Grace

What are the comparisons and contrasts between WW1 and WW2? By Grace Ogden

In this essay, I am going to state the main contrasts and comparisons between World war One and World War Two. I am going to do this in terms of social/economic, socio-economic, political, militarily and diplomatic categories. I believe that in terms of comparisons, it was social/economic factors that are the most alike from both wars. In terms of contrasts, I believe it is equally military and diplomatic factors that were the most different from the two wars. Both wars are so important to learn about because it is still relevant to today. They were the first two World Wars, the largest wars which had ever taken place and by contrasting and comparing them, it shows how countries and leaders have developed since. It is still relevant today as it shows how we have got to the world in which we live in today.

In terms of social comparisons, Britain always had the upper hand in propaganda. In each war, Germany was the ‘aggressor’, in WW1 with Belgium and WW2 concerning Poland and the ‘Schlieffen Plan’. Hitler even states the British for their brilliant propaganda in his book “Mein Kampf” were he says that “It was not until the War that it became evident what immense results could be obtained by a correct application of propaganda.” This source is very reliable, because it has no connection with Britain at this point. It is Britain’s rival admitting that they are successful in this field whereas Germany are not. In WW1, Britain from the offset, hadn’t underestimated Germany’s strength, therefore the British knew what they had to face. They had been portrayed as nasty and vicious, and this had been verified at war, this meant that soldiers felt that they could trust the government. The Germans depicted the British as lazy, and an easy army to fight against. However, when the Germans started to fight against them, they realized this was not at all the case, and felt humiliated and betrayed by their government, which in turn, dropped morale. In WW2, Britain’s main political figure was Winston Churchill, who was perfect in propaganda terms. He was a highly charismatic figure, although in reality he was more of an ‘image’ rather than the brains behind Britain’s politics, he was idolized and highly liked by the people of Britain. Britain tactically used posters as a means of advertising in both wars, encouraging the people to work together to help with the war. As an example, there is a poster from WW1 with a woman and a slogan “your country needs YOU”. Similarly, there is a poster from WW2 with the slogan ‘Let us go forward together”. It was this ambition and drive and a sense of togetherness that helped Britain socially. In both wars, there was a huge emphasis on encouraging people to grow their own food, the main slogan for WW1 being “kitchen is the key to victory” showing a woman baking, and in WW2 “Potato Pete” encouraging young children to eat and grow vegetables. Another social comparison is the conditions in which Germany and Britain were living in hadn’t improved after both wars. After WW1, Germany was completely destroyed by the Treaty of Versailles, whereas Britain had been left bankrupt after the huge sums of money poured out to fight the war, even though Lloyd George had promised the soldiers ‘home fit for heroes’. After WW2, these social situations were fairly similar, with each Germany and Britain not benefiting socially from the war due to economic issues. However, Britain had always mobilized effectively in the workforce during both wars. In the First World War, schemes such as the ‘Mutionettes’, the “Women’s Land Army” and the ‘White Feather Movement’ formed. This meant that 700,000 women took over the men’s job in factories and became ‘Mutionettes’, producing arms, alongside women taking to caring for the crops, and encouraging men not willing to sign up to fight to do so, by shaming them. Women were used perfectly in both wars to ensure the morale was kept high and life on the home –front was stable.

In terms of social contrasts, propaganda in Britain also varies. During WW1, Britain’s propaganda had largely focused on the soldiers, as it was they who were fighting the war. This would include encouraging the soldiers to sign up and fight, patriotic propaganda, and showing the living conditions of the soldiers to the home front. However, during WW2, as mentioned before, the propaganda focused heavily on Britain’s leader, Winston Churchill, as a heroic figure, giving Britain hope. He gave many inspirational speeches and spoke very patriotically. ““We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills.” – Churchill. It is clear from the source that it is reliable, as it backs up the point. His speeches were very patriotic and powerful, certain that the people of Britain would find them moving. Unlike WW1, conscription existed early on during WW2 and the propaganda was aimed less at shaming and encouraging them to fight, but more to keep morale high. There is an example of a propaganda poster where a daughter asks her father “What did YOU do in the Great War, daddy?”, this shows to what extent measures were taken in order to tap into a man’s pride in order to fight during WW1. However, people had witnessed the horrors of the Great War in the famous “Battle of Somme” film. This was the first sight into what life was really like on the Western Front, and it was hugely shocking and controversial, selling 20 million tickets in it’s first 6 weeks of release. .

