13 The Second World War

(1939-1945)

Planning~Ahead -
t:) The s
t:) C econd World War
auses of the W
t:) Ti..1 ar
;;: Event
t:) Uefeat s or The Course of the War
t:) C of the Axis Powers
onseq
uences of the War

THE SBC the League of Nations was formed and the

When the F' ONO WORLD WAR
November 19~st World War ended in leading nations of the world had agreed
heaved a s· h , people all over the world that all international disputes would be
ig of r I" f
1ater nations settled by peaceful means. They pledged
e ie . But twenty years
World Was I Were stunned when the that they would work together for the
that resultedP unged
.
int0 ·
a terrible war preservation of the world peace. But in
human li m the loss of millions of the years that followed, many such events
ves and b1·11·ions of dollars happened as led to the outbreak of the
After the do Of . World· War
se the First I
Second World War.

Figured prominently in the First Row (from the Left): The British Pri M1• . ·
the French Premier Daladier; Germany's Dictator Adolf Hitler· ;;1 , ;~ter, N. Chamberlain;
Italy's Foreign Minister Count Ciano (Munich, September 1938) y s zctator Mussolini and
'
"Ultimately under threat of immediate war from Germany Fra
' ' nee desert d h
Czechoslovakia and England was a party to the betrayal By th e er ally
between Germany, England, France and Italy, the fate of Cz~chosl ek_Pact of Munich
,, ova 1a was 1
29 September, 1938. -J h sea ed on
awa arlal Nehru
r cJ\usBS OF THE WAR
.. ,as due to the following caus .
The Second World War (1939-1945)
- - -=== =- _ _ :::=:=::=:-

of Austria, this could not satisfy her

3

war v• es . ambitions.
•J ,e peelJ'Jte of Democracy
. .
and Revi· 1
va
3. Rise of Fascism in Italy: Italy had
). gressive Nationalism: As a result to spend a lot of money during the War
1 M f·rst World War, there was on her army and war equipments. She
0 ,he 1 . . . an
ol v• J!l!C crisis m the vanous nations was groaning under a heavy debt. Italian
eeo11° world, Large scale food shortage government was faced with the serious
f th~on and unemployment were th~ problems of poverty, hunger, disease and
0
jJlflatl . ues that were faced by the nation unemployment. Riots and strikes broke
•oriss s. out all over the country. In this situation
tJla) d ntocratic governments in Europe
I fne e ot able to face the challenges of general lawlessness the Fascists seized
power in Italy. They had an imperialist
,~ere f\roblents eff echvely. . Because of
od P ·
a. read corruption and nepotism outlook. Italy turned towards Germany
\fldeSP and Japan and concluded a treaty of
1 Je Jost fa1'th 1Il
. the d emocratically
peoP d governments. The dictators Friendship leading to Berlin-Rome-Tokyo
1ecte . , Axis in opposition to the Franco-British
e~g advantage of the s~tuation, offered
t ograJlUlle of aggressive nationalism Alliance. In 1940 Italy entered the World
a pruild up support for their respective War 11.
to b 4. Nazi Regime's Acts of Aggression:
"' parties. Hitler preached the gospel of the
z. The Treaty of Versailles: The Peace 'Victorious Sword'. He broke the bonds of
Settle!llent at Paris was made in a spirit of
the Treaty of Versailles and began to build
revenge. The Germans felt that too much
up Germany's armed forces. In March
injustice ha~ be_en done to them. 1936, Hitler made his first move to occupy
(i) The v1ctonous powers had deprived
Rhineland that had been demilitarised by
Germany of huge tracts of its territory and
the Treaty of Versailles. He then captured
its colonies in the regions of East Africa Vienna, the capital of Austria. Soon he
and South-West Africa. turned his attention to the conquest of
(ii) Her military strength was completely
Sudetanland.
crushed. The German army was restricted The War seemed inevitable. The
to a force of 1,00,000 soldiers and the navy Heads of four nations-Germany, Italy,
was limited to 15,000 men. The Air Force Britain and France-met at Munich on 29
was totally banned. September, 1938 and decided to hand over
(iii) Germany was burdened with an Sudetanland to Germany. President of
immense War Indemnity. She had to pay a Czechoslovakia was persuaded to accept
heavy sum estimated at 33 billion dollars the Munich Pact in the interests of peace.
to the Allies. Hitler's troops occupied Sudetanland on
(iv) Germany had to give up to the Allies 5th October, 1938. In March 1939 Germany
her merchant ships as compensation. invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia without
It was impossible for a proud German
any justification.
race to forget the consequences of the War, 5. The Policy of Appeasement: The
which they had lost so humiliatingly. This policy of Appeasement means "acceding
fuelled the rise of Nazism in Germany. to hostile demands in order to gain
Once in legal power, Hitler entered upon
Peace." There were three main reasons
a career of aggression. why Britain and France followed a policy
.Italians were also highly dissatisfied
of appeasement towards Germany.
with the Peace Settlement. Britain and
First, they believed that the Treaty
France failed to satisfy Italy's colonial
of Versailles had been too severe to the
ambitions. Although Italy had gained
defeated powers, especially Germany.
a few territories in Europe at the cost
2 The Contemporary World

