WORLD WAR 2:

World War II, also called Second World War, was a conflict that involved virtually every part of the
world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents 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. It was the biggest conflict in history that had lasted almost six years. Nearly some 100
million people had been militarized, and 50 million had been killed (around 3% of the world's
population).

MAJOR CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II:

TREATY OF VERSALLIES:
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on June 28, 1919, that officially ended World War I
between Germany and the Allied Powers (mainly France, Britain, and the United States).

 Blame: Germany was forced to accept full responsibility for causing the war (War Guilt Clause –
Article 231).
 Reparations: Germany had to pay huge amounts of money (reparations) to the Allied countries
for the damages caused by the war.
 Territorial Losses: Germany lost 13% of its land, including key industrial areas. Alsace-Lorraine
was returned to France.
 Military Restrictions: Germany’s army was limited to 100,000 troops. It was banned from
having submarines, tanks, and an air force.
 League of Nations: The treaty established the League of Nations, an international peacekeeping
organization (though Germany was initially excluded)
The main goal of the treaty was to prevent another major war by weakening Germany. However, the
harsh terms instead caused deep resentment and economic hardship, which later contributed to the rise of
Adolf Hitler and the start of World War II.

Failure of the League of Nations:

The League of Nations was an international organization set up in 1919 to keep world peace. It was
intended that all countries would be members and that if there were disputes between countries, they
could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. The League of Nations was a good idea, but
ultimately a failure, as not all countries joined the league. Also, the League had no army to prevent
military aggression such as Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in
China.

Great Depression of 1929:

The worldwide economic depression of the 1930s took its toll in different ways in Europe and Asia. In
Europe, political power shifted to totalitarian and imperialist governments in several countries, including
Germany, Italy, and Spain. In Asia, a resource-starved Japan began to expand aggressively, invading
China and maneuvering to control a sphere of influence in the Pacific.

Rise of Nazism:
Adolf Hitler, the Leader of the German National
Socialist (Nazi) party, preached a racist brand of
fascism. Hitler promised to overturn the
Versailles Treaty, restore German wealth & glory
and secure additional Lebensraum (“living
space”) for the German people, who he contended
deserve more as members of a superior race. In
1933 Hitler became the German Chancellor, and
in a series of subsequent moves established
himself as dictator. Moreover, in 1941 the Nazi
regime unleashed a war of extermination against
Slavs, Jews, and other elements deemed inferior
by Hitler’s ideology.

Policy of Appeasement:
Hitler openly denounced the Treaty of Versailles and began secretly building up Germany’s army and
weapons. Although Britain and France knew of Hitler’s actions, they thought a stronger Germany would
stop the spread of Communism from Russia. An example of appeasement was the Munich Agreement of
September 1938. In the Agreement, Britain and France allowed Germany to annex areas in
Czechoslovakia where German-speakers lived. Germany agreed not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia
or any other country. However, in March 1939, Germany broke its promise and invaded the rest of
Czechoslovakia. Even then, neither Britain nor France was prepared to take military action.

Key Turning Points of the World War II:

The Start:
Three years of mounting international tension - encompassing the Spanish Civil War, the union of
Germany and Austria, Hitler's occupation of the Sudetenland and the invasion of Czechoslovakia led to
deterioration of ties between Axis Power and Allied Powers. However, the German invasion of Poland on
1 September 1939 and subsequently two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. This
marked the beginning of World War II.

Phony War:
The western Europe was very quiet during the first few months of the war. This period of war is known as
'phony war'. Preparations for war continued in earnest, but there were few signs of conflict, and civilians
of the western European countries (allied powers) evacuated to safe places.

Ribbentrop Pact:
By the early part of 1939 the German dictator Adolf Hitler had become determined to invade and occupy
Poland. Poland, for its part, had guarantees of French and British military support should it be attacked by
Germany. Hitler intended to invade Poland anyway, but first he had to neutralize the possibility that the
Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its western Neighbour. Secret negotiations in August 1939, led
to the signing of the German Soviet Nonaggression Pact in Moscow. Further, Russia followed Germany
into Poland in September and Poland was carved up between the two invaders before the end of the year.

Winter War 1940:

The 'winter war' between Russia and Finland
concluded in March, and in the following
month Germany invaded Denmark and
Norway. Denmark surrendered immediately,
but the Norwegians fought on - with British
and French assistance - surrendering in June
1940.

Fall of France 1940:

After war with Scandinavian countries got
over, Germany invaded France, Belgium and
Holland. During this phase, the western
Europe encountered the Blitzkrieg - or
'lightning war'. Blitzkrieg: Germany's combination of fast armored tanks on land, and superiority in the
air, made a unified attacking force that was both innovative and effective. Despite greater numbers of air
and army personnel in Allied powers, they proved no match for German Forces. In France an armistice
was signed with Germany, with the puppet French Vichy government. Having conquered France, Hitler
turned his attention to Britain and began preparations for an invasion.

