Costs Of World War Ii

Costs of World War II Background: ​World War II was the deadliest war in history. The war affected the entire world and was the first war that killed more civilians than it killed soldiers. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2.5% of the world’s population.

The Bombing of Civilians Before World War II, most nations condemned targeting civilians in bombing raids. As the war went on, the nations at war expanded their bombing targets from military to industrial one, then to workers’ houses, and finally to entire cities and their civilian populations. In the years leading up to World War II, Japan became the first power to attack civilians from the air. In 1932, Japanese warplanes bombed a worker district in Shanghai, China, an incident that produced worldwide outrage. The outrage did not stop Japan from bombing civilian areas of other Chinese cities. In 1936, Mussolini ordered his Italian troops to attack a largely defenseless east African country of Ethiopia. When Mussolini’s warplanes struck the capital city, causing many civilian casualties, the world again condemned the slaughter of American people. Hitler introduced a new form of aggression in 1939 called Blitzkrieg. This strategy of using lightning fast assaults targeted both military personnel and civilians. The bombing of London cost the lives of 30,000 people. In 1942, the British abandoned their precision bombing strategy and for the rest of the war concentrated the systematic widespread destruction of German cities by Royal Air Force night time air raids. One reason the British took this fateful step was to “de-house” the German people, which hopefully would shatter their morale and will to continue the war. After Germany surrendered, the Allies wanted to end the war quickly against Japan. On March 9, 1945, B-29 bombers attacked Tokyo, a city of 6 million people. Nearly 600 bombers dropped 1,665 tons of fire bombs on the Japanese capital, destroying 16 square miles of the city. The resulting firestorm killed 1000,000 people, more than died at Hiroshima or Nagasaki from the atomic bombs a few months later. Most of the victims were women, children, and old men. The B-29 crew members put on oxygen masks to keep from vomiting at the smell of burning human flesh. The Western Allies bombed many locations in Nazi-occupied France. The total number of houses completely destroyed by the bombings was nearly 300,000. The bombings destroyed 100% of the city of Saint-Nazaire, and partly Le Havre, Caen, Brest, Lorient, Cherbourg, Evreux, Saint-Malo, and Rouen. In France, the financial reparations cost nearly $5 billion. Especially damaged were the transportation and production infrastructures, such as railways, bridges, and roads, which had all been heavily targeting by airstrikes, while many merchant ships had been sunk. The destruction of transportation left the small towns and villages in Western Europe economically isolated. The Allied bombing of civilians played an important role in undermining the will of the German and Japanese people to continue the war. But unlike the predictions of military strategists before the war, this did not happen quickly. For a long time, the bombing of German and Japanese civilians only stiffened their resolve to fight on. They wanted to surrender only after their countries lay in ruins, hundreds of thousands had

perished, and all hope of victory was lost. Nazi and Allied bombing had left serious material damages in some cities. Urban cities like Berlin and Warsaw were almost entirely destroyed. The bombing of Dresden in February of 1945 killed approximately 135,000 people. Several areas in Rotterdam had been severely damaged and needed to be totally reconstructed. Millions of people had been made homeless. Many of the European continent greatest cities, including Hambourg, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Sebastopol, Kiev, Kharkov, and Budapest, lay in ruins. In Europe, the Nazis used food as a weapon in occupied countries, stealing goods and causing starvation. The shortage of food was one of the most acute problems. Food rationing lasted after Germany surrendered in May of 1945. Towards the ends of World War II, the Dutch famine took place in the German-occupied part of the Netherlands. The overall economy was greatly affected by the shortage of coal, aggravated by the cold winter of 1946-1947; homes went unheated and hundreds froze to death. 100 million Europeans had to live on less than 1500 kilocalories a day.

Section 1 - Human Cost In 1945, many regions were destroyed in Europe and millions of people were killed or injured. Only neutral countries were not too much affected by the theaters of events of World War II. Estimates for casualties of the war range from ​50 million to 60 million​, millions of people injured, 30 million or more civilians displaced awaiting repatriation, especially in Eastern Europe. Nearly ​45 million civilians ​were killed fighting or after bombings and the number of civilians killed is high than the number of soldiers killed. Some populations were almost decimated. For example, the deliberate genocide of around six million Jews during the Holocaust and Poland lost nearly 15% of its total pre-war population. An estimated 11 million civilians died as a direct or indirect result of Nazi ideological policies. Country

Total Deaths

Military Deaths

Civilian Deaths

% of 1939 population

U.S.S.R

20,600,000

13,600,000

7,000,000

13.88%

China

10,000

--

--

3.86%

Germany

6,850,000

3,250,000

3,600,000

--

Poland

6,123,000

123,000

6,000,000

16.7%

Japan

2,000,000

--

--

4.37%

Yugoslavia

1,706,000

--

--

6.67%

France

810,000

340,000

470,000

1.35%

Greece

520,000

--

--

11.15%

United States

500,000

500,000

--

.32%

Austria

480,000

--

--

2.81%

Romania

460,000

--

--

4.01%

Hungary

420,000

--

--

6.35%

Italy

410,000

330,000

80,000

1.03%

Czechoslovakia

400,000

--

--

2.12%

Great Britain

388,000

326,000

62,000

.94%

The Netherlands

210,000

198,000

12,000

3.45%

Belgium

88,000

76,000

12,000

1.05%

Finland

84,000

--

--

2.62%

Australia

39,000

--

--

.57%

Canada

34,000

--

--

.40%

Albania

28,000

--

--

2.81%

India

24,000

--

--

.68%

Norway

10,262

--

--

.32%

New Zealand

10,000

--

--

.73%

Luxembourg

5,000

--

--

.68%

TOTAL

52,199,262

Source: http://new.bbc.co/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A2854730 Which country had the ​most ​total casualties? Why?

