gesture Life” and “Maus”: post-World War II injuries
• The federal government’s actions during World War II
• Rebuilding Europe after World War II
• World War II in Europe: development and costs
• World War II: maskirovka military deception and denials operations
• World War II in the Pacific region
• The second World War’s historical aspects
• The rise and fall of communism after World War II
• South Africa in World War II
• Battle of the Midway during World War II
• World War II: the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• What effect did the World War II wartime experience have on African Americans?
• The battle of Britain during World War II
• World War II was a continuation of World War I
• Communism in Europe and America after World War II
• Camps for displaced persons after the end of World War II
• Nazis prosecution for the World War II crimes
• World War II was avoidable
• Nazi Germany’s resources and demise in World War II
• The United States and East Asia since World War II
• Japan after World War II: main events and modifications
• Atomic bomb technology and World War II outcomes
• Pacific theater of World War II
• Impact of World War II on Balkan nationalism, states and societies
• World War II: internment of the Japanese Americans
• World War II in “The Rape of Europa” Documentary
• The characteristics of successful warfare after the second World War
• Great Depression and World War II impact on the United States economy
• Battle of the Bulge during World War II
• Escape from Sobibor: World War 2 holocaust
• World War II: why Germans lost and allies won
• World War II impact on racial issues in the United States
• Women’s representations before and after World War II
• United States-Japan relations during World War II
• Second World War: cause and technology
• American foreign policy since World War II
• World War II, the Cold War and New Europe
• The Crete battle of World War II
• Home front of the United States during the second World War

🎖️ WW2: Argumentative Essay Topics

As it happens quite often, teachers like to ask students to write an essay on World War II. However, don’t expect it to be easy. It should be something more narrow than the essay about the causes of World War II.

You can use some practical techniques to come up with a suitable topic. For instance, some of the most popular ones are mind mapping and brainstorming. Don’t forget to use questions to create a perfect thesis statement.

But we have made your life so much easier and prepared this comprehensive list of WWII argumentative essay topics. There are also short hints to help you start with your paper.

🔫 World War 2 Essay Topics: Military

• Exploring the effects of WWII on life in Hawaii. Research the impact of those events on the social life of families living there.
• Family memories of the Holocaust. Dig deep and see if you have any (distant) relatives who were the witnesses.
• Something unique about Italy in WWII. Look into some exceptional circumstances that occurred there at the time of the war.
• The origins of the phrase “Kilroy was here.” It is quite a controversial topic, so you might want to study all the sources you can find.
• Nationalist Socialists: examine the importance of the movement in the US. What was its social impact since the war? Describe this in your WW2 essay.
• Write about your town/city. Conduct research to find out about the political changes in your hometown related to war.
• The transformation of the prisoner-of-war camps . Write about what happened to the POW camps after the end of the war.
• The fate of the prisoners of war. Study the documents to get to know what happened to them and whether they continued their healthy lives.
• Describe the spies that participated in WWII. Who were they? What usually happened to those who were caught by different sides?
• The role of women . Discover the contribution of the weaker sex in warfare and write about the most surprising facts.
• How important were the weather conditions for the outcomes of WWII ? Find out which battles were lost or won due to the weather.
• War crimes: consequences. Conduct research to answer the questions about the war crime trials, their outcomes, and the most notorious cases.
• Research the role of the US government in WWII . Compare it to the other governments and analyze the strategies they were using.
• The sense of freedom during the war. For this WW2 essay topic, you would need to look critically at how freedom was suppressed or expanded.
• What was so special about the movements of the troop? Here, you would be expected to provide the answers concerning the secrecy and challenges.
• The experiences of the attack survivors. Find out what was happening during the attack on the military units and the planes.

🤖 World War 2 Essay Topics: Technology

• The role of the submarines in the war. This World War II research topic is all about the importance of the submarines.
• Estimate the destruction in the UK. Find out how many historical places were wiped out as a result of the war.
• Was Winston Churchill prepared for it? Write about the background of that influential leader and how it helped him at the wartime.
• Write about the time the US entered the war. Are there any facts that we still don’t know well enough? What about the timing?
• The miracle of the radar. This WW2 essay topic would be interesting for those who are fascinated by technology. What was the role of that device in WWII?
• Rocket technology and the war. Write about the importance of the rockets and what the moment when they changed the course of the war.
• Building the ultimate warship. What was the driving force of the developments in the field of shipbuilding during WWII?
• Describe the main means of communication during the war. Don’t forget to mention the radio and its impact on the major events in your World War 2 essay.
• The development of bridges and roads. What were the main technological achievements in this field that still impact our everyday life?
• Explain the rise of the popularity of motorcycles during the war. Feel free to mention the folding bikes and their invention.
• The technology we have thanks to the war. Dedicate your WW2 essay to the inventions we can’t live without nowadays that were created during the war.
• What about TVs? You can narrow down this World War II essay question as you wish. For example, write about the shows dedicated to the war.
• The jet engines developed by the needs of war. Look into the reasons why those engines were created during WWII.

