Introduction
World War II was the most destructive period in our history, with Adolf Hitler and Germany at the center of it. It was fought with “unparalleled ferocity using weapons of previously unseen destructiveness in unsurpassed numbers” (Marshall Cavendish Corporation 12), and finally culminated in the atomic bomb being used. The fighting lasted longer than it did in World War I and had a truly global scope, with the fighting involving millions of troops.
This war resulted in the deaths of about 56 million people from 1939 to 1945, with 60% of them being civilians (Marshall Cavendish Corporation 12). Although part of the reasons for the civilian deaths were illness, neglect, and famine, it should be noted that they also became targets for sustained and deliberate attacks on a massive scale. They became victims of the strategic bombing campaigns and the cruel occupation regimes, as well as the genocidal policies of the Japanese and German occupying forces.
Among the countries involved, Poland, China, and Russia were the ones that suffered the most and the Nazis’ treatment of the European Jews could be considered the greatest crime against civilians. About 6 million children, women and men perished in the Holocaust, and even homosexuals and European gypsies became victims in the Nazi death camps.
Being a key figure in the Second World War, Adolf Hitler becomes the focus of this paper. In particular, this paper explores how World War II began and what role Adolf Hitler and Germany played in what historians call the Great War.
Hitler and Germany’s Role in the Second World War
Although World War II primarily had a military nature, the battles fought also reflected a technological, economic, social, and political background (Marshall Cavendish Corporation 13). As well, there were many different reasons for the conflict, which included age-old hatreds and conflicts, as well as more recent ones.
Adolf Hitler’s and the German Nazi Party’s political ambitions were considered the immediate reasons for the beginning of the war in Europe. Hitler took advantage of the Germans’ resentment at the harsh terms included in the Treaty of Versailles, which put the blame for the outbreak of World War I on the Germans. It was this feeling of resentment and humiliation that fueled Hitler’s and the German Nazi’s hatred towards the Jews, and which Hitler also banked on to obtain support for his causes (Lindner).
Born Alois Schickelgruber in Braunau am Inn, Austria on the 20th of April 1889, Hitler was known to be a moody and resentful child with very little ambition (Catherwood and Horvitz 203). Two of the e tragedies that he encountered in his early life were the death of his mother from cancer and his rejection from the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts, which put an end to his aspiration of becoming an artist. Historians believe that this incident became the source of Hitler’s hostility towards the Jews. It was also during his time in Vienna that Hitler got influenced by the beliefs of “defrocked monk Lanz von Liebenfels and Austrian Pan-German leader George von Schoenerer” (Catherwood and Horvitz 23) about racial purity and anti-Semitism. He even developed the belief that the Jews had contaminated the German race and that they were the source of all evils in the modern society; and thus, they had to be eradicated (Coppa 103).
Hitler was a decorated soldier in World War I, being a member of the 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment, and he strongly believed that Germany’s defeat was because of the Jews’ treachery against Germany. While working in Munich, he took an interest on the German Workers Party, which would later become the Nazis or the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP).
He would soon become the leader of the Nazis upon which he started a program, which called for the Jews to be excluded from the German community. He created a policy that led to the deprivation of privileges from the Jews, with their total removal as the end goal.
In 1933, he became the chancellor of Germany (Coppa 102) where he rallied for the enactment of the Enabling Act, which allowed him to create a dictatorship. He suppressed social democrats and communists and abolished free trade unions. He also marginalized the Jews by removing them from the cultural, business, and political life of the country and imprisoned his political opponents in concentration camps.
When Hindenburg, then president of Germany, died in 1934, Hitler appointed himself as the leader of Germany and obliged all armed services members to pledge personal loyalty. This gave birth to the Third Reich. Hitler tried to nullify the obligations of Germany as indicated in the Versailles treaty and began to militarize the country again.
In efforts to eradicate the Jews, the Nazis corralled them in ghettos, which intensified even more with the passing of the Nuremberg Laws. In 1938, the Kristallnacht or the Night of the Broken Glass occurred where the German Nazis attacked Jewish synagogues and businesses and where they kidnapped Jews whom they held for ransom. The Jews were encouraged to leave Germany after the Kristallnacht, but the Nazis would invade Poland a year later.