An economic comparison of both wars is the economic impact each had on Britain. After both wars, Britain found themselves with huge economic bankruptcy, but at the same time with outstanding moral superiority, each time being able to pull themselves out of the mess made by the war. Britain responded effectively, introducing rationing and growing on vegetables after both wars. Also, Germany’s economic impact had been similar after both wars. After WW1, Germany was left bankrupt by having to pay huge loans from the Treaty of Versailles, yet signed an agreement the ‘Dawes Plan’ whereby their reparations bill was heavily reduced, and that allied troops left Germany’s industrial area of the Ruhr. Similarly, America helped Germany after WW2 with ‘Marshall Aid’, which was a scheme created by George Marshall in 1947, and was mainly to prevent the spread of communism and to “rebuild Europe”.

In terms of economic contrasts, Germany also had variations in terms of its state after each war. After WW1, Germany, although in complete despair after being so economically corrupt, still kept themselves as one country, however, after WW2, Germany divided into 2 parts (the East and the West). In WW1, Germany failed to economically prepare for it as she had essentially gambled on a short war. This meant that it was faced with huge food shortages and deprivation. There were more than 700,000 German deaths on the home front simply due to the lack of appropriate sources, where they were eating half the recommended daily intake of food, as the British had imposed a blockade on Germany’s naval ports. As there were very short supplies of food on offer, many replacement foods and products were designed. For example bread, would have been made with grass, tree bark, turnips and even a flower which was made from dried blood. There were over 7,000 food substitutes available in German shops. Although there were also replacements foods that we still use today, such as Margarine, which was originally a replacement for Jam. Synthetic rubber was also designed at this period. However, Hitler planned for WW2 much better with the 4-year plan. The 4-year plan consisted of Germany putting everything on hold for war production and preparing for war, such as ‘Hitler Youth’ being set up, which was a Nazi group for young boys training them to fight. Another contrast are both Germany’s and Russia’s reactions. In WW1 neither of them responded effectively and quickly enough to gain on their enemy. However, in WW2, both countries in effect learn their lesson and plan for a war, for example Hitler planned the “4-year plan’ and Stalin planning the “5-year plan”. In terms of the USA helping Germany out after the two wars, the way in which it was done was not exactly similar. After WW1, with the Dawes Plan, money was lent to Germany superficially, which in turn, led to Germany collapsing (the Depression).However, after WW2 with the Marshall Aid, America effectively gives away its money in order to help. A contrast concerning Britain is what promises were kept after both wars. During WW1, Lloyd George promised the soldiers ‘Homes fit for heroes’, but due to a lack of money, failed to provide it. However, after WW2, Clement Atlee/Aneurin Bevan succeeded in building, as promised the Welfare State (which included the NHS and council housing) and the further political gains.

In terms of political comparisons, Russia initially suffered a great deal in both wars. In WW1, Germany invaded Tannenburg, and in WW2, Germany then invaded Barbarossa. Another comparison is the fact that both wars, for every country involved caused drastic changes in each party’s system. An example of this is Britain as it became hugely stronger. Winston Churchill was the leader of Britain during most of WW1, and the government had taken on a new patriotic, powerful attitude towards Britain. Another political comparison is that Germany, after both wars was torn between democracy and dictatorship. After WW1, Germany moved towards dictatorship. After Germany was left humiliated and broke by the Treaty of Versailles, it needed a strong leading power to regain pride and confidence. This was Hitler and the Nazi’s. At first, the Nazi’s were very disliked in Germany. In 1919, for example, the Nazi party only had 12 seats in a total of 600 in the Reichstag, it was seen as a too extreme-right wing party. But eventually, with Hitler seizing the opportunity’s of Germany’s weak social, economic and political groups, Hitler was very tactical in swaying Germany on his side, eventually becoming ‘Fuhrer’ of Germany. After WW2, Germany was split in two. There was the East, which was a totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship allied with the Soviet Union and a satellite state. In contrast, the West was a parliamentary democracy, a member of NATO, and soon to be member of the European Union. Germany did not reunite until 1990, following the collapse of the East German communist regime. Now, Germany (as the West was) is a parliamentary democracy and member of the European Union. Although re-united, Germany, like America, is made up of states. There are, in total sixteen ‘Landerw’ states. In terms of political contrasts, Russia in WW1 continued to collapse. It had lost Ukraine, Baltic States and suffered the Russian Revolution and the Civil War. In WW2 however, the USSE was able to turn the situation around and emerge more powerful, gaining control of Eastern Europe. In Britain, WW1 had destroyed the liberals as a political force, before being very popular. It was divided between Lloyd George and Asquith, “the strange death of liberal England’ as George Dangerfield called it, leading to interwar. However, after WW2, the labour party emerged as a dominant political force to oppose the Conservatives and it had remained this way ever since, as a two party system. A final contrast is that after WW1, Germany was, in a chronological sense, very democratic in the short term, but then turned into a dictatorship. After WW2 however, the country was geographically divided into democracy (West) and a dictatorship (East).

