The German Invaded Poland On 1st September 1939 History Essay

After 27 years when the German invaded Poland on 1st September 1939, it came to a second war. There have an omens show that the expansionist declared in its aims which had simply invaded another. In that time, they believe that the second war will end the war. This is the reason the nations and their leaders allowed another conflict to threaten the planet. The scope of this war was not evident, they intending the war would last for six years and involved more than two hundred countries which caused millions of people to suffers in the war. Besides that, they also believed that this war will affected the lives of three quarters of the worlds population and influences the lives of the majority of the world’s inhabitants to some grade. German move into Poland had been occupied by the rampaging Blitzkrieg techniques within a month. The Battle of Britain was at its height, Hitler’s plans to invade England were close to being given the “green light”, and this awful funk filled many nations heart.

The World War 2 was fought on the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Pacific. Besides that, there are four major land campaigns which were in the Soviet Union, North Africa, the Mediterranean, Western Europe and the Far East. There were no less than 56 countries involved in these World War 2. Most of them were fought out to the bitter and between equally well-trained and well-equipped armies. For our knowledge, the World War 2 was a war that was more cruel, bitter and vast than other war in the history. The war was taking part in vast air, land and sea battles. It turned World War 2 into a global conflict and ended it with the drawn of the nuclear era.

World War 2 was a global military conflict lasting from year 1939 to 1945 which had been involved most of the world’s nations. It is including all of the great powers, which was organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The World War 2 was the most widespread war in the history, with more than 100 millions military personnel mobilised. The major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the services of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. From the year 1939 to 1945, the Germany’s military machine struck out and occupy most of the Western Europe, swept into deserts of North Africa and drove deep into the hinterlands of Russia. However, the Allies gathered strength and eventually crushed the Germany Army and Axis powers with a display of brute force that has remained unmatched to this day.

In year 1939, Hitler invaded Poland on 1st September. After that, the Britain and France declare a war on Germany two days later. However, on the year 1940, there were a rationing started in the United Kingdom. Besides that, German started “Blitzkrieg” and succeeds preduce over Belgium, Holland and France. In the same year, the Churchill was became the Prime Minister of Britain. The British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk. Hitler has to postpone his invasion plans when the British became the victory in the Battle of Britain.

During 1941, the Europe was under Nazi control – for the time being, the war was took on more on the global dimension. The gas chambers at Auschwitz were used when the bombing of British and German cities still continued, Hitler invaded Russia. In Hawaii, on 7th December 1941, the Japanese tired of American trade embargoes. They setup a surprise attack on the US Navy base of Pearl Harbor. In January 1942, the first Americans arrived in England, and they began their counter-offensive and snatch up Tobruk in June. The Blitz intensified in both England and Germany, by using the first thousand-bomber air raid on Cologne. Besides, the German was bombed the British cathedral cities. However, the Japanese was still continued their extension into Borneo, Java and Sumatra in the Pacific. In February, there are around 25,000 prisoners of war taken during the “unassailable” British stronghold of Singapore fell rapidly. During that time, many of them died in Japanese camps in the following year. Besides that, there was a reversal of German fortunes during the second half of the year. The Montgomery gained was forced the British to voluntary in North Africa at El Alamein, and Russian also forces to counterattacked at Stalingrad.

In the February of 1943, the Germany was surrender at Stalingrad. This is because they lose the bell by the Hitler’s armies. However, the Battle still continued to frenzy in the Atlantic, and we can saw about 27 merchant vessels sunk by the Germany U-boats one four-day period in March. There was an integration of long-range aircraft and the codebreakers at the Bletchley during that time. In the mid of May 1943, the North Africa were forces by the Germany and Italian to surrendered to the Allies. So, the Allied victory in North Africa be capable of the invasion of Italy to be launched. As a result, there was a prompted to German to invasion into northern Italy. German armies was engaged the Allies in the South, it is to testify the slow and costly through the fight to Italy. At the same year, the Japanese at Guadalcanal was forces to overcame by US, and British and Indian armies began their guerrilla campaign in Burma. The long discussed was always postpones during the opening of the Second Front in Europe. As a result, it was being prepared for the following year.

