World War II

On the 1st of September 1939, one of the deadliest wars in human history began. World War II erupted with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. Millions of combatants, as well as civilian collateral were sacrificed in the war. But was it Germany alone the cause for all the suffering? Was the German war machine inevitable? And were the Allies entirely free from blame?

Following World War I, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. From this treaty, Germany had to disarm, make territorial concessions and pay reparations of 5 billion dollars to the Allied powers. The German army, once reaching 1.9 million soldiers during World War I, was reduced to 100,000. The German economy shrank by approximately one-third with the overall industrial production reduced by 40%. In the end, the German empire collapsed. The Treaty of Versailles was set to punish Germany, rather than to keep and provide peace.

It seemed like there was no hope left for Germany until Hitler rose to power as the Führer of the country. Charmed by his charismatic speeches and vitriol against all their perceived oppression, the people of Germany supported Hitler as they thought that he was a saviour that could lead them to a brighter future.

It can be said that Hitler already broke the treaty of Versailles from the moment he started to militarise Germany. He completely ignored the treaty when he began invading other nations. Surprisingly, the UK and France didn't interfere with Hitler's madness. In today’s understanding of international relationships and order, this would be an inconceivable response. But this was the twilight of imperialism. Britain and France had made concessions, allowing Germany to take their own ‘breathing space’. But Hitler’s ambition did not stop, and pushed on, forcing a threatened France and the UK to take action. They declared war on Germany. Germany fought the allies but eventually lost the war.

Reinterpreting Germany in the light of imperialism, rather than a modern view of international relations, can we say that Germany’s expansion was particularly different from other countries at that time? Germany’s expansion was something similar to the imperialism of Britain and France. From 1884 to 1885, the borders of the countries in Africa were divided by the UK and France carelessly, and this caused millions to die, and its effects are still felt to this day. A total of 171 countries were invaded to build the British Empire. One-hundred-thousand Jews were slaughtered in the Russian pogrom. And the persecution of the Jewish people was also common in other countries.

Of course no one denies the heinous acts of the Nazis. But this is too simple a picture. It was imperialism itself that was the problem. Ignoring the complexity of the problem does not help peace. If it hadn’t been countries attempting to take over each other, people might be able to dream of a peaceful world. And I believe that one day, that world will come.

By Justin