Great Britain After Ww2

After WW2, Britain’s domestic life was in upheaval and most people wanted peace and to return to normal, the war also brought on an urge to broaden Britain’s wealth. This meant the new Conservative government was expected to

The year was 1940; the world’s second great World War was in full swing, with Britain and Germany at the forefront. The fall of Britain’s closest ally, France, stunned the British Empire and threw it into disarray. Through the chaos, Winston Churchill emerged. Churchill would be an inspiring leader who was able to rally the entire nation in times of hardship. Through his leadership, the “British Bulldog” would face the Axis powers and come out victorious, as well as become a public hero for the British people. Yet, immediately after the war, Churchill did not return to the prime minister seat because of a shocking defeat in his re-election, despite his immense reputation he gained from the war. Though lauded by the British population for his prowess as a wartime leader, Churchill’s conservative politics were out of touch with a population ready for post-war relief and led to his defeat in the 1945 election.

It provided the Allied Forces with roughly $45 billion of support, nearly $30 billion of which went to the British Empire. However, even with US aid, Britain was still devastated by bombing raids, which destroyed not only public works but private estates as well. Britain economy steeply declined and luxuries her citizens once took for granted, such as meat, bread, and tobacco, were rationed even post-war. For the first time in history, Britain was a debtor nation (“Lord of the Flies,” World 228-231). Although her economy is relatively stable in the 21st century, the United Kingdom was never as great as she was pre-World War II.

World War II was a period that changed many countries forever after the war ended: Germany was split in two, an iron curtain fell across the continent shortly after the war’s end, and acres of land and millions of people were destroyed and lost in the war. However, many changes happened during the war as well, and this is easily observed in Britain during the beginning of the war, when the country was constantly being bombed and attacked during the Battle of Britain. The Battle of Britain forced British citizens to change their mindset as a society and as a functioning economy in a split second, regardless of whether or not the people were ready for it.

Throughout a significant period in history, 1945-79, a two party system was obviously predominant; the Labour and Conservative parties being the only two with the possibility of achieving majority vote and therefore forming a government. People voted for the party which represented their social class e.g.

The Battle of Britain as a Turning Point in the Defeat of German in World War Two

The battle of Britain one of the major battles of World War II. World War II broke out in Europe, most Americans realizes that war was inevitable. The Battle of Britain was a defensive victory for Britain. World War had their leaders, these were the figures that were the guiding light, and in many cases, they were the source of inspiration to their faithful followers. In addition, British victory in the Battle of Britain was decisive, but ultimately defensive in nature – in avoiding defeat, Britain secured one of its most significant victories of the Second World War. It was able to stay in the war and lived to fight another day. Victory in the Battle of Britain did not win the war, but it made winning a possibility in the long term. These victories have a positive impact on the government. Finally, government tries to Renaissance of the state and trying to improve the general standard of living.

Winston Churchill was the prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 t0 1945 and then again in 1951 to 1955. He led many fights for Great Britain such as the fight against the Nazi Germany in WWII. He knew what the end of WWII would end up to be, he clearly saw what would happen. He had this “bulldog” spirit about him and because of that; he was always inspiring people and having them push through the hard times. He would always make sure every was ready to fight and he was a big supporter in using planes in war. His attitude to not admit a defeat or a loss gave him a huge reputation for many other politicians that strive to follow him to this day.

After World War I, many Americans feared the idea that communism would spread, they called this concern “The Red Scare”. Americans were wary of the spreading of communism after the Russian Revolution, in their paranoia America attempted to block new incomers, especially eastern and southern Europeans. In addition to The Red Scare, there were limited jobs in America, because of this generations of workers whose families had immigrated before the 1900s, began to view new incomers as a threat because they would work for lower pay and further reduce the jobs available for the nativists . Due to these concerns, immigration regulations went into effect. For instance,

Is it possible to know what Americans thought of World War II, if they believed that the war was a just war or whether they did not agree for what the United States was fighting for? The historian Studs Terkel believes he knows this answer and that Americans saw themselves as liberators of an oppressed world fighting for the just war which can be concluded from his famous volume, The Good War. Of course one person’s beliefs should not be believed as easily just by reading a book. A person should base their opinions on something much more analytical than that. In order to decide whether some Americans actually thought that World War II was a just war, a thorough analysis should be done of American life looking at all the facts found. Beginning with American experience before the war then analyzing the experience of the war and the home-front itself and finally ending with the analysis of America after World War II a conclusion can be made regarding the American point of view.

We are all aware of the controversies surrounding the Treaty of Versailles and the End of World War I. Historically, most scholars believe that the treaty significantly contributed to events that would ultimately unfold as World War II and was ultimately unsatisfactory to all sides. Despite the agreement of war reparations to be paid, the Interwar period in Britain was devastating from an economic perspective. Prior to the War, Britain could simply not conceive of a world in which it was not at the apex of power. The cost of the war to all participants was, of course, devastating. Britain experienced almost 1 million deaths, or a bit over 2.2% of its population, with another 1.6 million wounded. Another 36,000 colonials died, which also had an effect on the economic welfare

Britain as an Awkward Partner in the European Community Britain emerged from the war in a relatively favourable position, compared to its European neighbours. In 1946 industrial production was as high as at any time pre-war, and increasing quite fast. By the end of the year exports had regained their pre-war level along with this there was little unemployment and retail prices remained fairly stable. All this contrasted strongly with the situation in France, Germany and Italy. Indeed in the late 1940's and into the early 1950's Britain's economy performed better then it's European counterparts.

In order to fully understand how Britain’s decision to go to war against Germany is best explained one must engage into the debate revolving around the question of the extent to which Britain and other countries were responsible for causing war. This helps explain the intention Britain had for war which is vital in understanding their decision making process to cause war in the first place. Some schools of thought have come to the conclusion that it was everybody or nobody- the continent “slithered over the brink into the boiling cauldron of war without any trace of apprehension or dismay.”1 That analysis will be considered in this essay as will the widespread thesis that it was Germany’s aggression which not only created the preconditions for war, but also triggered Britain into war with the political imbalance of power being created from the growing naval and colonial expansion of Germany. Other factors that help explain why Britain went to war against Germany

The first cause that I will discuss that led to British decolonization was its debt from back to back World Wars and the overall affect on the wars itself. World War 1 was costly to the British economy, but for World War 2, the economic losses were far heavier. World War 2 ate up Britain’s monetary reserves and a quarter of its stored wealth. Britain was also stripped of two-thirds of its pre-war export trade. This economic loss forced Britain into acquiring loans from the United States. This meant that after World War 2 Great Britain had emerged from war as a debtor nation with an empire still intact. The once great financial resources of Britain were devastated by the high cost of the wars and even the Great Depression before. Ultimately, this meant that Britain’s foreign policy could not be as extravagant as it was before the Wars.

With this definition the Labour party places itself at odds with the other parties, and especially the Conservative Party, which is associated with capitalism and privatization.