Come to events of 1944, Japan began its last offensive in China. However, the major cities and lines of communication had limited to their control. Besides that, their resistance which often led by the Communist was widespread. There was a static campaign in central Italy during January 1944. After the allied bombing in February, the Germans counter-attacked and the fighting saw the destruction of the medieval monastery at Monte Cassino. The German retreat from Anzio at the end of May. However, Rome was liberated in June, which was the day before the Allies’ ‘Operation Overload’, now we known as the D-Day landings. As Operation Overload got underway, there are 6,500 vessels landed over 130,000 Allied forces on five Normandy beaches which are codenamed Utah, Omaha, Golf, Juno and Sword. Around 12,000 aircraft guarantee the air superiority for the Allies for bombing defences. However, they were unable to counter-attack with the necessary speed and strength after the landings caught the German by surprise. Nevertheless, at the end of June 1944, Cherbourg was liberated. Paris followed two months later. By the end of the August, the Russians had taken the Bucharest. Besides, the Estonia was taken just within the months, and the Budapest was under surrounded by the end of the year. In December 1944, around 19,000 Americans was killed by the Battle of the Bulge and delayed the Allies’ march into the Germany.

In the year 1945, the New Year saw the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz, and the revelation of the sickening smuttiness of the Holocaust, its scale became more distinct as more camps were liberated in the following months. The Soviet army continued its offensive from the east in the March, while from the west the Allies determinate a bridge across the Rhine at Remagen. Meanwhile, the western Allies raced the Russians to be the first to Berlin. On 21 April, the Russian won. On 30th April, Hitler was killed himself, where two days after Mussolini had been captured and hanged by Italian partisans. While on 7 May, the Germany surrendered with term less. However, in the Pacific, it had continued to bile throughout this time. In the February, the Americans had inroad into Iwo Jima. Besides that, the Philippines and Okinawa string along with and Japanese forces to began withdraw from China. The Allied planned to invade Japan, but fears of fierce resistance and massive casualties prompted Harry Truman. The new American president agrees the use of an atomic bomb to combat Japan. Since 1942, the atomic bomb had been in development. During 6 August, one of the bomb was fallen on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. After three days, there was another which fallen on Nagasaki. There had no other country that could withstand by such attacks, finally the Japanese surrendered on 14 August. The World War 2 was the biggest conflict in the history that had lasted almost six years. Around 100 million people had been militarised, and almost 50 million had been killed. For those who had died, 15 million of them were soldiers, and 20 million of them were Russian civilians. Besides, there were six million were Jews and over four million were poles.

Timeline for World War 2:

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Chronology of World War 2:

1937 Japan begins undeclared war on China

March 1938 Germany annexes Australia to the German Reich

29 September 1938 Chamberlain, Daladier, Mussolini, and Hitler meet at Munich conference

May 1939 Pact of Steel: military alliences between Italy and Germany

1939 Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union

1 september 1939 Fermany attacks Poland

3 september 1939 Great Britian and France declare war on Germany

April 1940 germany attacks Denmark and Norway

May 1940 Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France

June 1940 Italy enters the war on the side of Germany

17 June 1940 French Marshal Petain petitions Germany for an armistice and creates a collaborationist government at Vichy

September 1940 Japan, Germany and Italy sign Tripartite pact

September- November 1940 The Battle of Britain

22 June 1941 Germany invades the Soviet Union

1941 First extermination camp created in Chelmno, Poland

7 December 1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, the following day, the United States declared war on Japan

11 December 1941 Germany declares war on the United Stated

January 1942 Wannsee Conference, where the Final Solution is planned

June 1942 Italian government withdraws from the war

April 1943 unsuccessful uprising in the warsaw ghetto

November 1943 Churchill, Rooservelt, and Stalin meet at Teheran conference

6 June 1944 Allied forces land in nonthern France – D-Day

February 1945 Churchill, Rooservelt, and Stalin meet at Yalta

March 1945 American forces march into Germany

30 April 1945 Hitler commits suicide

July and August 1945 Churchill, Truman, and Stalin meet at Potsdam

6 August 1945 United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima

2 September 1945 Japan surrenders

Nazi Germany:

Nazi Germany or known as Third Reich, is the common name for Germany while govern by Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Germany Workers’ Party (NSDAP) during 1933 to 1945. Nazi Germany is at the bottom of in the wake of the national shame, embarrassment, anger and resentment which resulting from the Treaty of Versailles. Nazi Germany had two official names which are known as the Deutsches Reich (German Reich), from 1933 to 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich (Greater German Reich).

Germany was started the development into Greater Germany during the World War 2, which began in 1939 after Germany invaded Poland, jump-start the United Kingdom and France to declare a war on Germany. During the war, the Germany was subjugated and occupied most at Europe and Northern Africa. Besides, the Nazis persecuted and murdered millions of Jews and other minorities in the Holocaust Final Solution.