.Second , th ey th ought that if

. genume
. 6. Failure of the League of Nations,
grievances of Germany were removed, she One of the main causes of the Second
would be satisfied and would do nothing World War was the failure o~ the League of
to d"
h d 1sturb the peace of the world. They Nations. When weaker nations appealed
a agreed to the transfer of Sudetanland to the League to take action against the
to Germany at the Munich Conference aggressors, the only weapon that Was
?ecause Sudetanland was predominantly available with the League was the econollli
inhabited by the Germans. sanctions. But it proved ineffective agains~
Third, the Western powers wanted determined aggressors. Had the League of
to check the rising tide of Communism Nations taken collective action against
and the Russian power. They wished the Italy's aggression in Ethiopia or Japan's
Communists and the Nazis to fight each invasion of Manchuria, the world would
other. Hence they did nothing when Hitler have been spared the horrors of another
b~gan to :~arm Germany in complete war. The League failed in taking action
violation of the terms of the Treaty of against aggressors which encouraged
Versailles. Germany to occupy Austria and attack
Great Britain and France were mistaken Poland, which ultimately led to the Second
in their assessment. Hitler's demands World War.
grew shockingly excessive. He was really 7. Japan's Invasion of China: An
aiming at European mastery, if not world important act of aggression after the First
conquest. The policy of Appeasement World War was the invasion of China
greatly emboldened Germany, Italy by Japan in 1931. China appealed to the
and Japan. Germany's ambition was to League of Nations to declare sanctions
conquer Europe, Italy aspired to establish against Japan. Britain and France, the
her supremacy in Africa and Balkans leading members of the League, did not
region, and Japan's ambition was to give any attention to the appeal. Thus
become master of South-East Asia and Japan occupied Manchuria and set up a
the Pacific Islands. Imperialist ambitions government there. In 1933 Japan left the
of these three countries plunged the world Leagu~ ?f Nations and started occupying
into another destructive War. the Bntish and American properties in
C~a. Britain and France followed the
policy of appeasement, thinking that
Japanese could be used to weaken China.
8. Ideological Differences: Countries
such as USA, Britain and France are known
as solid strongholds of liberal democracy.
There have been periodic elections in
these countries. On the other hand the
political system of Italy or Germany' was
dominated by one political party. There
were no elections allowed in Germany
Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis during Hitler's rule. Mussolini himself
admitted quite openly that "the struggle
The collaboration of the rulers of Germany, between the two worlds can permit no
Italy and Japan developed into a close compromise. Either we or they''. Moreover,
political and military Alliance. It came the Axis States had expansionist aims.
to be known as the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Therefore, the War between the two camps
Axis. was inevitable.
9. The Immediate Cause (The German
 The S~ ~ ar (1939-1945) 245
"li ghtning att k" Inf
armo d ac · antry divisions and
ure tanks storme d mto
lightnin . Poland with
g speed. Aerial bombardment
went
Pol dhand m . h and. As no aid reached
land
G an ' the Poles finally surrendered to
nzig
rridor
ermany on 28 September, 1939.

