There have been numerous international issues that have had a great impact on our lives. World War I has improved the world in several ways, but it is hard to disagree that the Great Depression lead to Nazi Germany’s rising and the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Gulf War gave power to the rise of islamic fundamentalism and that lead to the September 11 attacks, which triggered USA to start War on Terror. However, World War II had the greatest impact in the modern world due to the following reasons: It made both the USSR and USA the powerhouses of the world, and it established the idea of total war.
To begin with, it is an undeniable fact that World War II was a huge factor in the beginning of the war between ideas of Soviet communism and American capitalism, the Cold War. The Cold War was due to the USSR’s rise. Because the USSR played an important role on Nazi Germany’s downfall, European countries and the USA became aware of this newly born republic. The USSR had the power to defeat countries in Europe very easily. Also, the USSR had made other eastern Europe countries as a part of them or a satellite country. The American economy had grown due to the post-war economy. Other European and Asian countries had gained some benefits by the Monroe Doctrine and Marshall Plan due to the awareness of America to the Soviet Union’s rising.
Secondly, the idea of total war had been established and ended by World War II. Total war, military conflict in which the contenders are willing to make any sacrifice in lives and other resources such as nuclear weapons to obtain complete victory; the sacrifices of lives and other resources distinguishes total war from limited war. World War II has shown the biggest, cruelest, and last total war. The eastern front was the finest example of total war. German occupation of Belarus during World War II, which was a part of the eastern front, led to the death of 2,230,000 people. 2,000,000 of people were dead or injured in the Battle of Stalingrad. The USSR had conscripted 34,476,700 people and 11,444,100 of soldiers were injured or dead. The Pacific War, which was another part of World War II, made America to invest 40% of their GDP in the war. These examples represent the idea of total war by showing countries that had spent every possible resource on war. However, ironically, total war in World War II ended with the appearance of nuclear weapons. The idea of mutually assured destruction is an advanced version of total war. Total war is focused on usage of every usable source, but when mutually assured destruction is focused on, then any victory would be a Pyrrhic victory, a victory in which the victor suffers so much loss that it is tantamount to defeat.”. MAD (mutually assured destruction) forced the USSR, USA, and other countries’ wars to be limited due to fear of total destruction that was shown by World War II.
World War II gave rise of communist countries such as the USSR or China. Due to that, the USA, which is the leader of capitalism, noticed the danger of the USSR and supported some of the countries that are crucial to stop the red march of socialists such as South Korea and West Germany. It also forces countries to have limited wars because of the destruction and fear it brought. Due to the Cold War which lasted for 45 years and the idea of total war, World War II is the event that has the greatest impact on our lives.
References
Daniels, R.V. (2007) The rise and fall of communism in Russia. New Haven: Yale University Press. (Accessed: November 10, 2022)
International Engagement & Cold War: Political effects of World War II (2021) TheCollector. Available at: https://www.thecollector.com/political-effects-of-world-war-ii-cold-war/ (Accessed: November 9, 2022).
