Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Who won World War II?

If we are going by the 'middle school' definition, it's pretty easy to say that this is the explanation of the war's end:



But, after the reading, what is the more complex answer to this question?  Do you believe the US emerged as the clear winner?  Explain.

13 comments:

  1. Well, America certainly came out on top in the end, but there isn't really any way to "win" a war. though Germany clearly lost. So, if anything, there was a loser, just no clear winner. Though, since then, Germany has prospered greatly, so who can say. and even after the war there were still financial concerns which caused pressure to trade an exuberant amount which may have been the thing that contributed to America as a consumerist country. So winning would be relative. because now americans are fat and the germans have really great cars.

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    1. "because now americans are fat and the germans have really great cars" hahahahhahahahahaha

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  2. Of course this issue is not simple, but I do think that the US can declare themselves as a winner. Not only were they obviously a strong leader of the allied forces that came out on top at the conclusion of the war, but more importantly their success following the war demonstrates that they were a clear winner. For example, they secured one of 5 permanent spots on the UN's Security Council. Economically, their "capital assets of manufacturing had increased 65% percent over prewar level and were equal in value to approximately half the entire world's goods and services." So although I know this question lends itself to much more complex issues, I do have to say that, at least in my interpretation of the article, that the US emerged as the winner.

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  3. I wouldn't say that America won because we fought alongside other countries, especially England. Now to be honest and maybe im just saying this because im a cocky American, but without America, Germany would certainly have had a better chance of ruling Europe. Was America a winner in the feud between us and Japan? Yes. Was America the winner of World War II, I would say no. We certainly were the deciding factor of victory, but declaring us the winners is a tad bit selfish. I think everyone can agree that the fall of the Nazi regime benefited every country but one.

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  4. I think the US emerged as the clear winner because of the power they held. I agree with Mitch about giving other countries their credit as well. The statement that America is the most powerful nation in the world makes it seem like America clearly won. The United States' leadership is probably the main reason why it can be argued that they are the "winner". Also this helped Truman win the 1948 election, which indicates that America was declared the winner or at least contributed to success.

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  5. I think that America came out of world war II as a definite victor among the other allied countries and i believe that we came out feeling the strongest. After dropping the first Atomic weapons used in war, America felt like it was the cats pajamas. We had the biggest guns so we were the biggest, strongest, and toughest. But i also think that the allied countries in a whole came out victorious because they all helped in fighting the war and all got a say in what should happen with Germany. The power America had i also believe worked against America's interest because it showed we had the power to wipe whole cities off the map which caused fair suspicion of the other allied countries.

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  6. Well, for me personally the reading simply reinforced my impression that USA is THE most clear winner of the World War ll politically and economically. By lending Western European countries an extra mighty hands to guard it from been engulfed by the iron curtain, and creating IMF and world bank to assisting the reindustrialization and reconstruction of Europe helps US made reliable and powerful economy and strategical friends which created everlasting benefit for US during the cold War era. Plus, as one of the five permeant council of the UN, US took advantage of it to fulfill it's primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

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  7. Well it is undeniable that the winners of WW 2 were the Allies. But I think you can definitely say that without America, the Allies might have failed in stopping the Nazis. That doesn't make them THE winner of the war though. It is however important to realize-how the first reading said-that no other nation was able to "not only escape the ravages of the war, but actually prospered". WW 2 probably helped America to become the powerful nation that it is today, and for accomplishing this, the US can be considered the winner of the war.

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  8. The US was the most powerful country at the time of the war, and so they could have the biggest impact on the outcome. They had sheer force in numbers and in spending power which was crucial in stopping Germany from taking Europe. However, I feel that this simply sped up the outcome of the war. I think that over time the remaining Allied forces such as Britain and Russia would have worn down the Axis powers in Europe.
    To conclude, America came out of the war in the best shape because of three main reasons: 1. they were the most powerful country in the world 2. the war was not being fought on their land 3. they were involved for half of the time as other allied countries

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  9. This is a very interesting question because though we can say Germany lost, how do we really win a war. We were clearly the side on top with the dropping of the first atomic bomb and just the overall outcome we were truly an influence and the deciding factor in the war. But it may because I'm American or it may not be but if there was one driving force that led to victory, it is the U.S. We clearly were the most powerful country in the world at that time and I believe it speaks for itself with how the war ended.

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  10. Before I can even answer this question, I must ask, what does it mean to "win" a war (especially wars with minimal bloodshed...if there was any in the Cold War)? Yes, the United States came out of the war as the most economically successful, but that would not have happened without the help of their allies, such as England. Under the subtopic of "financing the future" in the article, it says, "Americans had a good reason to be confident about their prospects for setting the terms of reconstruction. Unlike Great Britain and France, the United States not only escaped the ravages of the war but had actually prospered." So, if I HAD to choose a winner, I would choose the United States (not being bias), although the end of the war was much more complex.

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  11. Yes, i do believe that the U.S. came out of WWII as the "winner" but that is not necessarily a good thing. Especially since the way we got to the top was in some of the sleaziest ways possible. From forcing the collapse of the British empire, to practically stealing their designs for many advancements in military technology like the portable radar. The U.S. GNP doubled, we went from around 14 military bases around the world to over 30,000. To top it all off we went from the 17 most powerful military to #1, the invention and use of the nuclear bomb also helped as well.

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  12. America's humongous hand in defeating Germany and Japan definitely warrants America the title of victor, though America definitely did not win the war alone. Conflict wise, America did win, but we do not know at all if the growth experienced after WWII will sustain. Eventually, America will no longer be at the top.

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