The Northern Wars

In A pri1-May 1940 Denmark Norway
Holl and (the Netherlands), Luxembourg
' '
and Be1gmm
· were forced to surrender.
he MnP you c~n see how by occupyin---;,;;- - . pans
. Occupied by German Troops:
/11 t·aor Adolf Hitler could connect East gp ~anz1g The French government fell after Paris
corn russia with
ceri11n»Y had been occupied. The French forces
were demobilised.
Ill•,,asion of Poland
. and
. Demand for the
vanzig Corr~dor): Hitler was demanding The Battle of Britain: In July 1940 the
anzig Corridor. for two German fighters intensively bombarded
. reasons. F'irst,
D the British ports, factories and centres
the city of Danz1g was inhabited mainly
of population, including London. But
by
the Germans.
. . Second, by occupymg•
Winston Churchill, the new Prime Minister
the vanz1g Corridor, he could connect
of England inspired the British people to
East Prussia with Germany. Britain and
achieve a glorious victory. He said, "I
France could realise the danger that la have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and
ahead. They pledged assistance to Polan~ sweat". On 11 September Hitler postponed
againSt German aggression. his operations against Britain.
Russia (the former Soviet Union) shared Attack on Pearl Harbour and the US
a long frontier with Poland. She could Entry into the War: The US President
directly come to the aid of Poland in case Roosevelt and most Americans were
she was attacked by Germany. Therefore, sympathetic towards Britain, but they
in August 1939, Germany signed a Non- were opposed to direct US entry into
Aggression Pact with Russia. There was
also a secret understanding between the 75th Anniversary of the Attack
two powers (Russia and Germany) to on Pearl Harbour
divide Poland into two parts and distribute
these parts among themselves. Poland
was accused of committing atrocities
against Germans living there. On 1st
September, 1939 German troops stormed
into Poland. On 3rd September Britain
and France declared war on Germany.
Prime Minister Chamberlain made a
public announcement that everything he
had hoped for had "crashed into ruins."
Thus the World War II began. Victor Paradis and Richard Thill (on Wheelchairs)
survived the attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December
THE EVENTS OR THE COURSE 1941. They salute the National Flag during a ceremony
at the Minnesota History Centre on 7 December 2016.
OF THE WAR Also seen in the picture is the Governor Mark Dayton
Hitler adopted a new method of warfare, singing the National Anthem on this occasion.
called 'Blitzkrieg' which rneans a
 Contemporary World

the War. By early 1941 Britain had begun

The Fall of Berlin
to receive massive supplies of arms and
The battle for Berlin began in April 1945_
other goods from the United States. In
The Germans were caught between 'd
the
August 1941 President Roosevelt held a
British and Americans on one s1 e and
Conference with the British Prime Minister
the Russians on the other. When the Allied
Churchill on the British Battleship in
forces closed in on Berlin itself, Hitler
the North Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic
Charter called for "the final destruction of committed suicide in an underground
the Nazi tyranny." But the United States bomb shelter. On 7th May, 1945 the last
had not yet directly entered the War. of the German armies surrendered to the
On 7 December 1941 Japan attacked representatives of Britain, France, America
the US Fleet based at Pearl Harbour in and Russia. 8th May was the Day of
Hawaii. Japanese naval and air attack Celebration of Victory in Europe.
destroyed 188 aircrafts, many battleships
and naval vessels of the United States. Victory over Japan
More than 2000 sailors and soldiers lost Japan conquered Thailand, Malaya
their lives. Such a loss was shocking (Malaysia), Burma (Myanmar) and the
indeed. It brought the United State:., into Philippines and continued to fight against
World War Il. On 8 December, 1941 the America in the Pacific. The Americans
United States declared war on Japan and started their offensive against Japan to
the other Axis Powers-Germany and Italy. liberate the islands in the South-West
Invasion of Russia: German army Pacific. The American navy and air force
moved relentlessly into Russia capturing destroyed the Japanese fleet, but Japan
city after city. In July 1942 came the was still firmly and strongly established
long drawn-out battle of Stalingrad. The in China, Manchuria and other places. She
Russian troops defended the city with refused to surrender.
great determination. On 31 January, 1943 Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
the German Commander surrendered to America did not want to prolong the War.
the Russian army. Therefore, the US disclosed to the Allies
the atom bomb, the deadliest weapon
DEFEAT OF THE AXIS POWERS which she had designed.
End of Fascism in Italy: In July 1943
American warplanes dropped leaflets
the Allies attacked Italy. After occupying
warning the Japanese authorities about the
Sicily, they marched on Rome. Mussolini
destructive potential of the atom bombs.
was dismissed and the new government
They urged them to stop fighting. Japan
of Badoglio surrendered to the Allies.
did not surrender. On 6th August, 1945
However, minor battles continued until
the first atom bomb was dropped on the
April 1945. Mussolini managed to escape
City of Hiroshima. Within a few seconds
and tried to flee. On 28 April, 1945 he was
nearly 80,000 lives were lost and another
caught by Italians themselves. He and his
70,000 were grievously wounded. On
mistress were shot dead. That was the end
of Fascism in Italy. 9th August another bomb was dropped
on Nagasaki. The atom bombs were too
Allied Forces Liberated France: In
deadly and too destructive. The atom
June 1944 the Allied forces under General
bombs killed more than three lakh people
Eisenhower landed in Normandy and
in these two cities. Many more were left
pushed forward to liberate France. The
crippled for the whole of their life.
German garrison in Paris surrendered on
With such destructive weapons in the
25 August, 1944.
possession of America, the Japanese lost
all hopes of winning the War. On 14th
 . The s:cond W~dd War I I 939-19~5)

