The Morality of War: World War II In Perspective

     The rationale and morality of war has always been something that is hotly debated, and with the 'War on Terrorism' still alive, it is no less so today,  As humans we all here the politicians clamor that we must fight so that justice can be brought to the world, but on the other hand you have a mother at home who sees her son come home in a coffin.  Then there is the wealthy 'landed gentry' who look at war as a means of gaining wealth and power, but are never seen on the front lines.  But if that were the only reason for war it would be quite simple to condemn the action.  Unfortunately, there are many side stories to these same conflicts that generally expose the exploitation and murder of some sector of the population.  The purpose of this paper is to show some of the different reasons for war, and in the end, try to come to some moral conclusion as to the right or wrong of such grim choices.

     World War II will be the war used as the focal point for this article, not only because it was the largest in history, but because there were so many facets to this war that it would be simpleminded to relegate the war as a quest to oust Hitler.  Once a wide view is taken of the war, the reader will be able to better understand why this great conflict was fought by so many countries.

     Germany had been humiliated in World War I and its military leaders were salivating for revenge against the harsh penalties that were imposed on them.  No one more so than the up-and-coming Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler.  Hitler had served on the Ypres Salient in World War I, and was subjected to the brutal trench warfare that drove many men mad.  Combine the alleged contraction of the mentally degenerative disease syphilis, and an unmatched love of the motherland, you have a dictator ready and willing to move the masses.  

     Prior to World War II Germany boasted the largest number of Christians on the European continent.  So how could a country that claimed famed reformers such as Martin Luther be led on such an evil and disastrous course?  Whether it was the hypnotic tone to Hitler's voice, the belief that the German people were genetically superior, or just out of plain fear, we may never know for sure.  One thing we do know is that the military leaders felt the lands of Alsace and Lorraine belonged to the German people and were willing to go to war to prove it.

     Now we have an economy that is the strongest in Europe, a leadership hellbent on regaining German soil and pride, and a public that was enthusiastically in support of a war, that is with the exception of the Jews.  The Jewish people of Germany were among the economic elite and had been well accepted by the native people for many years, but there was a slow burning ember of antisemitism that was gaining fuel that would eventually lead to the death of 6 to 7 million Jews.  As for the military, once they had successfully annexed Alsace and Lorraine and had grabbed Poland and Hungary, it was no small wonder that they would attack their old enemy France.  Hitler unsatisfied with the mounting success of his campaigns chose to take on Britain and Russia as well.  This ambition could only be stopped by a force mightier than that which came against it.

    In step the Allies.  France had been conquered, Russia was on the verge of collapse, and England was not strong enough to face the Third Reich on their own.  The English desperately needed the help of the United States if it was going to be successful in its battle against the Axis powers.  The problem was the American people felt disconnected from the European continent and wanted to stay out of the conflict.  American leadership on the other hand knew the dangers of leaving the entire area under the influence of Adolf Hitler.  While people in the upper levels knew some of what was going on in the concentration camps and Hitler's final solution, the extent of the horror was unknown.  So the President of the United States was faced with the challenge of galvanizing the American public in support of the war effort.  Pearl Harbor was the perfect opportunity to sway the common man's opinion about the war effort.
     Whether the government actually knew about the Japanese attack before it actually happened will not be addressed in this short discussion, but rather what the response was to this action.  American's need to be persuaded of the morality of a war before they will support it (as we failed to establish in the Vietnam War).  Thousands of sailors dying in horrific slaughter was the sad chance to convince them of the importance of intervening.  Now America was committed to the conflict and the balance of the war quickly shifted in favor of the Allies as the enormous American economy got into full swing.  Within less than 5 years the terrible conflict would come to an end.  So the burning question is, was it worth the cost of human life that was expended on the battlefield?
     It is estimated that between 50-70 million people died during the war, with the majority being civilians dying from starvation and 'war related diseases'.  At first glance these are jaw-dropping figures, but what could have happened if the Allies didn't fight back against Hitler and Japan?  The answer to this question is far more frightening than what really happened.
     If we take a look at some of the estimates form the war we see that nearly 6,000,000 Polish and 10,000,000-20,000,000 Chinese died from the aggressors.  Remember, these were countries that were invaded, and if we didn't come to their rescue the losses would've been far greater.  With Hitler and the war leadership in Japan's lust for natural resources, there is no telling when the killing would've stopped.  The two cultures were so brutal that there is little doubt that their occupation of the invaded lands would've led to genocide.  It was reported that when the Japanese soldiers invaded mainland China they made it a sport of throwing Chinese babies into the air and seeing how many they could catch on their bayonet.  Combine this with the already widely known German brutality, and we she the slaughter that was likely to occur.
      War is an ugly, but sadly, necessary action that must be taken up by the morally good.  If when faced with tyranny, people back down and let the aggressors step over the helpless, our world will quickly become one run by dictators and merciless governments.  This is not a utilitarian issue where we add up the total number of lost lives if the war had or had not been fought, although this is very helpful to explain the need for it, but rather a nation rising up to the aid of the weak.  The saddest part to war are those German's, Italian's, and Japanese who never wanted to fight the war in the first place.  If they died, they died as villains, but if they lived they were forced to deal with the atrocities that the were part of.  In closing, I hope that we people of the world will never fail to stand up and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee