The Advantages and Disadvantages of World War II

World War II was a global conflict larger than any scale mankind has seen before.  Twelve major countries all over the world were fighting for various reasons. Some were fighting for power, others for safety and democracy.  This was conflict beyond larger anything people have seen before. . It caused a new scale of connection between the world. It is a  scale that is still maintained today. This conflict oversaw one of the greatest developments in technology and combat in the entire world.  Items, such as aircraft carriers were created and used in this period of time. This was very significant because these carriers are still in use, today. This war pioneered new ways of combat. It brought to the forefront air combat. Air combat, unheard of in most places, was brought to a global scale because of this war. Of course, to achieve this zenith, there had to be losses, and there were.   Over 80 million people died during this time. This was 3% of the world population in the 1940’s.  These are just few of the many advantages and disadvantages of the war.

A project of this scale requires a demanding amount of research to be done. Using various resource, ranging from books to websites, my partner and I laboriously collected the information necessary for this presentation.  All satisfactory presentations need to start with a question of the same level. The question determines the quality of the presentation, as a whole. We started off with a basic question: How has World War II affected the human population, currently?  We knew, from prior knowledge, that World War II caused many deaths and conflict among the world. But that could not be the only outcome. There had to be more. That lead us to our second question. What were the benefits and disadvantages of World War II on a global scale. We, now knowing our topic, proceeded on to the research stage. In this stage we read books, such as The Story of World War II by Henry Steele Commager, and went on websites to get unbiased results about this topic.  After extensive research, we put together the project you are currently witnessing. 

World War II brought many advancements in technology from nuclear missiles to fighter jets. These advancements also connected the world in unseen ways. Nuclear weapons are a great leap in military arms.  Although it can be used for harm, nuclear energy is also an alternative power source.  It reduces the global carbon footprint. Modern day planes, which use jet engines, would not exist. Travel would be less efficient, noisy, and time consuming. In addition, it brought forth various military strategies to the battlefront. Guerilla Warfare and Blitzkrieg were all battle strategies used in World War II.

  

  The U.N., a global organization, was established. The United Nation was a leap in the better direction over the League of Nations. The League of Nations was created for the sole purpose of preventing war, whereas the United Nation was much more. The United Nation has many committees ranging from global protection to woman’s rights.  That brought global unity to a whole new stage. Although there was fighting, it was at a far lesser scale that ever before.  Committees, like OCHA, provided humanitarian aid and war relief to many impoverished, third-world nations.

Another positive  factor was the gaining of independence of many countries. For instance, the British Empire, being unable to support its colonies, granted independence to countries like Canada, India, and Pakistan. Most of these new countries have gone on to become superpowers and active parts of the global community. Although wars do break out between them, the countries still try to keep the peace, so as to not trigger the next world war.

World War II brought America out of the Great Depression. Without the growing threat in Europe, Americans could not have found jobs. The war sent many Americans back to work making guns and ammunition. Others built planes, trucks, and tanks for the war effort. More became soldiers and some even started farms to support the troops in Europe and Asia.

As men went to fight in the war, women took over the men’s jobs back at home. This was a massive step towards women’s rights. African Americans also had a step being made towards equality. African Americans were integrated into the military. For instance, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first Air Force Squadron of just African Americans. After facing rejection many times, the unit was approved. The Airmen were very successful in the European theater. The captain of the squadron was the first one to shoot down a jet powered aircraft. This was an achievement for both of the groups. These groups before the conflict faced high levels of discrimination and hatred. This could be considered as a ‘turning point’ for these groups.

As stated previously, all these benefits had to come with their own tradeoffs.  

World War II was the largest conflict ever seen by mankind. This war, as a whole, not only brought death through combat, but also through other means. The war caused hunger and starvation in many portions of the world. This war also sparked minor riots around the world. In addition, all throughout the war, Hitler was conducting the largest genocide known to man. The massive killing of Jews was 7.5% of the total war casualties.  

The ending of this war also brought differences. The two major superpowers of the world had differentiating ideals of the future. America, France, and Britain wanted democracy and freedom of the world, but the Soviet Union wanted a rigid control of the world and communism to spread. This caused a conflict called the Cold War. This war, although not direct, caused a lot of casualties.

In addition, World War II led to the independence of many nations under the control of the British Empire. Although this may seem good, this resulted in border disputes, religion violence, and plenty of other issues that still exist today.

World War II clearly has both benefits and disadvantages. It is really hard to weigh the two to determine a clear winner. We will have to just acknowledge that both sides exist in this scenario. Although this conflict brought many benefits, it was because of people willing to take their lives for us. The world, as we know it, would not be the same without each and every veteran who fought for their own nation in that war. All the praise for every benefit we experience out of this conflict goes to the soldiers, who fought for us in this war.