ww2 history
Did everyday Germans largely experience the war in the same way as everyday Americans? Or were their experiences mostly different? Did home front Japan resemble in meaningful ways home front Great Britain? Or were the differences between the home fronts more important than any similarities? Such questions are at the heart of Paper Two. In this paper, you are to compare the home front experiences of the Axis powers with the home front experiences of the Allied powers. Were they similar—and if so, in what important ways? Were they different—and if so, in what important ways? Finally, are the (possible) similarities more important than the (possible) differences? In short, the paper is asking you to answer the following question: can we speak of a common home front experience in the Second World War?
Sample Solution
No, everyday Germans and Americans experienced World War 2 (WW2) in very different ways. Although both countries were deeply affected by the war, Germany was the aggressor rather than a target of invasion. This distinction fundamentally shaped how German citizens experienced the conflict.
For instance, compared to American civilians who faced few enemy attacks on their homeland besides Pearl Harbor and Alaska (Dear & Foot 2000), much of Germany’s infrastructure suffered immense devastation as a result of Allied bombings that began in 1942 (Gallagher 2018). As such, many German civilians had to contend with food shortages and harsh living conditions caused by wartime destruction. They also had to grapple with psychological effects such as fear and trauma created by air raids (Kröger et al 2017). In addition, thousands of German men were conscripted into military duty while women joined government-run labor forces or found employment in factories producing ammunition and other war materials (Sanders 2019).
On the other hand, U.S civilians during WW2 enjoyed far greater access to resources than their German counterparts due to America’s participation in global trade networks as well as its support from neutral British colonies like Canada that shipped vital goods across borders for free trade amid the conflict (Harvie 2015). This enabled most Americans to lead relatively stable lives despite shortages in certain consumer goods resulting from rationing efforts imposed by President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration during this time period.
In conclusion, WW2-era Germans often endured more severe consequences associated with the war effort than did Americans due primarily to Germany’s role as an aggressor state throughout much of the conflict. Meanwhile, U.S citizens maintained a higher standard of living due largely because they benefited from trading partnerships shared with allied nations not directly involved in fighting against Axis powers.