of
W Europ e an d A. s1a were left in ruins. The
ar created conditions of acute scarcity ·
of food stuff, essential goods and shelter. I
2- Defeat of the Axis Powers: The War
resulted in the overthrow of the Fascist and
Nazi dictatorships. German, Italian and the [
Japanese dictatorial regimes surrendered to I
the Allies.
. (i) The Allies occupied Germany and •
; ,,ib, which devastated Hiroshima, measured
it was partitioned into four Zones to be
<1 ,.firo11 ' 80 d 1veighed 900 pounds
,,, /o//g all administered by Britain, France, United
111ft, :..,....~F"!~;;;r~:~"11111- States and the Soviet Union (Russia).
(ii) Each Power behaved in its own way
in its own Zone. But in 1948 Britain, France
and the United States agreed to merge the
three Zones under their control to form the
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with
Bonn as its Capital. In 1949 the Soviet Zone
covering the Eastern part of Germany
formed the German Democratic Republic
(GDR) with East Berlin as its Capital.
(iii) The Two Germanys came under the
influence of two different ideologies. GDR
emerged as a Commurt.ist State and FRG
had a liberal Democratic System.
(iv) The City of Berlin had also been
divided into West Berlin and the East
Berlin.
The Atom Bombs sent huge Mushroom-shaped Clouds
infothe Sky

August Japan accepted the Surrender J

Terms dictated by Allies. She surrendered

on 15th August but the formal Armistice
(Agreement) to stop fighting was signed
on September 2, 1945. With that War came ~lzl
British
to an end. Japan was occupied by the
Allied forces under General Mac Arthur.
In Japan the future generations were
also doomed. Those who survived were
no better than "the living corpses". They
had their skins hanging in shreds, their
hair scorched to the roots.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR

The consequences of the War were as
follows:
l. Death and Devastation on an Germany was partitioned into four Zones to be
t
Unprecedented Scale: It was the moS administered by Britain, France, USA and the Soviet
devastating war in human history. Union (Russia)
M·w
1. ions of people were killed. Vast areas
 . Roosevelt and Sta 1111-
The Big Three-Ch11rc/11ll . At th e v,a Ila Conference
~• (February
h
'
1945). They convened a Conference . to draw up the UN C arter.
at San Francisco