Hitler was learned that the Soviet Union able to sign a non-aggression pact with Germany and would support an attack on Poland. As a result, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. After 2 days, the United Kingdom and Italy was declared a war on Germany. World War 2 was underway, but Poland fell quickly, especially after the Soviets attacked Poland on 17 September.

In May 1940, Hitler ordered an attack on France through the Low Countries. The Battle of France ended with an overwhelming German victory. However, the British was refused Hitler’s offer of peace, as a result, the war was continued. Germany and Britain was continued their fight at sea and in the air. Nevertheless, on 24 August, the two off-course German bombers was accidentally bombed London – against Hitler’s orders, it was the reason for changing the course of the war. In response to the attack, the British bombed Berlin, this was the reason which sent Hitler into a bile.

Hitler hoped to break British morale and win peace. However, the British refused to back down. Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. On the eve of the invasion, Hitler was formed a deputy which was known as Rudolf Hess, the reason of forming this deputy was attempted to negotiate terms of peace with the United Kingdom in an unofficial private meeting after crash-landing in Scotland.

On 11 December 1941, four days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Nazi Germany was declared a war on the United States. This was not only a chance for Germany to strengthen its ties with Japan, but after months of anti-German hysteria in the American media and Lend-Lease aid to Britain, the leaking of Rainbow Five and the foreboding content of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor speech made it clear to Hitler that the US could not be kept neutral. Germany’s policy of ease up towards the US was designed to keep the US out of the war, but actually it was a burden to Germany’s war effort. Germany had refrained from attacking American convoys, even if they were bound for the United Kingdom or the Soviet Union. By contrast, after Germany declared war on the US, the German navy began to unrestricted submarine warfare, by using U-Boats to attack ships without warning.

The goal of Germany’s navy, the Kriegsmarine, was to cut off Britain’s supply line. Under these instances, one of the most famous naval battles in history was took place, which was known as the German battleship Bismarck. It was Germany’s largest and most powerful warship, which attempting to break out into the Atlantic and raid supply ships heading for Britain. German U-Boats were more successful than surface raiders like Bismarck. However, Germany failed to make submarine production a top priority early on and by the time it did, the British and their allies were developing the technology and strategies to neutralize it. The Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic was achieved at a huge cost. Between the year 1939 and 1945, there were 3,500 Allied ships were sunk (gross tonnage 14.5 million) at a cost of 783 German U-Boats.

On 30 April 1945, as the Battle for Berlin anger and the city was being overrun by Soviet forces, Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. After two days which was on 2 May 1945, German General Helmuth Weidling unconditionally surrendered Berlin to the Soviet General Vasily Chuikov. At the same time, the Hitler was succeeded by Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz as Reich’s President and Dr. Joseph Goebbels as Reich Chancellor. There was no one that can be replace Hitler as the Führer, which was a position that Hitler abrogated in his will. However, the Goebbels committed were suicide in the Führerbunker a day after assuming office.

The World War 2 was the largest and most demolish in human history, there were around 60 million dead across the world, which including almost 9 to 11 million people who perished during the Holocaust. The Soviet Union was lost around 27 million people during the war, almost half of them all were World War II casualties. Towards the end of the war, Europe had more than 40 million refugees, the European economy had collapsed, and 70% of the European industrial infrastructure was destroyed.

Impact of World War II:

Seclusion from the war’s demolished, the most of the Americans predict that the World War 2 would shape their tomorrow. The war was physically undamaged and excitated the economically of the United States. Compared to other countries, the United State was loss around 400,000 uniformed personnel in the warface.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had given the United State few signals about what they need to expect, and voice them their broad desire due to the uncertain, secretive and exhausted by the war. Herein, most of the Americans viewed the war’s impact as rising ruggedly during the antagonize. The postwar economy attracted worry and hope, nourished by the discourager and by give publicity to promise an economic reward for the wartime victimization. The hope lastly met because of the partly from the G.I Bill.

Besides, some of them predict the war’s result for the social relations. The World War 2 was destroyed the existing racial system by reaching federal power into the Jim Craw South. Besides, it also inoculates with the aspirations and tactics of the African Americans, and also rebuilds the national priorities. For those who want to wield power overseas and imitate the claim of defending freedom, the leaders need to increase to find out the racial differentiate as an anachronism that squandered resources, said by A. Philip Randolph.

The war was rewrote the systems of the gender and the sexuality in more complicated ways. There was a guerdon for both male virtue and women’s redound. “Traditional family” was contrivance during the wartime. The term was used to the damaged of many women and homosexuals. However, there had something in common even thought they were differences on their fortunes and social groups. Their fate was shaped by the America’s global power.

