Justification of WWII Actions

Introduction 

The World War II is one of the major wars taking place in the mid decades of the 20 th century. It represents a primary decision by major nations in the world to put the safety of their people at risk. Millions of people died during the war with many more injured or traumatized by the effect that the war had on the populations. However, governments like Germany, US, and Japan had significant justification that would invoke modern day notions on race and the nation-state to engage in the WWII. The following paper will look into the various notions that were influential in the involvement of these countries during the war. 

Hate Speech 

One of the primary factors that influenced involvement in the war is the issue of racial discrimination and hate against a particular race. In this case, Germany is depicted as demonstrating aggressive nationalism that would lead to the extermination of the Romani, Poles, and Jews from ther territory. In this practice, there was a primary belief that trhe German race was by far the most superior than any other race in the world. Once the Nazis took over government in the 1903s, it was the only message that was spread all over the country while openly oppressing the other members of the society. Through effective use of posters and billboards that relayed the message intended by the Führer. For instance, in the Summer of 1940, there was a poster that prompted German nationals to “Smash the Enemies of Greater Germany!” as was evident in its text. A direct translation would be “Into Dust with All Enemies of Greater Germany”. The poser is shown below. 

The violent notions depicted in the above photo is an indicator how effectively the Nazi rulers intended to spread the hate in the country. It was important strategy towards weeding out all the non-Germans in the country while also expanding the territories of the country. Through elimination, the country would be able to effectively expand to occupy various other countries including Russia and France. The Nazi Government had established a 25-point programme where the very first of it was demanding that, “all Germans unify in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people’s right to self-determination”. Hitler’s message was to ensure that there would be no intermarriage between the Germans and the outsider nation. It was a primary belief that was drilled into the mindset of the German nationals that any form of intermarriage would greatly devalue the strength and power of their people. Therefore, any individual who got in the way of their destiny had to be destroyed. 

Economic Reasons 

The economic futures of countries like Japan were an integral factor to their involvement in the War. Other than a few coal and iron deposits, it was clear that the country lacked any significant strategic minerals that would enable the country to grow into an economic powerhouse. At the beginning of the 20 th Century, Japan had successfully pushed back efforts by the Russian forces as they attempted to expand their powers into East Asia. The Russo-Japanese War was an important statement to the Asian Continent and the rest of the world that Japan intended to become the next great country of the world. However, among the Asian countries, this was presented as “Asia for Asians” making it more attractive and ensuring ease of reception by majority of the countries. Japan had set its sights after 1931 to focus primarily in ensuring economic growth in country and in the rest of the Asian continent. The US and other European nations had been a dominant force to reckon with in the China market, but the Japanese had other ideas believing they were entitled to save their Asian neighbors from domination by the West. This practice was evident as the American Ambassador to Japan declared that the policies and and action that Japaneses authorities are employing in China are depriving Americans of their long established rights in the country a practice to which they oppose. The ongoing conflict continued and led to President Roosevelt freezing all Japanese assets in the US. An embargo which had also stopped nearly 80% of its shipments would result in immediate retaliation against the US. 

Cultural Reasons 

The WWII was one of the deadliest events to occur in human history, particularly due to the high death count where approximately 60-80 million people were killed. At the time, many of the observers believed that the problems associated with the European continent would be contained in it, but it would spread to Asia and America as well. At the time, the US had entered into a period of isolation hence its decision to keep away from the conflict arising in Europe. The US Congress had unanimously voted against engagement in war, but as the situation grew dire, it was clear that involvement in the war was imminent. The breaking point for engagement in the war was the attack at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese troops. The Pearl Harbor is a symbolic feature in the culture of America which helps identify its superiority and strengths above all nations of the world. The attack came as a retaliation to the US along with allies from Europe stopped all shipment of oil to the Japanese country that had little natural resources. However, the day after the attack, America would wage war against the Japanese.