The international order saw a dramatic change during 1815 and 1945; many significant events took place which shaped up the future, many unforgettable events left their mark during this period. The most significant events that took place during this time were the two world wars, World War 1 (1914-1918) and World War 2 (1939-1945), these two world wars changed the international order once and for all, a lot has been talked about these wars and how they changed the relations, this paper will mainly focus on the two world wars that the world has witnessed, a comprehensive understanding of the relations between the countries at that time will be provided in the paper.
The First World War
WWI was fought in Europe during the period of 1914-1918 and it was nothing but a massacre in more ways than one. The exact loss to mankind during WWI, is still unknown and it was and the destruction this war caused was unprecedented. New weapons were introduced during WWI like poison gas, Machine Guns, etc., and the same caused a lot of devastation all across Europe. The fragmentation of three major empires took place because of the war namely Austro-Hungarian, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The German Empire was conquered and new maps were draw so as to indicate the exact changes.
The relationship of Britain and Germany worsened after the war, there was a competition going on between the two countries for supremacy both tried to outdo each other. “US President Woodrow Wilson and others blamed the war on militarism.” (Hoover, 2009). The Trade barriers were believed to be the reasons for the war and to avoid war in the future the Bretton Woods system was introduced. The period 1914-1918 was one bad period for the whole world and tension and chaos prevailed all across the world and the same inevitably affected the relationship between countries.
World War II
The devastation caused by the WWI was nothing when compared to WWII, the war involved more than 100 million soldiers and hell was unleashed. The war started because Germany invaded Poland, this was followed by the UK declaring war on Germany. The attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the highlights of the war. Germany got divided into four parts after the war and it was controlled by the Allies powers.
The welfare state in the UK was born after the war, Israel was created after the war. Many new organizations were created in order to ensure that peace prevails in the world; organizations like the WTO, IMF were some of the most important organizations established after the War. Europe suffered the most because of the war, millions were left homeless and were made to live like refugees, and the European economy was in tatters and needed a quick recovery.
“The government rationed, or limited, the amount of some goods that Americans could buy. They had to use ration coupons to buy gasoline, tires, coffee, sugar, meat, and shoes. When the coupons ran out, people could not buy the rationed item until the new monthly coupons were received. Families planted “gardens for victory” and canned the vegetables to save food. Because commercially canned goods were rationed, the Victory Garden became an indispensable source of food for the home front. The Victory Garden was a household activity during the war and one of the most well received of all home front chores.” (Effects of WWII, 2009).
Conclusion
The World wars caused a lot of devastation and chaos in the world, no country profited from the wars instead all the countries involved in the war suffered a lot of damage and the same affected the relationship of the countries all around the world, hence it is very fair to say that the year between 1815-1945 marked a period of chaos and brutality mainly caused by the two world wars.
References
Effects of WWII. In Are you Doing all you can? 2009. Web.