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In this essay, I will discuss three questions given to me by my teacher explaining the brutality of World War II.

#1: Did World War II become more brutal as time went on? I believe it did. In the beginning of the war, only a few countries were involved, so the war was brutal, however, it became more brutal as time went on because more countries were joining half way into the war, like the United States. I think that the more countries that were in a war the more brutal it becomes.

#2: In what ways? In what ways did WWII become more brutal as time went on? Well, as I told you, I think that the more countries there are in a war, the more brutal it becomes, but also because new weapons and inventions were being used by the armies of the different countries to help them win the war. Like planes, ships, and even tanks. Planes could drop bombs on the enemy army to weaken them, and ships were used in Naval warfare. And also the tank could be used by the army to fire missiles at the enemy army. So weapons are a way that the war became more brutal later in the war.

#3: Was the brutality on only one side? No, of course not! Brutality could be used on both sides of the war, it just depends on how they use it. Sure, some countries could be more brutal than others, but that does not change the fact that brutality could be used by anyone in a war.

In what sense did World War II become more “global” during its first two or two-and-a-half years? Now, for the first two years of the war, the war was mainly focused in Europe and Asia, so it was a pretty big war, almost as big as World War I, but it was not quite a “global war”, at least not yet.

To start, I would like to say how World War II started. After the first world war, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, take the guilt of starting the war, pay reparations, Germany lost territory, and was forced to keep a small military. There was also the Great Depression, and the economies were shrinking, trade was reduced, businesses closed, prices fell, banks failed, and unemployment rose. In some cases of a depression, people look for a political leader to resolve there problems, and the people chose Hitler. He promised to make Germany wealthy and powerful again. Hitler then began to built a secret military and was building up Germany’s army and weapons. Hitler then invaded Czechoslovakia. At this time, neither France nor Britain were prepared to make war, so they let it be. But then Germany invaded Poland. By this time, France and Britain had had enough of Germany breaking its promises, and declared war on Germany. At this time, World War II had begun in Europe, and would soon spread to other parts of the world (this was taken from my “What problems from World War I helped contribute to the outbreak of World War II?” essay).

I believe that World War II became global after the United States joined, and the US joined the day after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The day after the attack the US declared war on Japan, and thereby entering the war.

What problems from World War I helped contribute to the outbreak of World War II? There were many problems that helped contribute the the outbreak of WWII, but only some of them were a result of WWI. After the first world war, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, take the guilt of starting the war, pay reparations, Germany lost territory, and was forced to keep a small military. There was also the Great Depression, and the economies were shrinking, trade was reduced, businesses closed, prices fell, banks failed, and unemployment rose. In some cases of a depression, people look for a political leader to resolve there problems, and the people chose Hitler. He promised to make Germany wealthy and powerful again. Hitler then began to built a secret military and was building up Germany’s army and weapons. Hitler then invaded Czechoslovakia. At this time, neither France nor Britain were prepared to make war, so they let it be. But then Germany invaded Poland. By this time, France and Britain had had enough of Germany breaking its promises, and declared war on Germany. At this time, World War II had begun in Europe, and would soon spread to other parts of the world.

 Now after World War I, the League of Nations was established. Basically, the League was supposed to solve problems peacefully between nations without there being war. Well, this failed because not all nations joined the League, and the League had no army to prevent military aggression between the nations.

These are probably the main causes of WWII.

In this essay I will be going over three specific points I am required to write about that have to do with the Russian Revolution, but not the Russian Revolution itself (just to avoid any confusion).

(1) What are the primary differences between Marxism and Marxism-Leninism? Basically Marxism predicted a revolution by a proletariat, whereas Marxism-Leninism forcefully demanded of the need for leadership lead by a vanguard party of professional revolutionaries (for example: Vladimir Lenin). Marxism also predicted a short-lasting dictatorship of the proletariat, while Marxism-Leninism established a permanent dictatorship of the Communist party, in practice. Marxism also imagined a revolution of proletarians in industrialized countries, but Marxism-Leninism gave special importance to the revolutionary potential of peasants in mainly agrarian societies (for example: Russia).

(2) Historian Richard Pipes wrote, “Soviet Russia was the first society in history to outlaw law.” What did he mean by that? What he meant was Russia had accepted people becoming judges who were clearly unfit for the job. These people didn’t go to law school, they knew almost nothing of the law, these people had to just rely on their own personal morals. This decision was disastrous. This policy seemed to have outlawed the law.

(3) What was the Russian government under Lenin like? What kinds of tasks did it attempt to achieve? According to Wikipedia, the Russian government under Lenin was like “Formation. Traditionally, the executive part of a government is directed by a council of ministers nominated by a ruler or by a president. The Bolsheviks considered this to be a bourgeois institution, and wanted to create what they believed was a new government made up of a ‘soviet’ of workers and peasants.” What did Lenin want to achieve in the Russian Revolution? According to Wikipedia, “From his Marxist perspective, Lenin argued that this Russian proletariat would develop class consciousness, which would in turn lead them to violently overthrow tsarism, the aristocracy, and the bourgeoisie and to establish a proletariat state that would move toward socialism.”

