Impact of World War I in Germany - Essay Example

IMPACT OF WORLD WAR I IN GERMANY The focal point of this paper is to prepare a short research that involves a discussion on John Lukacs work (5 days in London) on the darkest days of Britain's experience in World War 2, Friday may 24th to Tuesday May 28th 1940. This was a week when clearly very important British and American politicians including the foreign secretary Lord Halifax and the American ambassador Joseph p Kennedy, though not the Prime Minister Winston Churchill considered a compromise peace with Hitler would be desirable. It is an interesting notion that this political event was largely overlooked by the media and most of the contemporary media coverage, London Times, the Manchester Guardian, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, the New York Herald or Washington Post, failed to notice this decisive debate. World War II, abbreviated as WWII, is known by various names like the Second World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars. It was a global war although its arena was primarily in Europe. This War involved not only the major European powers but also eventually involved most of the major Nations around the world, the dominant forces being Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and United States. Technological Warfare was the primary characteristic of the strategy of this war, while the basic characteristic was the massive loss of life. (Bessel, 17) John Lukacs, in his book Five Days in London, May 1940 mentions, "A turning point is not a milestone; the latter is a numerically fixable place, foreseeable, linear and sequential. A turning point may occure in a person's mind; it may mean a change of direction; it has consequences that are multiple and unpredictable, consequences that are more often than not recognizable only in retrospect." (Lukacs, 2) This moment was Tuesday, 28 May 1940. This was the point when Churchill won and declared that England would not negotiate with Hitler and this was the moment that marks the true start of World War II. This book by John Lukacs looks into the final stages of the commencement of the WWII. In doing do so he looked into different parameters of the political developments of Britain from Friday may 24th to Tuesday may 28th 1940. This included personalities like George Orwell, Winston Churchill, Harold Nicolson, Andrew Roberts, Horace Wilson, Herr Hitler, Signor Mussolini and Lloyd George. Important institutions and administrative portfolios were also taken into account like Foreign Office, Daily Mail, Third Reich, Conservative Party, Ministry of Information, Downing Street, British Expeditionary Force, News Chronicle, War Office, Admiralty House, House of Commons and the War Cabinet. It was pointed out that rapid development of German industry threatened the global economic dominance of Great Britain. Since Britain was a large empire, she had wider commercial and economic advantage over Germany and thus a conflict was inevitable. This argument gave Communism popularity and aided its rise. Lenin also argued that the hawkish banking and financial interests pursued by the capitalist and imperialist powers also gave the war efforts its much-needed fillip. After the WWI, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased for Britain, Italy, and U.S., but decreased for France, Russia, Netherlands, and the Central Powers. This misbalance throughout Europe had far-reaching impact the world over. On the other hand, this increase in the governments' share of the GDP led them to take loans from other countries. For example, Britain borrowed heavily from not only the Government of US but also from the American railways and the Wall Street. The repayment of these loans was funded by German indemnity funds and a vicious circle of loans and repayments was created. By 1931, this circle collapsed resulting in major economic crises through out the world. Germany naturally was impacted the most. (Bessel, 188-90) All these aggravated the global economic crisis. This turbulent economic scene was further aggravated by the conscription policy, whereby nearly all physically fit man was eligible to be put in uniforms. Of those who joined the army, many lost their lives and an even greater number were wounded. Work force shortage was a major problem faced by most countries. This was the time when the print media London Times, the Manchester Guardian, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, the New York Herald or Washington Post mostly talked about social issues and performed hate campaign against Nazi Germany but never was aware of the debate. (Vogt, 234-6) The decisive role that the women performed during the course of the World War I had a significant impact in their later life styles in terms of their social status, professional disposition etc. Illustratively, while, a very large number of women were deployed in the front, being enlisted for services in the Navy in the US, in factories, offices and hangars for building aircraft, a large number of them adopted the nursing and other voluntary works at the back end, keeping the "home fires burning". This diverse involvement of women considerably redeemed their image of professionalism and versatility and expanded their possible role in society, with several of them later finding employment in the Red Cross and several European countries, extending the right of franchise to women. Following the War and during the pre WWII period they were ready to sustain the economy in the absence of the men folks. In a way, they provided a buffer of the work force and the media was more concerned about their rights than the actual political developments. (Massie, 221) Britain, a French ally, entered the fray and declared war on Germany. Such Declarations of war continued until almost all of Europe joined hands with one or the other of the two poles in their war efforts against each other. Only the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, the Scandinavian nations and the states of Andorra and Monaco retained their neutrality till the end of the war. One of the most tragic aftermaths of this war was the casualties and the deaths of military and civilians. (Bessel, 59-61) However, it is a truth that the events that resulted this mayhem and changed the course of history was not conceptualized by the dominant print media like London Times, the Manchester Guardian, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, the New York Herald or Washington Post. This is almost sarcasm of history and the media failed to document this important event. Works Cited: Bessel, Richard; Germany after the First World War; Oxford University Press, 1995 Lukacs, John; Five Days in London, May 1940; Yale University Press, 2001 Vogt, Hannah, Gregory Peter Ed Peter Ed Vogt, Gordon A. Craig & Herbert Strauss; The Burden of Guilt: A Short History of Germany, 1914-1945; Oxford University Press US, 1966 Massie, Robert K; Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea; Ballantine Books, 2004 Read More