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The Direct Effect of World War II Essay

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It was said that World War I would be the war to end all wars; unfortunately U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was wrong. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland and the global conflict, World War II, began. Fought from 1939 to 1945, World War II consisted of the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers. The Axis Powers were led by Germany, Japan, and Italy. The Allied Powers were led by the United States, Britain, France, and several other countries. In total, over sixty million people were killed, making World War II the deadliest conflict in modern history. The intervention of the United States after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought the end of the war 4 years later. World War II brought many cultural and social changes back in …show more content…

There were rumors of the Japanese and Germans committing gruesome acts against children.” As a result of the war a collective effort was required to maximize war production, the U.S. enacted rationing on massive proportions. “Food, meat, gas, and shoes were rationed, as well as butter and lard. Families were given a certain amount of food stamps, and this was the only way to obtain food. Gas cards were also distributed and this allowed you buy a certain amount of gas each week. Whatever you could get with them was what you got; you had to wait until the next week to get more rationing stamps.” There were some ill effects of rationing, including the formation of black markets local to their respective communities. “The black market sold cigarettes, butter, sugar, canned goods, and other rationed supplies.” Gender and race relations were also discussed in the interview. When asked about different ethnic groups in the community and how they were affected by the war, he responded with, “There were different ethnic groups in my community, mainly Germans, Polish, and Swedes. It wasn't uncommon for pro-Nazi German Americans to hold meetings in my neighborhood.” Mr. Domek said in his neighborhood there were no discrepancies between the Pro-Nazis and the greater community, although there were suspicions. The Germans and Japanese were thought of as “the enemy.” Because of propaganda fed to the public, the general population had a hostile

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