Blog #15

The world wars are the most interesting parts of history to me. I find it interesting the way that they started and how they were able to escalate so quickly. Looking back at the wars can help us today because we can try to prevent making the same mistakes that the countries made back then. One of the biggest mistakes made during this time was the treaty that was made after the first world war. The harsh reparations that were placed on Germany created a bitter hatred for the West that allowed Hitler to get into power. If the countries had done as they did after the second world war then maybe there would have only been one war in the first place. The Allies had turned Germany into nothing. They took away all the pride that the Germans had, made them poor, and took away all of its colonies. I think that the time period also gives us some interesting leaders. People such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Roosevelt were all prominent leaders that were able to rally their countries to support their own causes. Hitler was the most interesting of all the leaders during this era. I am amazed at the way that he was able to revive his country and prepare for war in such a small time. Many of his writings, such as Mein Kampf give us a glimpse of his rhetoric and how he was able to sway many of the citizens of his country. 

Hopefully the world learned from many of the atrocities and mistakes that were made during this time. I believe that the reason nobody has used any nuclear bombs since this time is that the world has realized that nuclear warfare has no place in the world. Now that everyone has seen the immediate destruction along with the long term affects, nobody wants to have a repeat of that. Another lesson that has been learned is turning your enemies into your allies by helping them get back on their feet. In World War I, Germany was being kicked while it was already down, but after World War II, the allies had learned their lesson and helped Germany along with the other countries get back on its feet.