(v) Japan was brought under the control The term 'Cold War' was first used by
of the American General Mac Arthur. The Bernard Baruch, an American Statesman.
Japanese Emperor henceforth acted as a In a speech on 16 April, 1947, he said "Let
Constitutional Monarch. By 1949 American us not be deceived we are today in the
control ended. With American help Japan midst of a Cold War". Cold War is "a
made rapid progress economically. state of extreme political unfriendliness
(vi) To bring to trial the most serious between two or more countries, although ,
offenders, an International Military
they do not actually fight each other." In
Tribunal was set up at Nuremberg in
fact, the Cold War was neither a condition
Germany. The trial began in November
of war, nor a condition of peace, it was
1945 and ended in September 1946. Those
"a state of uneasy peace".
on trial were charged with offences such
Its Consequences: Cold War set in
as violation of the laws of War and crimes
motion a mad Race for Armaments. It also
against humanity. Twenty-two of them
led to the formation of various Military
were held guilty, of whom eleven were
sentenced to death. Alliances, such as the NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and SEATO
3. Rise of Communism (the Communist
(South-East Asia Treaty Organisation)
Bloc): Russia, under Stalin, was successful
under US leadership and the Warsaw
in establishing Communist governments
Pact signed by the representatives of
in East European countries-Poland,
Russia and other Communist countries.
Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and
Czechoslovakia. The Cold War led to one crisis after
another, such as the Berlin Blockade
4. The Cold War: The United States
(1948-1949), Crisis Over Missiles in
and Russia emerged as great powers in
Cuba (1962) and military intervention in
the world. The entire world seemed to be
Czechoslovakia. In such a situation many
divided into two Power Blocs (Democratic
countries, including India, adopted a
or the Capitalist Bloc and Communist
policy of keeping out of military alliances
Bloc). This led to the emergence of Cold
and working for the development of
War between the Western powers led by
their people and peace in the world. This
USA and the Communist Bloc led by
came to be known as a policy of Non-
Russia.
alignment.
 The S:-=-~-~World War (1939-194~
the Cold War: Th
J of f e two October 1945 Th .
~v wers pre erred 'Peaceful · e Uruted Nations is being 11·,
er r, to a 'Nuc1ear u,
des 'b
Th NCo-
0
vvar'. en ed as "the hope and conscience of
r
,vieJlce , vernent (NAM) also e on-
10
the World" Th
'P · e UN Charter lays down
e, d iv• 'b ti' made
i,,,i1e I contn u on to reducin .eace'
. ' 'S ecunty
. , and 'Faith in Human
,µv ILlab e C ld m g the Dignity' a th · pnnc1ples
· ·
v~ of the o vvar. The Ru ssIan
, i ·111
. ob' . s e ma1or and
. 1eJ1' 1'1 ivfichael Gorbachev introd Jectives of the United Nations.
1~ ·deJlt . . . uced
oi¢1 f rJllS in. Russia. His polic'ies of A nuclear war, if it occurs means the
, re o
i •
,ti1Ji) Jjberal1sation went a long
,. •tica1 1 way
destruction °f
human race.' Therefore,
11 . .: 11 g the wor d of the ten . a nuclear war must be stopped at
r00 tiev»· s1ons
,~ re Jd war. The Warsaw Pact w all co sts. The UN General Assembly
co . as decided to observe 1970s and 1980s as
0/ d in July 1991 and m Decemb
. solVe ... .,ounce d th e d'1smtegratio
. erf the o·1sarmarnent Decade and Second
J1S
he "-'w • • • no Disarmament Decade respectively. The
1991 ·et Union. With this the Cold W
50"1 ar Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
~e allle to an end.
provides that non-nuclear states should
6oal1Yf '...,,ation of the United Natio
5. 01,... ns: not manufacture nuclear weapons. But
oked for a better and happier world India rejected it, because it did not lay down
1
~ell ;e war. This led to the establishment a time-bound framework to eliminate
atte! United Nations Organisation on 24 all nuclear weapons from the earth.
of the

roints to_Remembe~
· ->- causes of . the ..Second World War·· (')1 Dec1me
- of democracy and revival. of Aggressive
.
National1~m, (11) The Trea~ of Versailles was made in a spirit of revenge. Germany
was deprived of her colonies. She had to pay an immense War Indemnity, (iii) Rise
of Fascism in Italy, (iv) Nazi regime's acts of Aggression, (v) Policy of Appeasement
adopted by England and France, (vi) Failure of the League of Nations, (vii) Japan's
invasion of China, (viii) Ideological differences, and (ix) the Immediate Cause (German
Invasion of Poland and demand for the Danzig Corridor).
=> The Events or the Course of the War: Hitler adopted a new method of Warfare, called
'Blitzkrieg' (lightning attack)-German armoured tanks stormed into Poland.
Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands were annexed by Germany. In May 1940
Luxembourg and Belgium surrendered.
Invasion of France-Paris also occupied by the Germans-The Battle of Britain-The
magic of Churchill's forceful speeches inspired British people to achieve a glorious
victory.
On 7th December 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbour-The USA now declared War
on Japan and the other Axis Powers.
•into Russia but Germans had to surrender.
German army moVed , . .
->Defeat of the Axis Powers: In July 1943 the _Allies attacked l_taly-ln April 1945
.. . . ss were shot dead-Allied Forces occupied France-The Fall
Mussolini and his mistre .. th M y 1945 German armies surrendered-
· H'1tIer com mi·tted su1c1de-0n 7 America
o.f Berlin- a' dropped the atom bomb on the
th t 1945
Victory over Japan-On 6 AuguS , th atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki-Japan
city of Hiroshima-On 9th August an~st e~4 1945.
accepted the Surrender Terms on Aug ' .