In this article, I’m going to tell you about how World War II changed the world. It changed much more than just the United States; it changed every country in the world. It showed everyone that man could be capable of even the most horrifying actions ever tried on the face of the Earth. Now, let’s start with how it changed everything…

After World War I, Germany was broken, economy was horrible; people were dying left and right because there was nothing left for them to sustain themselves on. Then a man by the name of Adolf Hitler came to Berlin with the promise of great riches for those who fought for him. And slowly, they built up an army. The people of the world had noticed this, but thought nothing of it. That was a huge mistake, and that mistake would cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews. As time went on, Hitler built up the army and gained the support of thousands of Germans. Jews, who were living in the now-going-to-be Nazi country, saw them and many feared. They ran, while others thought it would blow over. Oh, how wrong they were. They were hunted down and put into concentration camps. Germany eventually started its campaign of world domination.

In the mean time, back home here in the US, President Roosevelt had been President since 1933, following Herbert Hoover’s Presidency. He saw after Czechoslovakia fell to the Germans that eventually, despite everything else, the United States of America would be shoved into the war. He told Congress that we needed to go to war, but Congress was wholly and fully against war. We had just gotten out of the Great Depression and we were booming in economy now. They thought we didn’t need to. There was a right and left in the people not wanting to join the war. The “righters” thought we should even join the Nazi’s and help clean out Russia of its communists, whom people believed to be the real enemy! They thought Hitler was going to help them! While, I believe, in truth, that Hitler would have backstabbed us eventually.

After the fateful day that changed the future, of December 7, 1941, the merciless Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, killing hundreds of Americans. Roosevelt then had the evidence he needed to bring Congress to agree to war. You do know that this great leader was confined to a wheelchair, correct? Yes, he was, but on the day we declared war, he stood and walked. He did not want to be wheeled down to the speaker’s stand by anyone, he wanted to walk with his son to the stand and make the most important speech of his career. So, when he entered the auditorium, everyone watched, standing to see him. He gripped the edges of his wheelchair and stood. They locked his leg braces in place and, with his cane in one hand and his son holding his other arm, he walked. The crowd burst into cheers, shouts, and whistles. He knew that if he fell, he’d be letting down everyone, and showed that the US was weak to Germany. But no, he walked down to the speaker’s stand and gave the speech, all without his wheelchair! The US was prepped and primed for war, to avenge those in Pearl Harbor.

Now while Roosevelt was trying to convince Congress to go to war, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain had been standing up to the Nazi’s for at least 2 years. When the US was attacked and we declared war, he took a quick breath of relief, knowing now that he was not alone in this war. He, after the US, declared war on the Germans. Because, on the same day that we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, British colonies in Singapore and Malaysia were attacked as well as British territory in North Africa, giving the British too, a reason to go to war. He and Roosevelt offered to what remained as the French Resistance, a position in the new Allies program, as I call it.

The Allies, or as they are now known as the United Nations, was an idea sparked by our President during that period, Roosevelt. The Allies consisted of the “Four Policemen” or the British Commonwealth, the Soviet Union, the United States of America, and the final member was China. The original, or “Big Three” was British, Soviet Union, and the US of A. China was the final big ally needed to help with the war. There were also several other nations who joined. There was Poland, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, and finally Norway. There were also many unsaid in my list, so don’t think that these were the only ones. My question is for you: What do you think the leaders of all these countries were thinking about when they were offered to join the Allies program? Were they afraid? Were they absolutely sure that this was the right way? What do you think?

After the Allies program was created, or the United Nations, we launched ourselves into war, ready to attack those who wanted to eradicate the Jews. During the time of the war, many plots to kill Hitler were put into action, but all failed until the Soviet Union attacked the heart of the evil, Berlin. As they thundered in, Hitler married his girlfriend before joining her in suicide. Imagine, all this trouble, and he was too cowardly to face the rest of the world. Think of how happy the Soviets were when they finally planted their flag at the top of Berlin’s capital building. That would be the most amazing moment for them.

The World War that Hitler started is long gone, but think about the scars he left. He made Berlin one of the scariest places in that time to be in. Because everyone knew once the Allies came, they would be dead, even if they wanted nothing to do with Hitler. If you were against the Nazis, they would kill you if they found out. If you were a Jew, hiding under a false identity, you would be killed. Think of how scary it must have been for those people… Add onto that, once the Allies had complete control over Berlin, every country established a command of some part of the armies, even destroying the navy to make sure this never happened ever again.

This isn’t much, but I hope it’s enough to tell you alone what WWII did to change the world, thanks for reading!