Introduction
Many European countries played central roles in creating animosities between nations that culminated into the emergence of World War II. The war was initiated by Hitler’s attack on Poland in 1939. However, apart from this attack, there were other dominant issues such as social and economic differences that made nations across the globe engage in the war.
This short paper traces the trajectory of World War II citing issues of collaboration and resistance in the European countries as well as the Grand Alliance’s planning for a postwar order. It also digs into the economic issue that initially defined postwar Europe by discussing postwar experiences in the European countries.
WWII Trajectory
The Second World War can be traced from the Napoleonic era of absolute war. This concept was crucial in the Second World War in Europe as there was a “large-scale mobilization of state resources for war to anticipate the modern concept of total war that was typically associated with World War II” (Merriman 122).
In the context of Europe, collaborations and resistances characterized World War II. A good example of resistance was the case of Poland. The nation had a home-based army that was composed of 300,000 people (Merriman 124). However, the army was crushed when the Warsaw uprising emerged. As a result, 12, 000 deaths were recorded (Merriman 357). Many other people found themselves in concentration camps by 1943.
In France, resistance to war was also experienced. The French resistors were termed as masquisards. They were able to “hide behind brush called maquis” (Merriman 359). While resistance in France seemed to bear fruits, the situation was harder in Belgium. Often, the resisting people were killed. In this context, Merriman argues, “there is hardly a hill that is more than a hump in Denmark…the Danes in Copenhagen saved the Jews who got them out with the help of a German officer” (367).
Apart from France, Belgium, and Poland, resistance occurred in almost every country. The main forms of resistance entangled recapturing of territories, non-cooperation, and disinformation. Many Europeans decided to resist Italian and German occupiers. The main mechanism of resistance was hiding for the Jews, sabotage, and bureaucratic obstructions among other ways.
Amid the discussion of the resistances in many nations in Europe against Second World War, it is fallacious to assume that collaboration was not experienced. For instance, even if France had a resistant force, it also collaborated. In this line of argument, Merriman asserts, “it was conveniently forgotten that the Jews in Paris who were arrested, in the Marais, in the Jewish section of Paris, and in other places, too, were arrested by the French police” (373).
Therefore, even if German forces could have wanted to arrest the Jews in Paris themselves, the French police were better prepared to execute the task. Netherlands is yet another country that immensely collaborated. While the camps at the border of Germany and Netherlands were to be run by the Nazi, locals took up a proactive role in running them. Ukraine was also not left out in the collaboration. In fact, with the aid of Ukraine police, the Nazi slaughtered 33,000 Jews.
Adolf Hitler indirectly created the grand alliance thus bringing in together the Great Britain, Soviet Union, and the United States. President Roosevelt established strategies considered critical for enhancing post war peace during World War II. However, the Yalta conference that was held in 1945 “appeared to expose the problems and contradictions of Roosevelt’s two‐track approach” (Merriman 675).
Indeed, by 1947, the United States’ policy on Soviet Union predicated containment. In the attempt to ensure that post war order was establishment directly congruent with ideals of the American institutions, Truman’s administration resorted to viewing Soviet Union as threatening interests of the United States.
Towards the end of 1940s, anticommunism and containment were globalized to include Latin America, Asia, and Africa. However, there emerged economic and security demands, which were competing in Europe. The demands had the aftermaths of shattering the grand alliance. Consequently, the cold war emerged.
Economic Issues
Economic issues initially defined postwar Europe differently. Britain depended incredibly on trade for it to prosper (Merriman 209). First World War resulted in the destruction of large fleets owned by British merchants. Consequently, Britain encountered challenges in exportation of coal, textiles made from cotton, and steel.
These challenges were replicated during the Second World War. Hence, Europe experienced economic structural shocks that influenced economic growth negatively during the time of war. However, in the post second world war era, Britain’s economy grew rapidly. Indeed, Britain initiated in 1950 with a very high level of income compared to other parts of Europe since it stood at 73 % (Merriman 712).
This income level was measured based on the U.S. income level figures (Merriman 718). By 1973, the GDP per capital of Britain settled at 71 percent of that of the U.S. During the same period (1950-1973), the GDP per capita of France rose from 52 % to 77 % of that of the U.S. On the other hand, the figures for West Germany were 49% and 87% in the same period while Italy also experienced a tremendous economic growth (40 % to 70%) in the same period.
Europe remained nationally divided after the Second World War (Merriman 609). There were political and intellectual movements that proved important to the new balance of power in the divided Europe. Some of these campaigns included women drives and cultural movements. The movements resorted to dividing Europe based on gender and cultural identities as opposed to national divisions.
For instance, in the case of women movements, the main claims were permission of women to participate in paid labor and accordance of suffrage rights. Claiming these rights in an already divided Europe, European governments had little options other than according them so that woman who had not been given voting rights acquired them by 1950s. There were also increased numbers of women participating in paid labor.
These were all attempts to enhance unity within individual European nations. The quests for concretization of democracy led to the emergence of many intellectual movements in Europe. For instance, students’ movements in France had substantive impacts on the policies made by the government in 1960s. Such movements led to a right back swinging of politics to the extent that economic growth in France dwindled in 1970s.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the 1939 attacks on Poland initiated World War II. Some European nations collaborated while others resisted the war. The War affected Europe in various ways. People died while economic growth was at its lowest percentage in comparison to the United States’ GDP growth. On the other hand, the post war era was characterized by an increasing economic growth generally in France, Britain, and Germany especially during the first two years though it suffered later in 1960s and 1970s.
Works Cited
Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present. New York, NY: Norton & Company, 2009. Print.