The human race has experienced conflicts throughout its existence. Some of the notable wars in human history are the first and second World Wars, the Russian Civil War, American Civil War, the War in Afghanistan, the Conflict in Syria and others (Ciment, 2015). World War II remains the deadliest and most destructive human conflict regarding fatalities impact on human existence. Wars always have a negative impact on civilian populations through fatalities, displacements, and trauma. World War II was unique from other previous conflicts in many factors.
World War II began in 1939 and ended in 1935. Over 80 million people died in the conflict, including 60 million civilians. In contrast, over 18 million people died in World War I, 7 million of whom were non-combatants. These statistics point to an agonizing large number of civilians who perished in times of war. The Second World War had the highest civilian casualty of all wars ever fought. Over 70% of those who died were civilians. This is no coincidence. The warring powers deliberately eliminated civilian populations in enemy territories to gain the upper hand in the war.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The massive bombing tactics employed in the war and advancement in war technology contributed to the high number of casualties. Four engine bomber planes were developed which could penetrate enemy territories and bomb industrial towns to weaken enemies economically. Collateral damage was not a consideration in this campaigns. Notable examples are the bombing of Britain by German L uftwaffe which killed over 40,000 civilians in 1941. The Germans were also on the receiving end in 1945 when British RAF bombed Dresden killing 30,000 civilians in the process. The worst of them all came in August 1945 when the USA dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima killing 120.000 people (Feis, 2015). These extensive bombing campaigns had not been previously employed in previous wars.
Civilian population displacement always occurs during conflicts, and World War II was no different. The numbers of those displaced were far greater than any that have been experienced up to date. In total, 60 million people were forced to move from their homes worldwide. Over 10 million Germans were forced to move from their homes after large parts of Eastern German were annexed to Poland. Millions of Jews and other minority groups in German were forcefully placed in concentration camps, tortured and killed. Millions of Russians in the country’s interior were displaced inland after Germans invaded the country (Glantz & House, 2015). The other conflict with a massive number of displaced persons in the Conflict. The First World War displaced over one million people. This does not amount to even one-eighth of those displaced in World War II.
Additionally, World War II was unique because it was fought in all continents on earth except Antarctica. The vast geographical area on which the war was fought meant that it significantly affected more people. Millions of non-disabled men in these regions were forced to join the army. Most of them died in the war. This meant that women and children were left to fend for themselves. As a result, there was increased suffering due to the war. No other battle has been fought on such a scale and affected so many lives.
The ‘Final Solution’ was the code name for Germans Nazi Government decision to exterminate all Jews in Germany and the World over. The plan evolved in the first 25 months of the Second World War. The program led to the Holocaust where Jews and other minority groups were placed in concentration camps. Many of them were tortured and killed. Over six million Jews and millions belonging to minority groups died. The Nazi Germans believed that Jews were an inferior race and provided a threat to native Germans.
In conclusion, Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler and top Nazi officials a Generals bear the prime responsibility for the ‘Final Solution.' Adolph Hitler masterminded the creation and execution of the program to exterminate Jews from Europe and later the world.
References
Feis, H. (2015). The atomic bomb and the end of World War II. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Glantz, D. M., & House, J. M. (2015). When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