After the war of World War 2, it impacts the war into a blurry future. The cold war had given permanence to temporary wartime improvisations in the national governance. Actually the World War 2 alone will not make anything happen, but it can be known as a set of the stage for it to happen.

Costs, Casualties and Other Data:

World War 2 diffuses death and destroys that we never seen before. We can just generally summarize the loss of life that occurs in the World War 2. World War 2 was unusual for the first time in the history. The numbers of civilians were killed greater than soldiers. In estimation, there were around 30,000,000 soldiers died in the World War 2. However, there were around 50,000,000 civilians that killed during the world war.

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Based on the cart above, we can see that the highest percentage that killed in the war was the Allied civilians which were 58%. The second ranks for the deaths were the Allied military, which were in the percentage of 25%. The deaths in the Axis were lock-in the least. The Axis military were 13% while the Axis civilians were only 4%. As we can realise, the worst in the total deaths (1945) were from the Poland based on the percentage of population (1939) in the Allies. However, for the Axis, the worst in the total deaths (1945) were from the Germany based on the percentage of population (1939). There were more than 18 million people been killed in the Poland during the World War II. Nevertheless, they were more than 10 million people killed in the Germany during the war.

Military Casualties

Those from United States, Great Britain, and the Commonwealth nations, their documents are most accurate and meaningful figures for the battle casualties. Those for other nations, Allied or Axis, the results are different in reliability. However, the Chinese figures are largely estimate because there are lacks of documentation. We can see the most accurate figures from the table that been provided. As we can see from the Table 1, the services that provide by the United States Armed Forces are army, navy, marine corps and coast guard. This table was shown the numbers of people that involve in casualties in World War 2. The total strength for the United Forces is 16,353,659. The total battle death is 292,131 while total deaths from other causes are 115.187. For those who in wounds, the total casualties are 671,801 and the total for captured or missing are around 139,709.

Besides, Table 2 showed the figure of armed forces peak strength and battle deaths of the principle Allied Power. The nations that involved in the allied power was Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, USSR, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, and Yugoslavia. The particular of the number can be view from the Table 2. As an example, the peak strength for Australia is 680,000 while the battle deaths are 23,365.

However, the table 3 showed about the figure of armed forces peak strength and battle deaths of the Axis Power. The nations that contain in the axis power are Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Romania. As an example, the peak strength for Bulgaria is 450,000 while the battle deaths are 10,000. There was a limited number of the casualties occurred in the battle deaths after the Bulgaria joined the allies.

The meaning of total strength was the total numbers of personnel that belonging to the armed forces during the entire war. However, the peak strength is the greatest strength that reached at any one time during the World War 2. By using different methods to calculated the casualties will have different results. So, different reputable reference sometime will show us slightly different figures.

Civilian Casualties

As we know, the casualties among the civilian will be more less accurate compared to military casualties. We cannot avoid this because many of the civilian will escaped and run to another place before invaded armies or the consecutive air attacks on the major industrial centers. Some of them were sent to Germany or the Soviet for forced labour. The civilian casualties were caused by aircraft bombs, V-1(flying bombs), V-2, and artillery fire in United Kingdom. The total of numbers that been killed in the World War 2 was 60,595 while the numbers that in seriously injured was 86,182. As a result, the total civilian casualties in the London area were around 146,777 peoples.

Killed Seriously injured Total

Aircraft bombs 51,509 61,423 112,932

V-1 (flying bombs) 6,184 17,981 24,165

V-2 2,754 6,523 9,277

Artillery fire 148 255 403

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Total 60,595 86,182 146,777

Industrial Conversion and War Production

At the end, the winner goes to the Allied Powers’ technological Superiority. The technology superior of the allied power inclusive the ability to raise, arm, equip, move and supply superior forces all over the world. Other than that, they also able to broke up and destroyed the technological recourses of the Axis Nations. The United Stated was the one who provided with the raw materials, skilled manpower, and industrial that made their victory possible. However, they need lots of budget to serve their technology superior. As we can see from Table 4, we able to know the United States budget expenditures from year 1940 up to year 1945. All the figures are illustrated in Billions of dollar. The defense expenditures that included were war department, navy department, and other department. Beside the defense expenditures, the United State also provides nondefense expenditures in their budget expenditures. The total defense expenditures for 1940 were $1.9 billion while the nondefense expenditures were $5.3 billion. As we can see from the Table 4, the total defense expenditures and nondefense expenditures were keep on increasing until year 1944. The range were around $89($90.9 – $1.9) for total defense expenditures, while range around $91.9($97.2 – $5.3) for total nondefense expenditures. Lastly, the total defense expenditures were decrease to $59.8 at the year 1945. Other than that, the total nondefense expenditures also decrease to $66 at the same year.

