World War 2
How significant was the British Contribution to World War 2? There were many different events that had major contributions from the British. Some were contributed more to than other events. The contribution changes over time, and we must also look at the contribution of other countries as well. I think that the most significant contribution of Britain in the 2nd World War was the Battle of Britain, while second to it were the Battles of the Atlantic, and the contribution of other countries. Britain's contribution to the war at the beginning was not much. The Phoney War, bought time for the other powers, to prepare to fight Germany, which agrees with Stalin's phrase: Britain gave time, America gave money, and Russia gave blood. They sent troops to Norway after this, and they learnt what type of tactics they should use in the future such as how effective air superiority was, and that it should be used. However there were no major battles for the British and they find themselves alone, after the disaster of Dunkirk. The significance is very little compared to times like the Battle of Britain and D-Day. The most significant contribution to the war from Britain was the Battle of Britain. The British faced 2500 planes that were going to attack the British aerodromes and cities while the British could only use 660 planes. Control of air superiority in Britain would make the
Causes of World War II Many historians have traced the causes of World War II to problems left unsolved by World War I (1914
Causes of World War II Many historians have traced the causes of World War II to problems left unsolved by World War I (1914-1918). World War I and the treaties that ended it also created new political and economic problems. Forceful leaders in several countries took advantage of these problems to seize power. The desire of dictators in Germany, Italy, and Japan to conquer additional territory brought them into conflict with the democratic nations. After World War I ended, representatives of the victorious nations met in Paris in 1919 to draw up peace treaties for the defeated countries. These treaties, known as the Peace of Paris, followed a long and bitter war. They were worked out in haste by these countries with opposing goals; and failed to satisfy even the victors. Of all the countries on the winning side, Italy and Japan left the peace conference most dissatisfied. Italy gained less territory than it felt it deserved and vowed to take action on its own. Japan gained control of German territories in the Pacific and thereby launched a program of expansion. But Japan was angered by the peacemakers' failure to endorse the principle of the equality of all races. The countries that lost World War I--Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey--were especially dissatisfied with the Peace of Paris. They were stripped of territory, arms and were required to make
The World War 2 and Stalinist Terror
The World War 2 and Stalinist Terror We can count many causes of World War 2 - economic problems, nationalism, the rise of dictatorships in certain countries. Some believe that many of the causes were due to problems left unsolved by World War 1. But the three main causes were: . The Prussian Militarism - developed in 200 years of history, it was the force that made Germany so powerful, and made it possible for a man like Adolph Hitler to gain total control of it. 2. Adolph Hitler himself - a madman and political strategist, he re-ignited the Prussian Militarism after the German defeat in World War 1, and with his great power under his total control, he started the greatest and cruelest war in history, in his planned attempt to vastly expand Germany and dominate the entire world. 3. Appeasement - Britain and France could easily stop Hitler when Germany was still weak, but their war-traumatized pacifist desire to totally avoid violence just helped Hitler rebuild Germany's military strength more rapidly, until it was too late to stop him. World War II began on September 1, 1939, when Germany, without a declaration of war, invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, and all the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, except Ireland, rapidly followed suit. On June 22, 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union. By December, 1941, German mechanized
Bombing succes in world war two
Source 9 states that "strategic bombing was designed to destroy the industrial power of the enemy and the morale of its people. It did neither." Use the sources, including 10 and 11, to explain whether or not you agree with this view. Source 9 is taken from a book written by Studs Terkel and it is a quote from the economist, J.K. Galbraith. As Terkel has taken the quote from someone else, this is secondary source, which means it is possibly slightly less reliable. Also, it is a small quotation and so, we don't know the exact context of it. This means that the source can be thought of as unreliable because of the lack of background information about it. However, J.K. Galbraith was an academic, and this suggests that he would give a well-balanced, neutral interpretation as to what went on. There are some sources that agree with this quotation that German industry and morale wasn't destroyed. Source 11 for example, shows German armaments production in 1940, 1942 and 1944. It shows that even in 1944, after some of the worst raids, German armaments were still being produced at three times the rate of 1942, before most of the raids! This suggests that the British bombing didn't do much to hinder German armament production. However, we aren't told where the source originates from or how reliable the source is and therefore we don't know how accurate it is. Also, important years
Stalin, Joseph (1879-1953).
Stalin, Joseph (1879-1953), Soviet Communist leader, the longtime ruler who more than any other individual molded the features that characterized the Soviet regime and shaped the direction of post-World War II Europe; in this regard, Stalin may be considered the most powerful person to live during the 20th century. Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, as he was originally named-he adopted the pseudonym Stalin, meaning "a man of steel", around 1910-was born on December 21, 1879, in Gori, now in the Republic of Georgia. Both his parents were Georgian peasants. Neither of them spoke Russian, but Stalin was forced to learn it, as the language of instruction, when he attended the Gori church school in 1888-1894. The best pupil in the school, Soso (his schoolboy nickname) earned a full scholarship to the T'bilisi Theological Seminary. II THE REVOLUTIONARY While studying for the priesthood, Stalin read forbidden literature, including Karl Marx's Das Kapital, and soon converted to a new orthodoxy: Russian Marxism. Before graduation he left the seminary to become a full-time revolutionary. Stalin began his career in the Social-Democratic party in 1899 as a propagandist among T'bilisi rail workers. The police caught up with him in 1902. Arrested in Batum, he spent more than a year in prison before being exiled to Siberia, from which he escaped in 1904. This became a familiar pattern.