💰 WW2 Research Topics: Economy

• What about propaganda? This WWII essay should describe how people in the US were reacting to the war and why.
• The product of war: pop culture elements. Think about products that became popular and maybe even stayed a part of culture after the war ended.
• Toy story: WWII edition. Find out how the war influenced the toy production and whether it was a part of propaganda.
• The major changes in the job market sponsored by WWII. What new roles suddenly appeared on the job market, thanks to the war?
• The power of advertising. To narrow it down, you can even mention how the food packaging was adjusted and why.

🎨 WW2 Research Topics: Culture

• Discover the world of fashion during the wartime. It is one of the cool WWII essay topics. It should be about the new trends for civilians at the time.
• The analysis of artworks created during WWII. Choose a piece of art inspired by war and analyze it. What is its story?
• New times require new family traditions. How were the customs inside the families changed by the war? What about raising children? Highlight these issues in your World War 2 essay.
• The secrets of the love letters during the war. This short essay would require you to dig into the archives and find out what the letters could tell us about the relationships back then.
• What was the unique role of animals in WWII? Dedicate your writing to some type of animal and discuss how they were used.
• The rights of African-Americans during the time of war. Write about how their civil rights were changed and try to find the root causes.
• Food preservation methods: another revolution. This example is all about food and how it was packed and preserved during the war.
• The cases of domestic violence during the cold war. Were the rates higher at the time? Did political tension cause it? This is also a great World War 2 essay topic.
• Expanding the vocabulary. Just like any other part of life, the language also went through some changes. What were the new words that emerged?
• The troubled life of housewife during WWII. Describe the work women used to do at the wartime and how it was changed.
• Still resisting: the movements created by families. Here, you should concentrate on the experience of the families that live in the occupied territories.
• Lifesaving food: the role of nutrition in WWII. Try to research and find the battles that were lost or won due to the availability of food.
• The impact of food rationing on soldiers and families. Write your WW2 essay about the struggles of families and different groups of people.
• What were the common sacrifices of families during the war? In this essay, you would need to look into the negative changes in families’ lifestyles.
• The miracle of penicillin: WWII. This research aims to uncover the importance of penicillin or any other medicine of your choice.
• The clothes that saved lives. Write about different types of clothing and materials that were used to help the soldiers on the battlefield.

💡 World War 2 Essay: More Topic Examples

Below, other suggestions on what you might write about in essays on World War II are presented:

Present in Your World War 2 Essay Alternative Decisions That Could Have Changed the Course of the War Dramatically

Such World War 2 essay will aim to explore some of the greatest decision making mistakes of the world leaders. We do not mean that you should discuss some miraculous history events like “what if Hitler had a heart attack.” In the World War 2 essay devoted to this problem, give realistic alternative decisions that were considered but not realized. Analyze those alternatives that could have changed the end of the war.

“In Your World War Ii Essay, Try to Answer the Question “When Did Hitler Lose the War?”

When did Adolf Hitler lose his chance to win World War II? What was it? These are the World War 2 essay questions you have to answer. Analyze different viewpoints of historians and present your opinion in the essay on World War 2.

Cover the Themes of Atrocity and War-Crimes in the World War 2 Essay

Acts of genocides and atrocity against civil population occurred in such countries as Japan, the Soviet Union, and Germany. Some of them were so horrific and immense that they changed the psyche of many people and different nations. When disclosing this theme in the Second World War essay, tell about Nazi concentration camps, “Death-camps,” the Holocaust , etc.

If you are interested in other  history essay  topics, read our hints for writing terrorism essays . And don’t forget to tell us in comments below your opinion about the World War 2.

📑 World War 2 Essay: Outline Examples

The next is creating a neat outline, which would become a massive help for you during the process of writing. Find examples of World War II essay outlines below!