Which country had the ​least ​total casualties? Why?

How did the German Blitzkrieg strategy result in such a high number of casualties?

What information do you find most surprising on this chart? Explain.

After the March 9th, 1945 Tokyo Bombing, U.S. General Curtis LeMay said, “There are no innocent civilians… the entire population got into the act and worked to make those airplanes or munitions… men, women, and children.” Do you agree or disagree with LeMay? Explain.

Section 2 - Economic Cost In 1947, the levels of production were inferior to those before the war. Agricultural production was 83% of 1938 levels, industrial production was 88%, and exports only 59%. This situation was due to lack of workforce, and decreasing productivity of work caused by food shortages, robberies, bombings, and sabotages. Globally, the economy of Eastern Europe was less severely affect than this of Western European countries, because Nazi occupation was harder there and U.S.S.R aimed at burning crops. After 1945, governments and entrepreneurs had to transform war factories to cover both consumption and equipment needs. In France, the lack of coal paralyzed the steel industry. In Germany, the lack of food, labor force, and lack of a national administration and the disruption of transport led to a dramatic situation. Black market and overpopulation threatened the country. The global economy suffered heavily from the war. To finance the war, many European government were bleeding in debt. Great Britain received a loan of $4.33 billion from the United States in 1945, while Canada loaned Great Britain $1.19 billion in 1946 with a 2% annual interest rate. Germany agreed to pay reparations of $20 billion to the U.S.S.R. Trade decreased because of aerial bombardment and merchant shipping, which had sunk. Many countries were in a state of economic ruin. Unemployment and food shortages led to strikes. The social background became more and more difficult. In this context, communism and demonstration raised. Due to shortages, Europe was mainly dependent on imports from the United States. Inflation weakened European currencies. In France, the Vichy government invested a lot of money into the production, increasing the inflation of the country. The pound sterling was devalued against the U.S. dollar. In Germany, American cigarettes became used as a form of commodity money. German often refers to May 8, 1945 as the Stunde Null (Hour Zero), marking the end of World War II in Germany and the end of the Nazi government. United States Great Britain France U.S.S.R. Germany Japan

$228 Billion $117 Billion $111 Billion $93 Billion $212 Billion $41 Billion

Which country had the highest economic cost? Why?

Which country had the lowest economic cost? Why?

Why do you think the United States and Canada donated so much money to Great Britain?

Section 3 - Political Costs Germany - ​Germany was totally defeated and the Nazi regime was gone. Its leaders were tried for crimes against humanity. German cities were in ruins from massive bombing campaigns. Germany was divided into four occupation zones by the victorious powers, pending a more permanent political statement. The Potsdam Conference, which settled the division of Germany (and Austria) respectively into four occupation zones, was held in Potsdam, from July 16 - August 2, 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom,

France, and the United States. Germany’s eastern border was to be shifted westwards to the Oder-Neisse line, effectively reducing Germany in size approximately 25% compared to its 1937 borders. Large numbers of factories were dismantled or simply destroyed by the Soviets in their occupation zone, whereas no agreement had been settled regarding war reparations paid by Germany. The U.S.S.R wanted Germany to pay for the economic collapse of the Soviet Union during the war. 40% of the industry was transferred and the Soviets turned at least 200 enterprises into “Soviet action companies.” They entirely controlled a big part of the energy and heavy industry sector. From 1948, the big properties were shared, political opponents were interned and freedom of expression was censored in the media. However, Stalin did not want to divide the country. Indeed, he wanted to control the production and distribution of coal and steel in the Ruhr. The creation of the GDR in 1949 only conferred a fictive sovereignty to the new state. Italy - ​At the conclusion of the war, communism was gaining in popularity, as Italy’s experience with democracy and capitalism in the post World War I era was unpleasant. The United States conducted a massive Public Relations campaign to prevent the communist party from taking power in Italy, helping to tilt Italy towards the democratic side. Consequently, a democratic republic was established in 1948 after a popular election, bring Italy under the influence of the West rather than the Soviet Union. Japan - ​Japan was in ruins from extensive bombing. Prominent military leaders were tried and convicted of war crimes, but the emperor was allowed to retain his position. Japan was placed under temporary military control. Great Britain - ​Great Britain was devastated by the war especially after the blitz of 1940. It had to phase of most of its political holdings due to economic losses. France - ​France would have to recover from the effects of Nazi occupation. They would have to give up some of its colonies which results in later conflicts. Soviet Union - ​The Soviets had suffered immeasurably during the war, and the western Soviet Union was devastated by the land warfare on their territory. But, in the process of defeating the German, the Soviets had built a large and powerful army, which occupied most of Eastern Europe at the end of the war. The great resources and population of Russia assured that the Soviet Union would be, along with the United States, one of two superpowers. United States - ​The United States’ economy was greatly stimulated by the war, even more so than in World War I. The Great Depression was brought decisively to an end, and new industrial complexes were built all over the United States. Spared the physical destruction of the war, the U.S. economy dominated the world economy. After four years of military buildup, the United States had also become the leading military power. The position of the United States as world leader was now more obvious than ever. Most countries eventually gave up some or all of its colonies after World War II. Give two reasons for this.

What two countries will become world leaders after World War II? How could this lead to conflict?

Based on what you know about the end of World War II, which four countries do you think held an occupation zone in Germany during the post-World War II era?

How did the Allies treat the losers of World War II differently than they did after World War I? Why?

Section 4 - Critical Thinking Question In the space below, write a detailed paragraph describing what you feel was the greatest cost of World War II. Was it the human costs, political costs, or economic costs? Be sure to provide a clear and concise thesis and use ​specific​ evidence to support your claims.