World War II :

The deadliest human conflict

By now, many of you may be familiar with the numerous special world days that are being observed in most parts of the globe including our country as declared by the United Nations (UN). On May 8 and 9, most countries in the world were called upon by the UN to reflect on one of the 'deadliest' conflicts in the history of the world; these two days have been declared as a 'Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who

lost their lives during the Second World War'. It is noteworthy that this year these two days coincided with Vesak - the commemoration of the Birth, Enlightenment and 'Parinibbana of the Buddha, who preached to mankind of the significance of non-violence, and respect for life, and also the futility of greed and power. Perhaps, if mankind heeds the teachings of the Enlightened One and other great spiritual leaders such as Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed, the world would be a better place to live in and we may never, ever have to witness another global conflict like the Second World War.

Some of you must have learnt about the two great wars; the First and the Second World Wars at school for history and even heard your grand parents talk about certain incidents relating to the Second World War which also affected our little island nation. In fact, there is hardly any nation that didn't feel the impact of this global conflict which left over 70 million people dead. It is considered by many to be the most widespread war in history. So, let's go back in time and learn more about this deadly war, the impacts of which are still felt by many around the world...

Before we delve into the Second World War which is also popularly referred to as World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, let's focus briefly on the First World War or World War I, which took place during 1914 to 1918. The event that led to this First World War took place in Austria and eventually two alliances of powerful European nations opposed each other and quarrelled for economic and political reasons. One side were France, Russia and Britain and on the other-Germany, Austria - Hungary and Italy. The United States joined the war only in 1917. In 1918, the Germans were defeated and on November 11, 1918, Germany signed the armistice. But, during the four years of war, over 10 million soldiers died. Millions of civilians too died and tremendous amount of property was damaged.

The First World War ended but, it established dictatorships in Russia, Italy and Germany. In Russia, the Russians overthrew their Emperor (the Tsar) even before the war ended in 1917, and the Communists seised power. In Italy, Benitto Mussolini set up a Fascist government in 1922 and

 in Germany, Adolf Hitler led the National Socialist (a Nazi party). He seized power in 1933 during a worldwide depression. He rebuilt the German army and announced his intention of taking over the countries bordering Germany. And he did so by joining Austria to Germany in 1938 and also Czechoslovakia in 1939.

In this same year (1939) on September 1, Hitler invaded Poland without warning, triggering off another global military conflict. By September 3, both Britain and France were at war with Germany. Within a week, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Africa joined. The great powers and a majority of other nations involved in the war formed two opposing alliance - the Allies and the Axis.

The Allies comprised France, Britain and the US (three major powers) and all countries under the British Empire. In the opposing side, supporting Germany were Italy and Japan.

With over million military personnel mobilised to fight in the war, battles raged on air, land and sea.

In April, 1940, Germany suddenly struck Norway and Denmark and defeated both countries. Then on May 10, 1940 the Germans invaded France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. And, in less than 40 days, Adolf Hitler and his army defeated France. This left only Great Britain to oppose Germany.

Then in his thirst for power, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. It then ended up fighting Great Britain and the Soviet Union. By this time, the United States was not directly involved in the war. It was only providing military aid to Britain, but it entered the war when Japan, an ally of Germany, bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.

This attack on Pearl Harbour shunned the nation. It caused heavy casualties in lives, property and aeroplanes.When the United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, Germany and Italy then declared war on the United States.

The war spread throughout the world covering Europe, the Pacific, South East Asia, China, the Mediterranean and Africa. According to estimates, nearly 70 million people are believed to have died in this war. In Asia the death toll is reported to be 30,296,400 (both civilians and military personnel) and in Europe the total is put at 41,950,000. More people died on the Allied side than on the opposing side.However, by 1944, the stage was set for the defeat of Germany and its allies. On June 6, 1944, the British and American troops landed on the coast of Normandy to fight the Germans. Popularly called D-Day, it was the beginning of the liberation of occupied Europe.On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered on May 7.

The war which raged over six years(1939-1945)finally ended with the use of nuclear weapons. The day this great war ended is recorded as the day Germany surrended (May 7, 1945), but some consider it to be the day the Armistice was signed - that is August 14, 1945.

The Second World War ended with the Soviet United and the Union States of America emerging as Super Powers. And, this set the stage for the Cold War which lasted the next 45 years.

The entire world did not want to see another such dreadful war being waged so, the United Nations was established to prevent such a massive global conflict from ever taking place. They've succeeded so far in ensuring this but, would there be a Third World War in the future? Let's hope not!

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Fact file

* Adolf Hitler was appointed Reichsknazler (Chancellor) of Germany on January 30, 1933.

* The leaders of the three major Axis countries were Germany - (Nazi leader) Adolf Hitler. Italy - Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and Japan - Prime Minister, Tojo Hideki.

* The leaders of the Allied nations were - Russia - Josef Stalin

England - Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

U.S.A- President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

France - Charles de Gaulle.

China - Sun Yat Sen.

* Majority of the civilians died during the Second World War due to diseases, starvation, massacre, bombardments and genocide.

* Hitler's police - Gestapo and the SS arrested, tortured and imprisoned in concentration camps millions of men, women and children.

The Nazis are believed to have killed six million jews, two million ethnic Poles, and four million others deemed as unworthy of life.

* Total military dead is around 25 million. Civilians killed totalled around 47 million including 20 million from war-related diseases.

* Axis death toll is about 11 million while Allied death toll is about 61 million.

* The war ended when United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

* The Cold War was the name of the political and economic rivalry that began after the war between the two super powers.

Facts and pix: Internet and Children's Fact Finder

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