Example 1. Analyze how some alternative decisions could have changed the course of World War II

Try to pick something realistic. Merely writing that if Hitler suddenly died and the war had never happened is just dull. Get creative and maybe take as a basis some real facts that were considered but never came into life.

• In your World War II essay introduction , present the chosen decision. Include your thesis statement in this part as well. It should be your hypothesis concerning the topic.
• In the main body , give at least three arguments why and how that decision would have changed things. Here, you prove your hypothesis to be right. You may add one counter-argument if you wish. For instance, include the opinion of a historian saying that it wouldn’t change anything.
• In conclusion , state your opinion once again, which is now supported by arguments.

Example 2. When did it happen that Germany lost the war?

Think about when Adolf Hitler might have missed his chance to win World War II. What was it? Include some details. Once again, do your research and consider the opinions of different historians.

• In the introduction to this World War 2 essay , present your point of view. In the thesis statement, write the answer to World War II essay questions clearly and coherently.
• The main body here is for you to include three to five pieces of evidence that may prove you right. If you decide to write an argumentative essay, you might add some contradicting facts, too.
• In the last part of your writing, focus on paraphrasing your thesis statement.

Example 3. World War II: discuss war crimes and atrocity

This essay title is related to all acts of cruelty against the civil population, including genocides. You may want to narrow it down according to your preferences. For instance, you can talk about how concentration camps created by Nazis have changed the people’s psyche.

• Introduce this WW2 essay topic by stating how people have changed after surviving the Death Camps. It might be a good idea to include a sentence at the beginning that may serve as a hook to make your readers interested.
• In the body , present not less than three examples of what you think might be relevant. Those should be proven historical facts if you want your essay to be persuasive.
• Conclude by providing a summary of the facts presented in the main body. Add the paraphrased thesis statement.

💁 World War 2: General Information

World war ii: timeline.

Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. And on September 3, 1939, France and Britain, fulfilling their obligations to Poland, declared war on Germany and World War II began.

However, the beginning of World War II was preceded by some events, inextricably related:

• September 18, 1931. Japan attacked Manchuria
• October 2, 1935 – May 1936. Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia, conquered and annexed it
• October 25 – November 1, 1936. On October 25, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy concluded a cooperation agreement. November 1 announced the creation of the “ Rome-Berlin Axis “
• November 25, 1936. Nazi Germany and imperialist Japan concluded the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the USSR and the international communist movement
• July 7, 1937. Japan invaded China. The World War II began in the Pacific
• 11-13 March 1938. Germany joins Austria (the so-called Anschluss)
• September 29, 1938. Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France signed the Munich agreement obliging the Czechoslovak Republic to cede Nazi Germany to the Sudetenland (where the critical Czechoslovak fortifications were located)
• 14-15 March 1939. Under pressure from Germany, the Slovaks declared their independence and created the Slovak Republic. The Germans broke the Munich agreement , occupied the Czech lands, and established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

• March 31, 1939. France and the United Kingdom provided guarantees of the inviolability of the borders of Poland
• 7-15 April 1939. Fascist Italy attacked Albania and annexed it
• August 23, 1939. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact and a secret annex to it, according to which Europe was divided into spheres of influence

Some scientists think that the World War II was a continuation of the World War I ended in 1918.

September 2, 1945, is the date when the World War II ended. Japan, agreed to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, officially capitulates, thereby putting an end to World War II.

World War II: Key Facts

• Perhaps, the World War II was one the most destructive wars in modern history. About 27,000 people were killed each day from September 1, 1939, to September 2, 1945.
• The primary opponents were Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Imperial Japan on the one hand, and the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France the United States , and China on the other.
• Germany capitulated on May 7, 1945 . At the same time, Japan continued to fight for another four months before their capitulation on September 2. Atomic bombs, dropped by American troops on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were first used against Japan.
• The end of the war was marked by Britain losing most of its empire . At the same time, World War II accelerated the revival of the US and Soviet economies as global superpowers.
• After the end of the World War II, the “Cold War” between the US and the USSR started.