Battle of Britain 1940:

Lasting from July to September 1940, it was the first war to be fought solely in the air. German took
decisions to attack from airfields and factories to the major cities, but somehow the Royal Air Force
managed to squeak a narrow victory. This ensured the - ultimately indefinite - postponement of the
German invasion plans.

War Getting Global:

With continental Europe under Nazi control, and Britain safe - for the time being - the war took on a more
global dimension in 1941. Following the defeat of Mussolini's armies in Greece and Tobruk, German
forces arrived in North Africa and invaded Greece and Yugoslavia in April 1941.

Pearl Harbour:
The Japanese, tired of American trade embargoes, mounted a surprise attack on the US Navy base of
Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. 4/7 This ensured that global conflict commenced, with
Germany declaring war on the US, a few days later. Also, within a week of Pearl Harbor, Japan had
invaded the Philippines, Burma and Hong Kong.

American Entry into the War:

Through the Battle of Midway 1942, the US entered World War II. In this battle, US sea-based aircraft
destroyed four Japanese carriers and a cruiser, marking the turning point in World War II. Also, the news
of mass murders of Jewish people by the Nazis reached the Allies, and the US pledged to avenge these
crimes.

Reversal of German Fortunes:

By the second half of 1942, British forces gained the initiative in North Africa and Russian forces
counterattacked at Stalingrad. In February 1943, Germany surrendered at Stalingrad to Soviet Union. This
was the first major defeat of Hitler's armies. Further, German and Italian forces in North Africa
surrendered to the Allies. As the Russian advance on the Eastern Front gathered pace, recapturing
Kharkiv and Kiev from Germany. Moreover, Allied bombers began to attack German cities in enormous
daylight air raids. The Russians reached Berlin (capital of Germany) on 21 April 1945. Hitler killed
himself on the 30,two days after Mussolini had been captured and hanged by Italian partisans. Germany
surrendered unconditionally on 7 May, and the following day was celebrated as VE (Victory in Europe)
day. The war in Europe was over.

Nuclear Bombing and The End:

Plans were being prepared for an Allied invasion of Japan but fears of fierce resistance and massive
casualties prompted Harry Truman - the new American president to sanction the use of an atomic bomb
against Japan. Such bombs had been in development since 1942, and on 6 August 1945 one of them was
dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later another was dropped on Nagasaki. No
country could have withstood such attacks, and the Japanese surrendered on 14 August. With the
surrender of Japan, World War II was finally over.

Aftermath of World War II:

New Superpowers:
World War II brought about changes in the status of countries and continents. Britain and France lost
their positions of preeminence as superpowers and yielded place to the USA and the USSR.

Start of Decolonization:
After the war, Britain and France were
confronted with various domestic and external
problems. Both could no longer hold onto their
respective colonies Thus; the post-war world
witnessed the end of colonialism in Africa and
Asia.

Birth of UN:
One of the momentous results of the war was
the birth of the United Nations Organization.
Although the League failed to deliver,
mankind did not altogether lose its hopes of
making the world a safer and happier place to
live in. The UN Charter enshrines the hopes
and ideals of mankind based on which
countries can work together to maintain lasting peace. However, the establishment of the UN was agreed,
much before the end of World War II under the Atlantic Charter. Start of Cold War After the end of the
war, a conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, to set up peace treaties. The countries that fought with
Hitler lost territory and had to pay reparations to the Allies. Germany and its capital Berlin were divided
into four parts. The zones were to be controlled by Great Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet
Union. The three western Allies and the Soviet Union disagreed on many things and as time went on
Germany was divided into two separate countries: East Germany, which had a Communist government
and West Germany, which was a democratic state. This laid the foundation of the Cold War.

New Economic World Order:

Bretton Woods Conference, formally United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, meeting at
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire (July 1–22, 1944), during World War II to make financial arrangements
for the postwar world after the expected defeat of Germany and Japan. It drew up a project for the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD-now known as World Bank) to make
long-term capital available to states urgently needing such foreign aid, and a project for the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to finance short-term imbalances in international payments to stabilize exchange
rates. Also, the US dollar was established as a reserve currency for the world trade.

India and World II

World War II had taken an immense toll on the British Empire. Britain had lost a lot of capital, and they
were looking to their colonies to help them get the status of world power back. However, Mahatma
Gandhi currently organized Indians against the British. Also, World War II broke out to contain Hitler's
intention of having German colonies beyond its borders, the same colonial occupation that Britain had
already been practicing for centuries.

Thus, after the war, people all over the world started supporting voices against British occupation over its
colonies. When the Labour Party came to power in 1945 in Britain it inclined towards internationalism
and racial equality, among other liberal principles. Soon after coming into power, Prime Minister Clement
Attlee (Labour Party) began the process of granting India its independence in 1947.