Research Based English Project
TOPIC: - With Reference to The Story “The Address”, Prepare a
Research Based on the topic “History of Second World War”
[Link] OF THE TOPIC GIVEN:
World War II, also called Second World War, was a conflict that involved
virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45.
The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and
Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the
Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China.
It was the biggest conflict in history that had lasted almost six years.
Nearly some 100 million people had been militarised, and 50 million had
been killed (around 3% of the world's population).
2. PARTICIPANTS COUNTRIES:
The Participant countries were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan
—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union,
and, to a lesser extent, China.
3. CAUSES OF WAR:
The major causes of World War II were numerous. They include the impact
of the Treaty of Versailles following WWI, the worldwide economic
depression, failure of appeasement, the rise of militarism in Germany and
Japan, and the failure of the League of Nations.
Treaty of Versailles:
Following World War I, the victorious Allied Powers met to decide
Germany’s future. Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
Under this treaty, Germany had to accept guilt for the war and to pay
reparations. Germany lost territory and was prohibited from having a large
military.
The humiliation faced by Germany under this treaty, paved the way for the
spread of Ultra-Nationalism in Germany.
Failure of the League of Nations:
The league was an international oragnisation set up in 1919 to keep world
peace.
It was intended that all countries would be members and that if there were
disputes between countries, they could be settled by negotiation rather
than by force.
The League of Nations was a good idea, but ultimately a failure, as not all
countries joined the league.
Also, the League had no army to prevent military aggression such as Italy’s
invasion of Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in China .
Great Depression of 1929:
The worldwide economic depression of the 1930s took its toll in
different ways in Europe and Asia.
In Europe, political power shifted to totalitarian and imperialist
governments in several countries, including Germany, Italy, and Spain.
In Asia, a resource-starved Japan began to expand aggressively,
invading China and maneuvering to control a sphere of influence in the
Pacific.
Rise of Fascism:
Victors’ stated aims in World War I had been “to make the world safe for
democracy,” and postwar Germany was made to adopt a democratic
constitution, as did most of the other states restored or created after the
war.
In the 1920s, however, the wave of nationalistic, militaristic totalitarianism
known by its Italian name, fascism.
It promised to minister to peoples’ wants more effectively than democracy
and presented itself as the one sure defense against communism.
Benito Mussolini established the first Fascist, European dictatorship
during the interwar period in Italy in 1922.
4. MAJOR EVENTS:
5. KEY PEOPLE INVOLVED
The Allied powers were led by Winston Churchill (United Kingdom); Joseph Stalin
(Soviet Union); Charles de Gaulle (France); and Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry
S. Truman (United States). The Axis powers were led by AdolfHitler (Germany),
Benito Mussolini (Italy), and Hideki Tojo (Japan).
6. CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR:
By the end of World War II, much of Europe and Asia, and parts of Africa,
lay in ruins. Combat and bombing had flattened cities and towns,
destroyed bridges and railroads, and scorched the countryside. The war
had also taken a staggering toll in both military and civilian lives.
Shortages of food, fuel, and all kinds of consumer products persisted and
in many cases worsened after peace was declared. War-ravaged Europe
and Japan could not produce enough goods for their own people, much
less for export.
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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