World War 2: Casualties

The exact World War II casualties remain unknown. However, historians name that the total number of victims was over 60 million people including military and civilians killed. Below you’ll find the list of states suffered the highest losses:

• 42,000,000 people–USSR
• 9,000,000 people–Germany
• 4,000,000 people–China
• 3,000,000 people–Japan

World War II: Causes

Perhaps, there were many prerequisites for World War II:

• Japan’s victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) opened the door for Japanese expansion in the Asia-Pacific region
• The US Navy first developed plans to prepare for a naval war with Japan in 1890
• The Great Depression, and the global recession that followed
• The coming to power of Hitler and his statement about the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, signed in 1918
• The creation in 1935 of the Luftwaffe, as a direct violation of the 1919 treaty
• Remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936
• Anschluss of Austria and the annexation of part of Czechoslovakia
• Italy’s desire to create a Third Rome and Japan’s goal to create an independent state with the Pan-Asian sphere of influence

World War II: Results

The results of World War II are not limited to losses and destruction. As a result of the war, the face of the world changed: new borders and new states appeared, new tendencies of social development emerged, and significant inventions were made.

The war gave a strong impetus to the development of science and technology. Radar, jet aircraft, ballistic missiles, antibiotics, electronic computers and many other discoveries were made or entered into widespread use during the war. The foundations of the scientific and technological revolution were laid, which transformed and continued to change the postwar world.

The ideology of fascism, Nazism, racism, colonialism thoroughly discredited itself; on the contrary, the ideas of anti-fascism, anti-colonialism, democracy, and socialism gained wide popularity.

The human rights recorded in the UN Charter are internationally recognized. The influence of parties and groups that fought for democracy and social transformations–communists, socialists, social democrats, Christian democrats and other democratic forces, has sharply increased.

In many countries, significant reforms carried out: partial nationalization of industry and banks, the creation of a state system of social insurance, the expansion of workers’ rights. In some countries, including France, Italy, Germany, Japan, have adopted new, democratic constitutions. There was a profound renewal of the society, democratization of state and public institutions.

The colonial system disintegration was another significant result and consequence of the Second World War. Before the war, the vast majority of the world’s population lived in colonies, the area, and population of which many times exceeded the metropolitan countries: Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, and Japan.

During the World War 2 and after its end, part of the dependent and colonial countries (Syria, Lebanon, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Burma, Philippines, and Korea) declared itself independent. In 1947, India became independent, divided into two dominions: India and Pakistan. The intense process of liberation of the colonial peoples began, which continued until the complete abolition of the colonies in the second half of the twentieth century.

As a result of the war, the balance of forces in the world has changed dramatically. Germany, Italy, Japan were defeated, for a time turned into dependent countries, occupied by foreign troops. The war destroyed their economy, and they for many years could not compete with their former competitors.

Compared with the pre-war time, the positions of France and even Great Britain weakened considerably. The USA came out of the war significantly strengthened. Having surpassed all other countries economically and militarily, the United States became the sole leader of the capitalist world.

The second “superpower” was the Soviet Union. By the end of the war, the Soviet Union had the most massive land army in the world and substantial industrial potential. The USSR Armed Forces were in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, East Germany and North Korea.

Some countries liberated by the Soviet Union took the road of non-capitalist development. After the liberation from the occupiers in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, people’s democratic governments were established with the participation or under the leadership of the Communists, who began profound social transformations. By the Yalta agreements , these countries were considered to be the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union and were in fact under its control.

If the United States became the leader of the capitalist world, then the Soviet Union led the social forces that opposed capitalism. Two main poles of attraction of the world forces, conventionally called the East and the West, were formed; began to build two ideological and military-political blocs, the confrontation of which largely determined the structure of the post-war bipolar world.

The anti-fascist coalition split. Its participants came into conflict with each other, and the “ Cold War ” that lasted more than 45 years, until the collapse of the USSR.

This might be interesting for you:

• Interesting History Essay Topics and Events to Write About
• A List of History Websites for a Perfect Research
• Essay on India after Independence: How-to Guide and Prompts
• World War II Research Essay Topics: ThoughtCo
• Coming in from the Cold: The Newsmagazine of the American Historical Association
• A guide to historical research (BBC)
• Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: The New York Times
• Why Hitler’s grand plan during the second world war collapsed: The Guardian
• Historical Research: ECU
• Humanities Research Strategies: Historical Methodologies (USC Libraries)
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Thanks for these ideas for essays on World War II. These are what I need for my paper about WWII. Now I can start writing my essay on World War II.

To write World War II essays is very instructive – to know the reasons, the course of war events, the results. These all are necessary to comprehend and debar World War III as humanity won’t go through it!