The Great World War II

Authors Note: I did this Piece on WWII mainly because my dad knows a lot about this war, I figured he could help me, which he did by giving me book recommendations. Without his help, this piece would be terrible.

As the bullet holes paint the buildings like the fur of a leopard, and the bomb craters make even the safest roads a dangerous adventure, life seems to be at a standstill in some towns, and others you see the homeless dodging in the shadows searching for their next meal. This is World War II and it left a mark in history. The effects of war is a major theme in WWII stories such as The Battle of Britain by Leonard Mosley and Blitzkrieg by Robert Wernick.

The first book that uses this theme is  The Battle of Britain by Leonard Mosley. In The Battle of Britain the following text illustrates uncertainty, fear and sadness in the children of the larger cities of England during the battle of Britain “During 1939 and 1940, a stream of reluctant recruits assembled on railway platforms and at highway pick up points in England’s major cities and marched resolutely onto waiting transport. The marchers were city children, off to new foster homes in rural and suburban areas. Herded along by schoolteachers, each was carefully tagged with an identification card and armed with a gas mask, a tooth brush, a towel and a change of underwear.  Like many a real soldier, these youngsters did not know where they were going. Some looked scared; some cried; but many managed the appearance of good spirits before setting off into the unknown.” (page 102) Children were greatly affected by this event in WWII and some never changed after. How would you react if you had to be shipped away from your parents on a train with complete strangers to a foster home with “parents” you have never met before?

Germany affected other countries greatly during WWII as seen in the second book in this essay called Blitzkrieg by Robert Wernick. This theme is expressed in the following text about Germany’s invasion of the Low Countries “The German attack that crushed the Low Countries in 1940 struck the Dutch and Belgians like an automobile accident: it was too rapid and catastrophic to seem real. The assault that began on May 10 was over in Holland by May 15 and in Belgium on May 28. Evan while it was underway, the lighting war had a surreal quality.” (page 126) These countries were taken over in a matter of days and gave Germany an advantage in size and strategy by having direct access to England and France.

As the war was raging on in Europe no one forgot about America. America was one of the greatest Ally forces in WWII. They are also known for creating the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction ever. This weapon went by the name of the Nuclear Bomb, created by scientists and only detonated twice on this planet. A Japanese journalist, recorded in The Story of World War II, described the bomb’s effects as “Everything standing upright in the way of the blast—walls, houses, factories, and other buildings were annihilated and the debris spun round in a whirlwind and was carried up in the air… Horses, dogs and cattle suffered the same fate as human beings. Every living thing was petrified in an attitude of indescribable suffering…” The two bomb detonations effected the war so greatly, they almost immediately put an end to the Japanese reign during the war.

In conclusion, many countries were affected greatly during World War II, which is why it is a major theme throughout most WWII books. WWII caused Europe to forever be marked with crushed buildings, broken roads, and memories. Not just Europe was affected, hence the name “World War”, America, and Japan were affected greatly too, we will always remember Pearl Harbor and The two bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the end, WWII was the biggest war in the history of mankind.