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States of America. He was president from 1913-1921, and was also president during World War I. He was famous for creating the Fourteen Points. According to Wikipedia, “The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress by President Woodrow Wilson.” According to the National WWI Museum, the Fourteen Points are: “1. Open diplomacy without secret treaties 2. Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace 3. Equal trade conditions 4. Decrease armaments among all nations 5. Adjust colonial claims 6. Evacuation of all Central Powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence 7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored 8. Return of Alsace-Lorraine region and all French territories 9. Readjust Italian borders 10. Austria-Hungary to be provided an opportunity for self-determination 11. Redraw the borders of the Balkan region creating Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro 12. Creation of a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade in the Dardanelles 13. Creation of an independent Polish state 14. Creation of the League of Nations” These Fourteen Points mainly support the idea of lasting peace between the different countries and nations of the world.

How did an assassination lead to WWI? The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 led to the outbreak of WWI, but how did this assassination lead to war? After the assassination, Austria-Hungary sent a list of demands to Serbia (the nation that lead the assassination). They said that if Serbia does not do what they have command Serbia to do, they will declare war. Serbia accepted these demands, but nevertheless, Austria-Hungary declared war anyway. This set off a chain reaction of military mobilisations that eventually lead to the outbreak of WWI in 1914.

So, what did begin World War I? The main event that began this great war was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After this assassination, Austria declared war on Serbia, and as Austria’s ally, Germany declares war on Russia, who was an ally of Serbia, then Germany declares war on France, an ally of Russia, Germany begins invasion of Belgium, the U.S.A. declares that it will remain neutral, and the war began. The war began in August 1914, and lasted up until November 1918.

What is Modernism? According to Tate, “Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life.” The 5 Key Characteristics of Modernist Literature are individualism, experimentation, absurdity, symbolism, and formalism. What does Modernism mean? According to Vocabulary.com, “Modernism describes things you do that are contemporary or current.”

What was the Kulturkampf? According to Wikipedia, the Kulturampf was a “fierce conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck.” The main issues of this conflict were clerical control of education and ecclesiastical appointments. It began in 1871 and ended in 1887, and took place in Prussia.

What arguments did Gladstone make in favor of Home Rule for Ireland? According to Weebly, “Gladstone believed that Home Rule, no matter how radical or progressive it seemed, was the only means of avoiding a catastrophe between Ireland and Britain.” He worked very hard to establish this, but it failed and was rejected.

According to Wikipedia, “The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid scientific discovery, standardization, mass production and industrialization from the late 19th century into the early 20th century.” One of the major innovations of the Second Industrial Revolution, is that of the Bessemer process. The Bessemer process was named after the British inventor Sir Henry Bessemer, who found a new way to create steel. According to ThoughtCo, “The Bessemer Steel Process was a method of producing high-quality steel by shooting air into molten steel to burn off carbon and other impurities.” Another major innovation of the Second Industrial Revolution was the Transcontinental Railroad, which was built to stretch across America from the Missouri river to the Pacific Ocean. Other major innovations included the telegraph, the telephone, the modern lightbulb, the assembly line, the automobile, and the aircraft.

According to unacademy.com, “The four major reasons behind the unification of Germany are the role of Bismark, the strength of the Prussian economy, the decline of Austria, and the military power of Prussia. The economic strength of Prussia was one of the most important reasons behind the unification of Germany.” These are the key steps in the German Unification: according to Commack School District, “Step 1- War with Denmark. Step 2- Austrian-Prussian War. 7 Weeks War- 1866. Step 3 – Creation of the Northern German Confederation – 1867. Step 4 – Franco-Prussian War. (1870- 1871) By September of 1870, the Prussian army surrounded the main French force and captured approximately 83,000 prisoners (including Napoleon III)”

According to Wikipedia, Karl Marx was a “German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the four-volume Das Kapital.” Now, in this essay I am supposed to mention some weak points in Marx’s views, so that is what I am going to do next.

According to ReviseSociology, “Capitalism today is less exploitative. Control of the economic base does not mean control of the superstructure. False consciousness is a problem concept in postmodern society. There is less alienation today.” Now, these are just four examples of what is wrong with Marx’s views, and there are a lot more.

Does Herbert Spencer deserve to be called a “Social Darwinist”? According to Wikipedia, “Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist. Spencer originated the expression “survival of the fittest”, which he coined in Principles of Biology after reading Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species.” What is a “Social Darwinist”? According to Wikipedia, “Social Darwinism is the study and implementation of various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in Western Europe and North America in the 1870s.” Why is Herbert Spencer called a Social Darwinist? According to Britannica, “Herbert Spencer is famous for his doctrine of social Darwinism, which asserted that the principles of evolution, including natural selection, apply to human societies, social classes, and individuals as well as to biological species developing over geologic time.” Does Herbert Spencer deserve to be called a “Social Darwinist”? I gotta say, I do not know a lot about Spencer from what I have been reading, but from what I gathered, I would say that he does deserve to be called a Social Darwinist.