Should Governments be Punished for War Crimes?

Adolf Hitler and his actions are the cause of World War II. “Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who don't want to fight in this world of eternal struggle they don't deserve to live, ” by Adolf Hitler. This is an important quote since Hitler believed in the power of war. His parents died when he was young, so he went into the army very young and fought in World War I.

One of the the most known leaders of World War II ,and not for good reason was Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were the most recognizable and known totalitarian leaders in Europe. They both had a great impact on the world's history. Adolf Hitler was the Fuhrer of the III Reich and a leader of the Nazi Party. He is to blame for the break out of the II World War and for the creation of an ideology which caused the holocaust and suffering of many nations. Stalin was a leader of the Soviet Union until 1953.

World War II was one of the most significant wars in history. It is also the deadliest with a death toll of, approximately, 56.4 million; almost half of which were Soviet fatalities. Furthermore, the amount of people who met their demise during the time of this war is absolutely devastating. World War II could have been avoided if there was better cooperation and communication across the globe.

World War II is argumentatively one of the largest events in war history. World War II changed that world and everyone who lived during those six years. Many people believe that Adolf Hitler was the central cause for the war, however, it is important to understand that there are many other causes. These include: Treaty of Versailles, Fascism, Hitler and the Nazi party, the Great Depression, and appeasement. It would be extremely difficult to place blame on only one specific person or event for World War II. However, a mixture of many things can and may however hold the blame for World War II. It is crucial to understand the impact that World War II left countries throughout the world, especially since only eight countries declared neutrality during this wartime. Even though only eight countries remained neutral during WWII, it does not mean that every other country in the world was heavily involved in the world. Even countries who were not heavily involved in the war, were still effected by the war itself.

War crimes are committed in every war, whether it be the mass murder/rape of civilians/noncombatants or the mistreatment of POWs, war crimes show war's worst effects on people’s morals and humanity. After the end of World War 2 there were the Nuremberg trials which tried the members of the nazi party that had committed war crimes throughout the war. However most allied war crimes were not brought to the public and in the soviets case, blamed on the nazi's. This is the result of how “history is written by the victors” and while the nazi war crimes were closely documented, judged and sentenced the allied war crimes were swept under the rug away from the public eye as it wouldn’t of been popular to publicly lock up and persecute the men that had

World War Two was filled with many different leaders, who all carried different leadership tactics that supported the efforts of the war in various ways. Two leaders that had a huge impact on the outcome of the war were Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. These two leaders were most commonly known for their negative impact on society; however, I am choosing to compare the good that these two leaders did for their country during their time in leadership.

World War II was initiated by Adolf Hitler of the Nazi Party, Germany. This group of

Hitler would be some peoples choice to be number one but not mine. Adolf hitler went from being a lance corporal in the German army , to chancellor of Germany in 15 years. The holocaust may have been his subordinates doing, but but he knew about it, which, amazingly , has only been fairly recently proven. Adolf hitler had a major role In initiating the bloodiest conflict ever, which still has a massive bearing on the world to this day. His megalomania had seen large parts of Europe devastated in his lifetime and forced into communism after the war.

‘From the first day that he "seized power," January 30, 1933, Hitler knew that only sudden death awaited him if he failed to restore pride and empire to post-Versailles Germany.’[1] The Second World War was the deadliest battle in History. Figures estimate that over 59 million people were killed during its conflict. German leadership was under Adolf Hitler, a ruthless dictator who was the chancellor of Germany during the majority of the conflict. It is debatable that Hitler was solely responsible for the events in which lead to and occurred during the Second World War. Hitler was responsible to a large degree, however cannot be accountable for every aspect in which the

World War II was an incomparable war; it provided history with a shameful amount of deaths and an opened door to nuclear weaponry. Dominating the war were two powers: Allied and Axis. Four leaders of the Allied Powers were Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Harry S. Truman. These men battled against fascist Italy. Nazi Germany, and Japan. Both together and separately, they fought a grueling war against relentless powers that were extremely determined.

The conflict between the Allies and the Axis was a horrific and deadly one, which consisted of genocide and mass bombings. Innocent citizens were killed with the estimated sixty million casualties, which lead to the question as to the morality of the different actors—Germany, Japan, England and America— in WWII. In order to truly assess their guilt, meaning their moral innocence, each country will be measured upon the morality of their intent and execution of the different controversial mass killings that Germany (the Holocaust), Japan (Nanking), and the Allied forces (Dresden and Hiroshima) took part in. This hierarchy of evil can be judged upon how Japan’s tyranny and the Allies’ area bombing compare to the genocide performed by Germany. Similarly, these countries will be judged on the whether these different acts were premeditated versus in response to another act, as well as the proportionality to which these acts were carried out. This measurement of evil places each party on an overall scale, which depicts the total guilt that each country or countries deserve. WWII exemplifies that while war is an unavoidable aspect of human nature, there is no such thing as a just war. Similarly, while there is a definite hierarchy of morality between the different actors of WWII, each of the countries at play are immoral in their intent and execution of the attacks on opposing countries.

If asked the main cause of World War II almost every person will give the same answer, “Hitler”. Most people believe that Hitler was the sole cause of World War II. This belief is blatantly false. As you can see there were countless factors that attributed to World War II including Japanese Expansion, Anti-Communist movements, as well as lack of resources in densely populated countries. Many people have been taught, since grade school, “Hitler caused World War II”. I believe that with these multiple causes of the war, other than Hitler, that I have broadened the view of the ignorant men and women of this

During world war two, countries on both sides committed war crimes that shocked both the people involved, and the globe. From 1937 through to 1945, the Japanese justified their treatment of the Australian prisoners of war at the Burma railway with three things. The Japanese believed that their bushido code allowed them to treat the Australian this way, their ethics was one of complete brutality and hardship, and the Japanese soldiers were being fed false propaganda that showed a dehumanized view of the Australians. These three statements demonstrate that the Japanese atrocities committed at Burma, were, in the eyes of the Japanese, fair and just.

Hitler, a man people believed this man would help them in the time of need. Imagine though someone with the power to do something good use that power for the exact opposite, instead of helping. Making situations worse than they need to be. Germany was his start of destruction. He had affected everyone in a way.