Answer

The Second World War (World War II), was a global conflict that lasted for six years between 1939 and 1945. Many world nations including significant powers formed two military alliances; the Axis and the Allies, which opposed each other. Days of tension between the two powers eventually led to the emergency of war on a global scale. Consequently, over 100 million individuals from about 30 nations got involved in the fighting directly. Primarily, it is essential to evaluate the causes, resolution, and effects of the war.

Effect of the War

The war that ensued was fought between the Allied and the Axis powers. The Allied members consisted of the Soviet Union, China, the United States, and Great Britain. On the other hand, the Axis powers comprised Italy, Germany, Japan, and later Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia (Maiolo et al. 11). Primarily, significant participants of the war such as Germany utilized all their economic, scientific, and industrial capabilities in war affairs. Consequently, the fatalities occurring from the war were high. According to Maiolo et al., between 50 and 85 million people lost their lives during the conflict (17). Majority of the fatalities were civilians, especially in China and the Soviet Union. The killings were mainly through the Holocaust genocide, massacres, bombing, disease, starvation, and the nuclear weapon. At the end of the war, there was a shift of power from defeated nations to victors.

Courses and the Start of the War

Many factors led to the emergence of World War II. Particularly, the instability created by the First World War, especially in Europe, set the stage for another conflict. Therefore, unresolved issues after the end of the Great War and the harsh conditions imposed on nations that had lost such as Germany made them uncomfortable. Consequently, they looked for an opportunity to get back and regain their international supremacy. In this regard, Germany was a significant contributor to the emergence of the Second World War. According to Fuller, the nation experienced economic and political instability as part of the effects of the Great War and the Versailles Treaty (21). Consequently, Adolf Hitler rose to power using his National Socialist party (Party) in a move that promised many Germans a return to superior days.

Hitler’s rise to power was followed by his connotation as the Reich Chancellor in 1933, a move that made him feel like a supreme leader. Throughout his political growth, Hitler was obsessed with the idea of having a “pure” German race, and he believed that it could be gained through war (Overy 361). Therefore, in the mid-1930s, Hitler embarked on a rearmament mission for his nation. The move violated the Versailles Treaty and Hitler being aware of the consequences, did it in secret.

Germany, through Hitler, managed to sign treaties with Japan and Italy against the Soviet Union. The occupation of Austria followed the fete by Germany troops in 1938 and later the annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. The actions signified the start of World War II. However, confrontation with any members of the Allied powers was not forthcoming at first because both Britain and France remained un-interested in any international confrontation, as they recuperated from the effects of the First World War On the other hand; the Soviet Union and the United States were involved in internal politics, which was demanding.

The confrontation between the Allied and the Axis occurred in 1939 after Hitler and Joseph Stalin, a Soviet leader, signed a non-aggression pact. The pact intended to avoid confrontation from the Soviet Union during an invasion of Poland. The move attracted interest from France and Britain as they had assured Poland of protection in the event of an attack by German. Therefore, when Hitler invaded Poland on September 1sth, 1939, France and Britain reacted after two days thereby kick-starting the Second World War officially.

The End of WWII

German continued its invasion across Europe through attacks on Belgium, France, the Soviet Union, and Britain. The strength demonstrated by German forces forced Great Britain to seek help from the US based on their agreement through the Lend-Lease Act. During the fighting, Hitler, the Germany leader also focused on exterminating all the Jews from all German-occupied territories. On the other side of the war, Japan was fighting China as it sought to be the dominant force in Europe. During the conflict, Japanese’s troops attacked a US naval ship at Perl Harbor killing over 2,300 troops in the process. The action led to a unified public opinion by Americans to have the US enter the War.

 A series of defeats, depletion of supplies, and severe weather led to the surrender of German in early 1943, which was later followed by formal submission in 1945 after Hitler’s death. However, war with Japan was still ongoing. Primarily, the fear of more causalities in any attempt to invade Japan’s mainland lead to authorization of the use of the Atomic bomb by President Harry Truman (Dockrill 33). The effect of the bomb led to the surrender of Japan in mid-august 1945.

Conclusively, the Second World War proved to be the most devastating conflict ever witnessed. The number of fatalities and property destroyed was very high. Moreover, Hitler’s extermination of about 6 million Jews epitomizes racism, and the effects of the atomic bomb were massive. Principally, the effects of the war led to the loss of interest in military warfare by many nations. However, the weakening of Europe superpowers caused a shift of power to the US and the Soviet Union while China’s success in Asia led to the spread of communis