In terms of military, it is clear that in both wars it was technology that dictated the nature of conflict. In WW1, although not as advanced as WW2, the soldiers used the most advanced technology possible, guns, fire arms etc. This was also similar in WW2, where it was dictated by a more advanced type of technology. In Britain, a convey system was successfully developed in each war. In WW1, the introduction of the Mutionettes, and in WW2, with Rationing being introduced for the first time, this made sure that economically the home front was stable. Another comparison was that both used planes during the war for bombing enemy targets. In WW1, Scarborough was bombed, and similarly, in WW2, it was mainly London and Coventry which were bombed. The main comparison of both wars is that militarily land, sea and air were all used in battle.

A large contrast in terms of military in both wars was the term of movement during the war. In WW1, Stagnation resulted from a technology being the master rather than the servant in a way, confusing and bewildering the generals. This meant that technologically was used essentially without much understanding, but rather using it as a means of winning, as Churchill said “fighting machine guns with the breasts of brave young men”. In WW2 however, Hitler found that being the ‘master of the new technology rather than it’s servant’ was much more effective – leading to movement. This meant that Germany were able to carry out the ‘Blitz’ of London, where they bombed London continuously for nights on end, along with Stuka Bombers, Panzers and the Blitzkrieg of Poland being another example. As mentioned before, planes were used against the enemy in both wars. However, in WW1 planes were used in a non-aggressive manner, simply for intelligence gathering. The war hadn’t happened at the home front. In WW2, Planes were used as a direct military tool, actually bringing the war to the Home Front. This includes the Blitz of London, the bombing of Dresden in Germany, and the bombing of Pearl Harbour. During Britain’s lash back on Hamburg, More bombs had been dropped onto the city of Hamburg in one night that the total of bombs dropped in the entire Great Blitz. This created a firestorm, where 8 square miles were ablazed. 42,000 were killed in a week and 2/3rds of residents left the city. Another example of this is the USA’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On March the 10th 1945, half a million B29 bombs were dropped, killing 120,000 people in just a few hours. This was a huge contrast, as it had never affected civilians this much before, in figures the total number of civilian deaths was 6 times that of World War One. In terms of sea military, the convoy system was essentially defensive in World War Pone, as if trying to ‘hide’ the ships from the enemy. However, in WW2, they adopted a more offensive strategy. This included the Enigma Codes. As the technology had increased largely, it was used to track and sink U-Boats. This was the Enigma Code, invented by the Germans. It was the British who managed to crack it in Bletchley Park, and was able to track and know in advance Germany’s every move.

In terms of diplomatic comparisons, there were new countries which emerged after each war. After WW1, many countries fought for their own ‘place in the sun’, which meant that mainly Britain and France now owned many new countries, building their own empires. In WW2, the new ‘satellite states’ involving Eastern Europe emerged. Also, both wars saw international organizations emerge to prevent war in the long run. For example, in WW1, the League of Nations was set up. This was a party in which a few representatives from each country were a part of and met to discuss important worldwide issues, to try and prevent war and regain peace. After WW2, the ‘United Nations’ was set up for the same reasons.

There are also many diplomatic contrasts. Because of WW1, there were many new countries created as democracies, whereas due to WW2, the same countries were being re-established as dictatorships. An example of this is Germany, whereby later becoming under the rule of the Nazi’s and Hitler, Germany was also divided after WW2. In terms of colonial troops the effects of war had both negative and positive effects on them. After WW1, because of emerging countries gaining a lot more power, the colonial troops were not treated with respect, with mainly Germany’s colonies becoming mandates. After WW2 however, this saw a huge change in attitude for the colonial troops. Because of the newfound power in the West, it had effected the change of attitudes, and many quickly gained independence, including India from the British Empire and Algeria from the French. Still diplomatically, the UN was much stronger than the League of Nations after WW2 and ran a lot better. For example, military sanctions were feasible, and the USA and the USSR were members. Also, after WW2 there were other international organizations set up, such as ECSC, EEC and the EU. This ran on the idea that economic unity was just as important if not more so than a military alliance.

In conclusion, World War One and World War Two do have their distinct comparisons and contrasts. It is due to WW1 that WW2 occurred, with the bitterness Germany felt after the Treaty of Versailles and huge reparations bill. I believe that WW2 learnt a lot of its new revolutionary tactics from WW1, as it saw the best possible military armaments and technology being used, and knew then how it could be adapted. For me, it is the diplomatic and military factors that have changed and developed the most. In the past 100 years alone, the world has changed so much according to who owns the country, where it is positioned and under which rule it is, this is all depended on how diplomatically, the wars have affected the world. The aspect that remains quite similar throughout both wars is socially. The people were a lot more affected by it on the home front in WW2, but it is the people that are the driving force to either winning, or losing war.