Tuesday, December 3, 2013

What would Europe have been like in the 2nd half of the 20th century if Hitler had not taken power?

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Belinda


That is to say, if Hitler had been given a much longer jail sentence in Munich and kept behind bars so he couldn't have taken power and WW2 could never have happened? And what would Europe be like today? Any different?


Answer
I am sure it would be. Not only Europe but the rest of the world as well. But your question is really a two part answer. Taking WWI and the Treaty of Versailles into account, WWII would probably have happened anyway, it was not only Hitler that caused the war all by himself, single-handedly. But be that as it may, WWII and its outcome caused many changes to the power structures in the world, for example:

If WWII hadn't happened:
- Britain, France, etc. would have remained colonial powers, as they only gradually lost their colonies after the war due to a changing world order
- US only became a "super power" after leaving isolationist policy to join the war [and be the only country on the winning side to not have been devastated]
- Communism via Russia wouldn't have had such a vast or powerful impact and would certainly not have had as much territory
- use of nuclear energy and the atom bomb would either not have happened at all or have taken a lot longer to achieve [nuclear race during war]
- computers and the internet would have taken longer to realise [military "inventions"]
- women's rights movement would probably not have taken place in the 60s [women working during the war helped the WRM a lot]
- the state of Israel would probably not exist today [without the holocaust and its associated guilt, the Jews would not have had the same kind of bargaining power]
- the holocaust wouldn't have happened and there would be many more Jews still in Europe; also many thinkers, scientists, artists, Romany, homosexuals, etc. etc. would still be alive, or at least wouldn't have died in death camps [the Jews weren't the only ones murdered in those camps]
- many thousands of immigrants to other countries [such as US, SA, Australia, NZ, etc.] would in all probability still be in their European country of origin [many Europeans immigrated after the war]
- the world population would have been a lot higher than it is now, since an estimate of between 50 to 70 million people died during the war

The list goes on. The fact remains that WWII [nevermind its causes] changed the world.

What do you think are the 20 most significant locations of WWII?




g3tlike_j0


Why do you think the country is at it's place of 1, 2, 3 and so on til 20?

You don't have to do all 20, just as much as you can.


Thanks guys! 1st best answer automatically gets 10 pts!
Please support your answers



Answer
In no particular order:

Munich (The Burgerbraukeller) ~ Hitler's first political success

Poland ~ Invasion of Poland brought England and other Allies into direct conflict with Germany

The Warsaw Ghetto ~ The first step in Hitler's 'Final Solution' for Europe's Jewish population

Berlin ~ Centre of Hitler's government

The Bunker (Berlin) ~ Where Hitler retreated in the last months of the war, leaving his country to its fate

London ~ Hub of Allied war efforts

Paris ~ Centre of continental European efforts against the Nazis and later of the Petain Government which supported the nazis

Rome ~ Centre of Mussolini's government

Singapore ~ Entire Australian Division lost

The Kokoda Track ~ Death march

Dunkirk ~ the great evacuation from under Hitler's nose

Tobruk ~ Australian soldiers held siege for five months, breaking the 'blitzkrieg' tactic and sapping dwindling German supplies and resources in North Africa

Pearl Harbour ~ Attack on the US by Japanese forces led to US becoming combatants

Leningrad ~ Where Hitler became bogged down on the 'Russian front', sapping his resources

Guam ~ Victory by US forces signalled beginning of US 'return' to South Pacific, and a turning point in the war against Japan

Changi ~ POW forced labour camp and scene of internment of thousands of Australian and other troops by Japanese military

Dachau KZ (concentration camp) ~ the first concentration camp

Auschwitz ~ the biggest and most 'efficient' concentration camp, and the first opened to public view by victorious Allied forces

Borneo ~ Beginning of end for Japanese forces when Australians captured Borneo

Hiroshima ~ Site of first atom bomb drop took Japan virtually out of the war

Best wishes :-)




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