Deck 21: E: Collapse at the Center World War, Depression, and the Rebalancing of Global Power 1914-1970s

Question 1

Compare and contrast the consequences of the two world wars.

Answer 1

•Both wars had the following results:
oFacilitated the spread of communism
oSoviet Union after World War I
oChina,North Korea,and Vietnam after World War II
oInternational organizations were established to prevent another war.
oLeague of Nations after World War I
oUnited Nations after World War II
•Results of World War I
oPunitive terms imposed on losers (Treaty of Versailles)
oBreakup of empires (Austro-Hungarian,Russian,ottoman,German)
oWithdrawal of United States from global stage
•Results of World War II
oDecline of European influence on the world stage
oTransfer of leadership of the West to the United States
oMarshall Plan and NATo reflects new international role of United States
oEmergence of the Soviet Union as a rival superpower
oDecolonization of Asia and Africa and emergence of new nation-states
oThree-world system: capitalism,communism,and nonaligned
oCold war

Question 2

In what respects were the two world wars total wars?

Answer 2

•They involved most of the world because the wars in Europe and Asia affected both hemispheres.
•All human and material resources were mobilized for the war effort.
•State propaganda and censorship molded public opinion and generated support for the war.
•The economy produced for the war.
•The line between military and civilian targets became increasingly blurred and became almost nonexistent in World War II.
•Cities were bombed.
•Mass murder of civilians was sanctioned by states (Armenian genocide in World War I;the Holocaust,the Rape of Nanking,and the atomic bomb in World War II).
•Industrialization made possible the development of new military technologies that made wars more destructive.
•The human and material resources of colonial empires were funneled into the war effort.

Question 3

Personal Reflection: Is it possible to draw historical lessons from World War I and World War II?

Answer 3

•Examination of the causes and outcomes of the two wars
•Exploration of potential lessons from the wars
•Assessment of the possibility of lessons being learned
A really good answer will engage with the ideas put forward in Reflections: War and Remembrance: Learning from History.