As the war drew near, Hitler formed alliances with Japan and Italy, and together they would be called the Axis Powers. Germany also made a non-aggressive pact with the Soviet Union where they secretly divided parts of Eastern Europe and Poland between them.
Germany invaded Poland on the 1st of September 1939, and this began the Second World War in Europe (“World War II”). With a tactic known as blitzkrieg, the German troops swiftly swept across the different countries of Europe, including France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and Denmark. However, his decision to invade the USSR was probably his worst mistake, as this prompted the Allied powers – consisting mainly of the USSR, USA, and England – to attack the German Nazis. In the end, despite the formidability of the German forces, they still served to be no match for the Allied powers (Maier and Zingheim 45). For example, the US alone built more tanks in the single year of 1943 than Germany did from the years 1939 to 1945 (Maier and Zingheim 45).
It was noted that Hitler appeared less and less in public as the Nazis were getting defeated, that he started acting erratically, and that his health started to decline. Eventually, at the age of 56, Hitler committed suicide and so did his wife and the man he appointed as his successor. A week later, Germany surrendered, and this marked the end of the Third Reich.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it was Hitler’s fanatical anti-Semitism, racism, and nationalism, as well as his aggressive territorial policies that started World War II. He was influenced with these beliefs even as a young man, and he in turn influenced other Germans – especially the Nazis – with the same beliefs. Hitler also capitalized on the resentment that the Germans felt against the Treaty of Versailles, allowing him to get their unquestioning support and loyalty.
He caused massive destructions across Europe through his concentration camps, ghettos, the Kristalllnacht, the blitzkrieg, and other acts of violence, which resulted in millions of lives being lost. It can be said that his attack against the USSR marked the beginning of the German Nazis’ defeat and in the end, the old adage that good triumphs over evil came true in that the Allied powers together proved to be too strong for the German military forces.
Works Cited
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This encyclopedia features brief yet comprehensive information about the profiles of the
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This encyclopedia provides information on the crimes committed against humanity because of wars, but also includes topics on human rights violations, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity in general. It includes the profiles not only of the persons who were indicted for war crimes but also of those who committed crimes at times when their countries were not at war.
In particular, it includes a detailed profile of Adolf Hitler, his family and social background, his motivations, and eventually his role as the leader of Germany during the Second World War. It provides information about World War II from the perspective of Adolf Hitler and Germany, which makes it a good reference for this paper.
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This article presented the findings of a study conducted in Africa and Germany, which explored the ways that dictators such as Adolf Hitler in Germany and Siad Barre in Somalia used their people’s humiliation and resentment to expand their influence and gain their people’s support and loyalty. The study was conducted through an extensive literature review, and the author concluded that ordinary citizens felt humiliated because of their loyalty and credulousness to their leader.
For the purpose of this paper, this article provided some insight on how a dictator such as Hitler was able to obtain such a strong support from the Nazis and the Germans in general despite his obviously evil intentions. As such, it made for a good reference for this paper as it gave a different perspective on how Hitler was able to dominate a large part of the Second World War.
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II Quarterly 5. 1 (2008): 42-47. Web.
This article presented an interview with Rick Atkinson, a well-acclaimed author and a Pulitzer Prize winner who is also a military historian. This interview aimed to obtain some of Atkinson’s insight on the Second World War, and as a lot of his answers were based on his personal view of the war, there may have been some bias involved. However, Atkinson’s credentials would still accord credibility to his opinions, making them acceptable. In addition, World War II Quarterly is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that is dedicated to providing more in-depth information about the different facets of the war, which also adds assurance to the information’s accuracy and impartiality.
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This can be considered a reliable source as the author of the book aims to present a
holistic and unbiased view of the war by providing chronological information about the
events that surrounded the war. The author even published three volumes -- given the
complexity of this historical event – to ensure that every area is covered. As such, this
makes for a good reference for this paper, as it presents the information in smaller
chunks, which keeps the researcher from feeling overwhelmed and also helps the
researcher in easily finding the information needed.
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This news article outlines the events surrounding World War II and highlights the
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straightforward, covering the war events in all the continents involved. As well, the New
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