As you can see from your primary sources this week, racial pseudo-science and eugenics had a massive impact on the trajectory of World War II. Using primary sources from this week, with the secondary ones for context as needed, you're going to examine the ideas of race and the war.
Some things to think about are: What similarities and differences do you see between different countries' racial policies? What historical events do you see as most influential in bringing public opinion behind these policies (please be specific)? In what ways do you see racial ideology influencing the decisions made during the war? In your opinion, were racial ideologies or political/military goals more of a driving factor behind World War II?
I think that WWII can be defined as a "race war". Prior to WWII, we see a rise in the number of fascist regimes appearing all over, most notably Italy and Germany. One of the main ideals and values of fascism was this idea of strong Nationalism and race. This is very evident in the case of Germany. Hitler had a very strong belief in the idea of nationalism and dominance of the Aryan race and wanted to expand his territory and establish this race and territory all over Europe. He also wanted to eliminate anyone who did not fit this Aryan mold, which he most notably did to the Jewish people and tried to eliminate as many of them as he could. We also see Japan invading other countries and territory to try and claim as their own. They invaded China and acquired many other territories and islands. While their expansions may have had different motives, they both wanted to expand their dominance and spread their race and culture to other parts of the world. Their aggressive expansion and belief in nationalism may have been a key factor in kick-starting WWII.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that racial ideologies greatly influenced political and military ambitions of many of the countries involved in WWII. Some similarities among these countries include: each country believing that their nationality was superior and righteous; consequently, these "superior" races oppressed the inferior, though the methods of oppression varied. These ideologies' appearances were due to a number of factors. In Germany, the brutal defeat in WWI brought utter dismay to its people, especially with the Treaty of Versailles. Later, Germany's situation was made worse by the Great Depression. The sense of helplessness from the government made its people turn to radicalized political movements; in Germany's case, it was Fascism. This political stance strongly emphasized nationalistic views. These ideas tied together with anti-Semitism created a wave of "Aryan superiority" complex throughout the nation. The extremity of these ideas ultimately led to the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteIn Japan, the tide began to turn after the Meiji Restoration. They became powerful politically and economically. This successful transition made Japan somewhat like "the West" of Asia, because they closely reflected and integrated into the global order that was prevalent in America and Europe. When the Great Depression hit Japan, they suffered tremendously due to the fact that they lacked raw materials within the country, and their main source of export, silk, was cut in half. This devastation from relying on other countries and their confidence boost from the Meiji Restoration created a spark of desire to conquer more land in Asia for raw materials and border advantages, and keep the United States away from controlling the Pacific Ocean. Japan sought to become the biggest power in (East) Asia. With these power-hungry eyes, Japan became very nationalistic as well, looking down on other Asian, non-Japanese people. Perhaps that is why the Japanese army was notoriously brutal in the treatment of the people in the countries that they conquered.
Lastly, in the United States, they used racist propaganda to ignite hatred towards Germans and Japanese while also boosting patriotism for their own country and their part in the war. The United States even set up internment camps for Japanese people living in the US, which were made purely out of the dislike and racism towards the Japanese. In American propaganda of Germany, the Germans are presented as being almost ape-like; this is interesting because the majority of both nationalities was white.
Political /military goals served as the primary driving force in World War II. Every participating country of the Axis Powers desired more land and resources. Racial ideology definitely played a role in World War II, but not necessarily as a driving force. The leaders of the Axis Powers used racial ideology to convince the people of their respective countries of the need for expansion and power. Hitler rallied his people by using Jews as a scapegoat for Germany's loss in World War I. From the Mein Kampf reading, it is clear Hitler wanted to unite Germans against a common enemy in order to reach his goals. The Japanese leaders used the idea of Asia for Asians to convince their people of the need to remove Western powers from Asia. Racial ideology served more as the how instead of the why in World War II.
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ReplyDeleteI think that WWII was a war based on racial ideology that was masked by military and political goals. The Germans persecution of the Jewish population took place in order to advance the German political agenda. Adolf Hitler’s reasons for the mass extermination of the Jewish people were conveyed as political. The German people wanted more room, known as lebensraum, and therefore used that as an excuse to round up and force the Jewish people into ghettos. This is just one example of how the Nazis used political reasons to try and hide their true agenda of genocide.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of the United States, the most influential historical event in bringing in public support for the policy of Japanese detainment was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the attack, the American public was in large support of taking action against the Japanese, and therefore turned a blind eye when Japanese-Americans were sent to detainment camps. This measure was taken by the United States government in order to ensure security to it’s citizens, except of course those citizens who were Japanese.
Racial ideology was a huge driving force in WWII, and was a major influence on how different governments made decisions throughout the war. This can be seen in the wide use of propaganda on both sides during the war. The posters, video clips, and speeches given by the world leaders clearly show racism as a means to influence the public. In all, race played a main role in WWII, which can be seen in the genocide of the Jewish people as well as the propaganda and internment of Japanese-Americans.
