World War II: Global Conflict and Its Legacy

The Second World War was a devastating military conflict that spanned from 1939 until 1945. It involved nearly all European countries, Japan, the United States, China, and European colonies across North Africa, Asia, and Oceania, making it a truly global event.

Origins of World War II

The primary causes of this monumental war included:

• Nationalist Discontent: Germany harbored resentment over the loss of significant territories due to the Treaty of Versailles. Italy, similarly, felt aggrieved, believing it had not received the territories it deserved after World War I.
• Economic Protectionism: The adoption of protectionist economic policies, aimed at reducing imports, led to an increase in tensions and trade disputes between nations.
• Expansionist Policies: Germany, Italy, and Japan pursued aggressive expansionist policies, seeking to enlarge their territories and spheres of influence.
• Appeasement Policies: Great Britain's policy of appeasement, intended to maintain peace, inadvertently tolerated these expansions, emboldening the aggressor nations.

Key Phases of the Conflict

The war was fought between two opposing sides: the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (initially Great Britain, France, and Poland, later joined by many others). The conflict erupted simultaneously across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, unfolding in three distinct phases.

Phase One: Axis Dominance and Early Setbacks (1939-1941)

During the initial phase, Germany achieved numerous victories and conquered vast territories, largely due to its innovative Blitzkrieg strategy – rapid and successive air and land attacks on the enemy front. However, German forces faced significant setbacks in the Battle of Britain and during their invasion of the USSR, which subsequently joined the Allies. Concurrently, the Italians attacked the British protectorate of Egypt, aiming to control the Mediterranean, while the Japanese invaded French colonies in Indochina, initiating their expansion in the Pacific and launching a surprise attack on an American naval base, which led to the USA joining the Allies.

Phase Two: Allied Counteroffensives and Turning Points (1942-1943)

In the second phase, the Axis powers suffered their first major defeats. These included: the Battle of El Alamein, where they were expelled from Egypt; the Battle of the Atlantic, where German submarines were largely destroyed; and the pivotal Battle of Stalingrad, where the Germans were forced to surrender by the Russians. Additionally, during this period, the war in Africa concluded, Mussolini was dismissed and later executed, and the Tehran Conference took place. At Tehran, representatives of Britain (Churchill), the USA (Roosevelt), and the USSR (Stalin) agreed to open a new front in France to liberate Western Europe. Hitler committed suicide later, near the end of the war in Europe.

Phase Three: Pacific Theater and Final Victory (1944-1945)

In the third phase, the effectiveness of aircraft carriers and American submarines in crucial engagements, such as the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, effectively ended Japanese control of the Pacific islands. The global conflict finally concluded when U.S. President Harry Truman authorized the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Wartime Transformation: Economy and Society

During the war, a comprehensive wartime economy was established, entirely focused on supplying and supporting the war effort. Raw materials like iron were overexploited for industrial use, petroleum extraction surged to provide fuel, industries shifted to manufacturing military vehicles, and scientific and technological research concentrated on developing new weapons. Society, too, was profoundly conditioned by the war's effects, including food shortages and relentless bombing. This led to the implementation of rationing systems, the mass evacuation of civilians, and significant changes in daily habits. In Germany, a resistance movement emerged to oppose the Nazis, alongside collaborators who supported them, and the number of exiles dramatically increased.

Defining Events and New World Order

The Holocaust: A Tragic Chapter

One of the most horrific events of this war was the Holocaust, in which Jews from all countries occupied by the Axis powers were systematically persecuted and executed by the Nazis.

Birth of the United Nations

Another pivotal outcome was the creation of the United Nations (UN), designed to protect human rights and maintain international peace. This organization resulted from agreements between the Allies at the San Francisco Conference and replaced the defunct League of Nations.

Profound Consequences of WWII

The Second World War left an indelible mark on the world, with far-reaching consequences:

• Demographic: It caused the greatest loss of human life in any war in history.
• Economic: Widespread destruction of production areas and cities across Europe and Asia.
• Political: Significant changes in the leadership systems of the Axis powers, and a dramatic increase in the power of the USA and the USSR. These two nations emerged as the world’s new superpowers, leading to a division of the world into two main spheres of influence with differing political systems (the onset of the Cold War).
• Territorial: The Allies acquired territories previously held by the Axis powers.
• Decolonization: The active participation of colonies in the war spurred decolonization. Many colonies gained independence, leading to the creation of new nations, often characterized by political instability, economic underdevelopment, neo-colonialism, and high population growth.