World War II

In December 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed taking out half of the United

States Navy. President Theodore Roosevelt responded to this attack by declaring

war on Japan. Three days later, on December 11, 1941, Hitler and Italys leader

Mussolini declared war on the United States and World War II had begun.

World War II truly lived up to its name, as soldiers were not the only fighters

and they were not the only suffering. This era in history is the most influential to me

because this was not just a bloody war, it was a great example of what America can

accomplish. During the war over fifty million people were killed and most of them

were civilians. Of the fifty million fatalities, six million were victims of Hitlers

Holocaust, which had no direct relation to the war and four hundred thousand were

American soldiers. The Holocaust is important to remember because we need to

understand the persecution and torture Jewish people endured because of one

persons hatred and influence. I believe this is especially important because

discrimination still exists today and although not to the degree of the Holocaust, it is

all the same.

Although World War II was one of the bloodiest wars, and it did not directly

affect American Civilians, America displayed great unity during this time. I think this

is important because throughout history our country seems to be divided time and

time again in some way or another. In the Spring of 1942, there was a national

mobilization in America. Americans came together to build weapons, ships, planes,

and take on any work to help. Fifteen million relocated to help. Henry Ford halted his

production of automobiles and assisted in the production of military mobilization.

Women helped by building ships, planes, and weapons. They also took on

administrative work to help with secret projects such as, The Atomic Bomb

Project. All this work aided in the militarys success and eventually Germany

surrendered in May 1945 after Hitler committed suicide.

World War II is significant to me because I think it is important to

acknowledge the mass amount of people who suffered during this time. Also,

although this was such a tragic war its important to remember our countrys

willingness to work together for the same cause during this time. I think having a

better understanding of this War and other significant events in our history will

allow me to recognize similar instances in our future instances that may occur in

the government, our society, wars, or our economy.