I would say the biggest difference between countries racial policies is that some (Germany and the US) implemented real, enforced laws that separated one race from another. And while in other countries like Japan definitely felt superior to say the Koreans and the Chinese—they even brutally murdered many in the Nanking massacre—they didn’t have any official laws that were put in place that to separate one from the other. In the United States, the camps that were used to house citizens who were Japanese was different from Germany in that while it was a policy of segregation, it didn’t involve their execution. I would say WWI and the idea that the Jews betrayed Germany in WWI was very influential in allowing such horrendous and explicit racial policies to take place. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was definitely a catalyst for the internment camps in the United States, a lot of American people were afraid of the Japanese population, thinking that they were spies. Racial ideology influenced decisions made during the war in a big way through propaganda. Like we saw on the power point, almost every country had propaganda in some way demeaning or dehumanizing another race. These pieces of propaganda only furthered the hate and animosity, which influenced how certain countries were treated after the war and also how civilians, government leader, and soldiers treated each other during the war. I think that racial ideologies were the biggest driving factor in the war, I think that the idea that one race was superior to another is what gave countries this feeling of justification. And when you feel justified in doing something, such as taking over certain countries for political and military gain, you don’t usually feel bad about doing it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough WWII was full of extreme racial ideology I believe it was driven more by military and political goals. Racial ideology varied in nearly every belligerent nation, however, serving as a means to an end rather than the driving force. Hitler used racial ideology in Mien Kampf to whip a majority so that he could lead Germany out of the depression. The Holocaust makes it hard to believe WWII was not about race but European domination, and then global domination were the end game for Hitler. Racial ideology got the engine started.
ReplyDeleteJapan also took advantage of the Great Depression and racial ideology to begin their campaign in Manchuria. I believe Japan was more concerned with creating a buffer between themselves and Russian and gaining a new source for food and raw materials rather than waging a war based on race. Racial ideology was their tool to enlist, build moral, and maintain legitimacy.
The United States used racial ideology as well to stir up support for their war effort. Propaganda portraying Germans and Japanese as gorillas and beasts to be slayed influenced public opinion. Historical events such as the Pearl Harbor and the Great Depression were leveraged to sway public opinion among all the belligerents.
Emily Savidge
ReplyDeleteI think that World War Two was driven by military goals of expansion but racial ideologies were used to get civilians on board with another war. Many of the countries that participated in WWII used racial ideologies in order to convince civilians that a war was necessary. For example, Germany scapegoated the Jewish population and blamed them for the terrible outcomes of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler used this reasoning for putting them in concentration camps. The German people believed Hitler because many people had been harmed by WWI and were bitter about the outcome and Hitler was giving them a place to put that anger and he was fixing their lives at the same time, therefore making them all believe his racial ideologies. Ultimately Hitler was trying to gain more territory during WWII he was just using the Jewish population as someone to blame. Japan used racial ideologies to appear superior to Korea and China in order to expand their nation, collect raw materials, and create a buffer zone between USSR. In Japan the racial ideologies led to the Nanking massacre in which thousands of Chinese POWs and civilians were killed. Even The United States used racial ideologies in order to put Japanese Americans in internment camps. The civilians in the US agreed with these camps because the US said all Japanese were dangerous to Americans. In all of these situations the countries used racial ideologies to lead civilians to believe a second world war was necessary.
I think that racial ideologies were acted out through political and military goals to drive the war. Both Japan and Germany believed their races to be above those around them which led them to try and seize control over their inferior races. Hitler used is strong public speaking abilities to bring the German people behind him, while also using public propaganda to show the Jewish people as Germany’s true enemy. Germany blamed their loss during World War I on the Jewish people. They claimed that the Jewish people had stabbed them in the back. Japan also used propaganda to justify its attack on Korea. Their propaganda stated that the Koreans had poisoned their water after the volcano erupted. Hitler convinced the people of Germany that their Aryan blood made them superior to everyone else which is what allowed the military leaders to come to the decision to exterminate the Jewish population. The Japanese belief that the Koreans had wronged them and their belief that they were the superior Asian race led to their decision to take control of the “lower” Asian race. Due to both countries beliefs that their races were above all others is what led them to want to expand their territory and grow their power. I believe that these ideologies is what truly started World War II.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Derr
ReplyDeleteRacial pseudo-sciences heavily influenced world events. Looking into the subject in depth, we can see many similarities between cases that exemplify racial pseudoscience. These ideologies are typically based off of illogical research in which the results have been twisted to fit the researcher’s desired outcome. In most cases, it is used as a means to justify oppression. The most visible case would be the actions of the Nazi party. The Nazis used these “sciences” to back up their reasoning behind the relocation and eventually extermination of the Jewish people. Hindsight allows us to see the ludicrous nature of these ideologies which begs the question of how they could possibly gain any sort of momentum in the first place. In many of these situations, a sense of disparity or turmoil is present. With the case of Germany, many economic issues as well as punishments from WWI were harming the nation. Recognizing the Jewish population as a visible minority, Hitler and the Nazis demonized these peoples to use them as a scapegoat for all of Germany’s problems. In his writing of the Mein Kampf, Hitler states “If we were to divide mankind into three groups, the founders of culture, the bearers of culture, the destroyers of culture, only the Aryan could be considered as the representative of the first group.” This shows his belief that Germans created culture in it’s entirety, and that other peoples only deteriorate it.