Revolution in Russia, Civil War and the rule of Stalin, (1917 - 41).
Revolution in Russia, Civil War and the rule of Stalin, (1917 - 41) Interpretation Essay 'Stalin had luck on his side which helped him become leader of the USSR' M. McCauley a British historian who wrote Russia 1917-41, 1997, p. 78 How valid is this interpretation of Stalin's rise to power? The interpretation written by M. McCauley suggests that Stalin became leader of the USSR because of luck. However, there have been other interpretations that have suggested Stalin became leader of the USSR because of his importance of his position of the party, his policies, Stalin's personal characteristics and political skills, weaknesses of his opponents such as Trotsky, Rykov and Kamenev. Historians including E.H. Carr, C. Ward and R. Conquest have suggested these interpretations. The historian M. McCauley may have formed his interpretation by reading documents that they may have been suppressed before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and therefore, may be more reliable than interpretations written before 1991. Other documents that may have been used to form his interpretation are published sources and books such as The Trotsky Archive, Stalinism by Robert C. Tucker. However, we have to consider the attribution of the quote. As the historian was British this means that he may limited access to documents that are found in Russia, and therefore, the documents he has
The aftermath of world war 2 and the cold war
Victor Fung Class 11(1) IB Sept. 2, 2008 In the aftermath of World War 2, the European countries such as Great Britain, France and Germany emerged weakened both militarily and economically. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as unrivaled superpowers, both keen to make most of their advantage. Although the Soviets and the Americans fought together in the war, the defeat of Germany had made them set their sights on each other. Lack of a common enemy, increasing public pressure, and drastically different ideologies eventually led to arms race that was later known as the Cold War. During the war, the two superpowers contented themselves with fighting Germany and maintained an allied stance. However, immediately after the fall of Germany, both sides scrambled to gain the most out of their victory, especially the Soviets, who had taken more losses than all the other countries combined. As there was no country left that was powerful enough to either stop them or distract them, they began viewing each other with hostility. With Great Britain too weak to deter the Soviets, the only obstacle that remained was America. Although Germany was partitioned between them, Japan was wholly occupied by the Americans, but that was only the beginning of the problems between the two. Having bested their enemies in the war, both the American and Soviet people found new
Was Stalin Necessary
Was Stalin Necessary? Kate Ashton To answer the question 'was Stalin really necessary?' it is important to look at what he achieved in his 24 years from 1929 as leader of the Communist Party in the then USSR. Stalin was responsible for many good ideas. He wanted to modernize the USSR and as most of the industry was squeezed into just a few cities leaving the rest of this huge country in the same backward state it had been in a hundred years earlier, he realised that to be powerful he had to have more successful farming and industry as well as military power. He ended Lenin's NEP (New Economic Policy) and set up a series of five year plans setting targets for the production of coal, oil and electricity in each region. Huge steel mills and dams were built wherever there was a natural resource and towns were built around them. Other countries were impressed and amazed at the speed at which these industries were started and made successful. In 1930 Stalin had realised that there was a general shortage of workers and so he decided to get women in to work by setting up thousands of new crèches and day care. By 1937 women made up 40% of the industrial workers, 21% of building workers and 72% of health workers. By 1937 the USSR was a modern state and a powerful one. It was almost definitely that fact that saved it from defeat when Hitler invaded during the Second World War By
In 1939 the world war started
In 1939 the Second World War started. It was led by a strong believer in God who had high hopes for his country, his name was Adolf Hitler. Many believed that there were four main reasons for the start of the war, these are: The Wall street Crash; League of Nations; Hitler's ambitions and Appeasement. The Wall Street Crash affected the whole world. It was where companies were selling lots of stock at low prices. The prices began to rise and they still had people buying them. On 3rd September the stock market reached its peak. Prices then fell dramatically as people refused to buy the shares. On 29th October 1929 only 16 Million shares were sold. The market had lost 47 percent of its profit in 26 days. The German economy was very badly hit. In 1933, Hitler became Prime Minister of Germany and he was very concerned about the problem and desperately wanted to do something about it. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson proposed the idea of the League of Nations. This meant that countries could sign this and they would be part of an alliance. They would work together to prevent war and to create peace. However, America did not sign the agreement. They said that they didn't want to be sorting out other countries problems-the world's policemen. Also, they said that the League was too slow; it had no power and no army. All decisions in the League had to be made unanimously. Hitler
What were the causes/origins of World War Two?
What were the causes/origins of World War Two? The biggest factor in the causes of World War Two was the appeasement act marked by the Munich agreement in 1938. The policy of appeasement used by Neville Chamberlain, while intended to maintain the peace of the Versailles Treaty, stalled the Allies and helped Germany when World War Two broke out. Letting Germany increase its navy, army, and air force, reoccupy the Rhineland, and give it the Czech Sudetenland all helped to strengthen the German position in Europe. It would lead to Germany taking over most of Europe easily in a matter of months. The British government of the time underestimated the threat of Nazi Germany, supposing that its only aims were to redress the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The underlining fact of this act was that it gave a chance to Hitler, but the distinguishing thing is that if Neville Chamberlain had "given in" to the conditions of an appeasement to any leader of a threatening country, it would still have come off with a negative effect and therefore, the biggest factor is not Hitler Although Neville Chamberlain tried to do what was right for the country, it never is right to give countries that are threatening yours land or money. The result of Neville Chamberlain's appeasement are the most severe out of all the factors. Appeasement led Hitler to believe that no one would oppose his
