Ideological Relationship Between WWI and WWII

¶ … ideological relationship between WWI and WWII. The writer explores the ideological relationship between the two wars and then moves into the arena of contrasting the differences between several war germane terms. The comparison includes Fascism and Nazism. There were three sources used to complete this paper.

Should the U.S. launch an attack on Iraq? Nations of the world have been lining up on both sides of this question for the last few weeks. The world is used to divisions when it comes to military action. World War One and World War Two both provided training grounds for the world nations drawing lines in the sand and choosing sides. The World Wars were ideologically related in several ways with the most important ideal being personal freedom.

Each of the world wars stood for freedom. The freedom to choose one's lifestyle and the freedom to choose one's government style and participants were the driving forces behind the wars. Each of the wars involved the public announcement of allies and the proven loyalty among those allegiances.

The world wars had as much to do with allegiance as they did with individual national beliefs. The allies had to band together in a show of solidarity so that the allies would back them when they needed help in the future. It is something that caused two world wars and it is a commonality in each war.

WWII began on September 1, 1939 and did not end until May 7, 1945. The war was centered on the loss of personal freedom and liberties that some of the governments were instilling upon the residents who lived there. Adolph Hitler committed Genocide against millions of Jews, Gypsies and others while the world looked on (Calvocoressi, 2001).

Each of the World Wars revolved around the right of people to live under a democratic society. The right to vote politicians into office, and vote them out if they are not making their constituents happy is a right that has been defended for many years. The world wars drove home the belief that it was worth fighting for and not only for the countries being oppressed but for the safety of the rest of the world as well. While the nations that were involved in the world wars could have stayed out of the war because it didn't directly involve them, there were concerns in both wars that not getting involved would cause the non-democratic sides to win. This would cause them to build in numbers and strengths and then be able to take over larger and larger democratic nations. Each world war was founded in the concern that there could be a future inability to protect the freedom of democracy if each smaller effort to do so was not stopped.

The end of WWII brought about the invention of the League of Nations that allows for the airing of international disputes. This was done in the hopes that World Wars were a thing of the past.

The causes of WWII boiled down to freedom (Axel, 1998). Adolph Hitler became a dictator and committed the most atrocious acts known to mankind on millions of innocent victims. Germany's rearmament worried many including the French so France approached the U.S.S.R. For protection and alliance (Calvocoressi, 2001). Hitler used this to claim that Germany was now in danger and he used this as an excuse to militarize even more. France and Britain waited and watched and did not stop Hitler which gave him a sense of power and he began the forcible annexation of Australia. During this time he also went after Czechoslovia with threats. The free world began to see what his plan was accomplishing. He was slowly taking over his area of the world and there were real concerns that his power goals would eventually include the entire world. Those he conquered were deprived of the freedom of choice and the world nations began to discuss how to stop him in his tracks.

The decision by various nations to enter the war only served to strengthen each side and the balance was equal for the most part. That worked until Japan made the fatal decision to attack Pearl Harbor. This action brought the U.S. into the war and the balance of power was immediately unequal (Calvocoressi, 2001). The war was brought to a close quickly and there has not been a world war since.

World War I started for similar reasons. European nations were dividing in their loyalties and they were taking sides against each other. France and Russia became allies while Germany began to build its military services.

As the sides were chosen the nations erupted in battle and the war was begun.

Both wars held the same ideological beliefs that included the right to democracy which dovetails with the right to personal freedom. Both wars were also affected by the Industrial Revolution because it gave those battling weapons capabilities that had never before been present.

World War One had an impact on the technological development of the West. Once the new abilities were tried out in the war the West had a more clear understanding of what it would need to protect itself. The arms race was on and the West had a blue print for needs based on what it had witnessed through the First World War.

The technological experiments that were used in the First World War paved the way for western nations to prepare counter weapons in case war ever erupted on their own soil. The improved aviation abilities contributed to the escalation of the war as well as the western nation's understanding that the industrial revolution had changed the face of war (Morrow, 1993).

The world wars both dealt with Fascism and the Second World War also dealt with Nazism. Both terms are related because they believe in the superiority of a group, including a racial group. Hitler believed that whites were the superior race. The Nazi movement was based on that belief. Fascism also believes that one government or one group is superior to other and that one race is above all others.

At first glance each war appears to be based in an argument between several nations. The reality however, once one studies the underpinnings of the cause and effect of the wars is that the wars are about mankind and society's need for others. Each of the nations involved in each of the wars had governmental beliefs that may have differed slightly from others but the underlying thread of common ground was the belief that fascism was wrong, or that it was right. The wars explored the ability the world had moved into technologically and explored what humans were willing to do to each other in the name of war. The wars presented the world with the imaginary line in the sand so that each nation came down on the side of equality or fascism.