World War two as a total war

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A war is considered total when all means are deployed in order to gain victory over the enemy. The technological advancements were numerous during the Second World War, however, the most destructive one was only used towards its end. The nuclear bomb was being tested in the US during the Second World War as a mean of last resource. The Manhattan Project was the code name for the development of the atomic bomb. The bomb was superior to any explosive ever seen before in the world. The United States, had made different plans to invade Japan but all of them were extremely costly in time and in American lives. After the refusal from Japan to surrender unconditionally, the United States dropped the first Atom bomb in history on Hiroshima, on the 6th of August 1945 (the first Atom bomb was called Little Boy). After the second refusal to surrender, the United States dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, on the 9th of August 1945. The Japanese government capitulated the next day.The bombing of Hiroshima led to the direct death of 95 to 166 thousand people while the bombing of Nagasaki led to the direct death of 60 to 80 thousand people. However, many more were impacted by these bombing. Still today, the effect of the radioactivity released by these explosions can be seen among the Japanese population. The United States did achieve their goal of total victory over the enemy, however they did at the cost of thousands of lives, and this is one of the reason the Second World War is considered to be a total war.

Throughout the duration of the war, the different invasions and liberations of countries forced millions of people to be displaced. In Poland for example, the first invasion by Germany and the USSR took place in 1939, however operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the USSE by the Nazis) took place in 1941, and the Russian counter offensive followed in 1944. These three different invasions, all passed through Poland, and led to the displacement of millions due to the approaching armies and the fear of rape and execution. Moreover the constant air raids in the different countries led to more then 7.5 million people being left homeless. These people often moved in order to seek new houses. The invasion of Germany also led to the displacement of millions of German. Women, especially in eastern Germany fled to escape the advancing Red army, as they were likely to be raped if they stayed. More than 1 million German women were raped during the invasion of Germany, the age span was girls as young as 8 to women as old as 80. The invasion of Germany, through its many violations of international law regarding treatment of enemy population shows the totalistic characteristics of the Second World War.

The Nazis and Japanese however culturally distinct shared the ideology of superior and inferior races. This ideology led to the determination of the Final Solution at the Wannsee Conference on the 20th of January 1942. It was then elaborated that inferior races in Europe were to be deported and exterminated in camps. The Final Solution was immediate put to action and led to the mass-murder of 6 million Jews, and 1 million Tsiganes, the total death toll in all of the camps was of 11 million. In Eastern Asia, the Japanese considered themselves as superior to others and especially to the Chinese which General Sakai Ryu called a « bacteria infecting civilization ». The Japanese, during their invasion of China assassinated more than 10 million Chinese. These different war crimes committed by the Japanese and the Genocide perpetrated by the Nazis show how the Axis powers disrespected international laws, and they did so in order to gain victory over their enemy and to obtain the total destruction of « inferior » races.

The Second World War can therefore be considered a total war as the Homefront was impacted as never before through the constant air raids they had to endure, moreover, every aspect of society was directed to the war effort, men were sent to the war while women stayed in the rear, and worked to replace men. It also is a total war as it was the reason of the development of new deadly weapons such as tanks, radars and the Atomic Bomb which combined, led to the overall 36.5 million deaths. It can also be considered a total war as it displaced 30 people and saw the extermination of over 11 million civilians due to their origin.The Second World War led to the end of Europe’s domination of the world and caused the production of nuclear weapons.