Data

Table 1–UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES TOTAL STRENGTH AND CASUALTIES

IN WORLD WAR II, DEC. 7, 1941-DEC. 31, 1946

Service– Total strength– Battle deaths- -Deaths from –Wounds(1)– Captured or missing

other causes

Army(2) 11,260,000 234,874 83,400 565,861 135,524

Navy 4,183,466 36,950 25,664 37,778 2,429

Marine Corps 669,100 19,733 4,778 67,207 1,756

Coast Guard 241,093 574 1,345 955

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Total 16,353,659 292,131 115,187 671,801 139,709

(1) Not mortal. (2) Includes Army Air Forces.

Table 2–ARMED FORCES PEAK STRENGTHS AND BATTLE DEATHS OF THE

PRINCIPAL ALLIED POWERS

Nation Peak strength Battle deaths

Australia 680,000 23,365

Belgium 650,000 7,760

Canada 780,000 37,476

China 5,000,000 2,200,000(1)

Denmark 25,000 3,006(2)

France 5,000,000 210,671

Greece 414,000 73,700(2)

India 2,150,000 24,338

Netherlands 410,000 6,238

New Zealand 157,000 10,033

Norway 45,000 1,000

Poland 1,000,000 320,000

USSR 12,500,000 7,500,000

Union of South Africa 140,000 6,840

United Kingdom 5,120,000 244,723

United States 12,300,000 292,131

Yugoslavia 500,000 410,000(2)

(1) Casualties beginning with the Japanese invasion in 1937.(2) Most of these casualties were suffered in guerrilla warfare that

followed German occupation of the country. In the case of Denmark they include

more than 1,200 merchant sailors in the service of the Allied powers.

Table 3–ARMED FORCES PEAK STRENGTHS AND BATTLE DEATHS OF THE AXIS POWERS

Nation Peak strength Battle deaths

Bulgaria 450,000 10,000(1)

Finland 250,000 82,000

Germany 10,200,000 3,500,000

Hungary 350,000 140,000

Italy 3,750,000 77,494(2)

Japan 6,095,000 1,219,000

Romania 600,000 300,000(1)

(1) A limited number of these casualties occurred after the country

joined the Allies.(2) Of these, 17,494 were killed after Italy

became a cobelligerent with the Allies.

Table 4–UNITED STATES BUDGET EXPENDITURES, JULY 1, 1940-AUG.

31, 1945 (Billions of dollars)

Expenditures 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945

Defense expenditures:

War Department $0.9 $ 7.3 $29.5 $46.5 $49.2 $34.0

Navy Department 0.9 4.2 14.0 24.6 29.6 19.4

Other departments 0.1 2.7 8.9 14.1 12.1 6.4

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Total 1.9 14.2 52.4 85.2 90.9 59.8

Nondefense expenditures 3.4 6.0 5.4 5.0 6.3 6.2

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Total $5.3 $20.2 $57.8 $90.2 $97.2 $66.0

John R. Elting

Colonel, United States Army

United States Military Academy

Continuing impact of World War II:

Even thought World War 2 have been passed long time ago, but the shadow of the impact were still remains observable. The World War 2 was generated a mythology that became in-depth in the popular culture. In US, they set up the American flag on Iwo Jima. Besides, they also build up the portrait of Germany Jewish girl Anne Frank. This is to memorial recognizes the nation’s sacrifice in the war.

Meantime, they assumed that the idea of “victim” and “perpetrator” was a fresh circumstance. There was a lot of discussion about the “Comfort Women”. This term are known as the sex slaves of Japanese Soldiers during the war-time. Besides, there was a lot of debated on the impact of the strategic bombing on the civilians in Germany and Japan.

In German and Japan, it found out that there were still have other categories of victims among the forced labor force. Besides, the Soviet Union concentration camps also had been found out in the same problems. The popular view of the war which are the sense of right and wrong has become blurred.

The most secular heritage of the war has been the memory of the Holocaust in the West. This is the only single element of the war that attracted greater attention. The museums devotional the Holocaust and to Jewish history have been founded within the last two decades in Washington, Berlin, London, and other cities.

The historical image if Adolf Hitler was still keeps alive in the memory of the Holocaust. The World War 2 had comprised of many different wars and all of the wars have their own causes. However, it is the most terrible war, and it also still remains the most ferly and notable legacy of the 1940s which was unleashed by Hitler against the Jewish people. It is the most furious and murderous decade of the modern times.