Essay about World War II - 1105 Words

World War II During World War II, Nazi commanding officers, and soldiers under their command, carried out crimes against humanity in order to please their commanding officers or out of fear of what may become of the, if they did not comply with their orders. What could have been going through the minds of Nazi officers and soldiers while they were carrying out the orders they had received to almost wipe out an entire race of people? The Nazi criminals were brought to justice in what was called the Nuremberg Trials. The prosecutors that brought the Nazis to trials consisted of the four powers of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia (Britannica 1). The Nuremberg trials were basically a series of trials held in†¦show more content†¦The crimes committed were so severe that the tribunal could not allow the Nazis to walk away without facing some sort of punishment. Even though the laws were made ex post facto, the crimes committed by the Nazi leaders were crimes against hum anity, and those crimes should not have to be written down in any law books. Crimes committed against humanity should be understood to be wrong and if someone should break those laws, they should expect to be punished for what they commit, even though there was no written law. Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, conducted a classic study obedience in which the participants were forced to either violate their conscience by obeying the immoral demands of an authority figure or to refuse those demands (Behrens 343). Milgrams study suggested that under a special set of circumstances the obedience we naturally show authority figures could transform us into agents of terror (343). His experiment showed that normal people could be influenced to the point of administering great amounts of pain on another human being, just because a person in a position of authority told them to do so (343). A theory that was reached as a result of Milgrams experiment was that it is easy to ignore resp onsibility when one is only an intermediate link in a chain of action (355). Milgrams results offer a possible explanation as to why the Nazis did what they did. Even thoughShow MoreRelatedThe War Of The World War II1408 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent levels of the educational system most everyone has talked about the Second World War in great detail. The European and Pacific Theaters were the main focus of many historians and their writing, because war pertained to the audience of the time. WWII revolved around the idea of freedom and liberating the fascist governments of Europe, the homefront back in the states was the war machine that kept the war churning. Millions of pages have been written about the experiences and battles duringRead MoreThe War Of World War II1638 Words   |  7 PagesWorld War II was the most widespread war in history and it directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. This war lasted from 1939 to 1945. The war pinned the Axis nations which were Germany, Italy, Japan versus the Allied nations which were led by Britain and its Commonwealth nation, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States. The Allies were victorious in the War. It was one of the most significant periods of time in the 20th century. The war resultedRead MoreThe War Of The World War II864 Words   |  4 Pagesgreat global conflict, the Second World War was the most extensive and lethal war in history, which involved more than 30 countries. It marked more than 50 million military and civilian deaths. Though dumbfounded by the events of December 7, Americans were also determined. 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World War II began with the poor economic conditions in Europe after World War IRead MoreThe World Of World War II1496 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It led to millions of deaths, and devastation across the world. Nazi Germany took control of many European countries, and Japan declared war on the United States. American soldiers were deployed and took action to protect the nation. The United States was in a constant limbo between being safe, and havin g war on its doorstep. Life for citizens, in the United States and other countries, was affected tremendously by the war, and has shapedRead MoreWorld War II1478 Words   |  6 PagesFrom the beginning Of World War II in 1939 until the end in 1945, the battles between the Allied and Axis powers were violent and caused great destruction. It became a world dispute after the attack on Pearl Harbor. From then on, countries such as the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, and many others fought vigorously until a victory was achieved. World War II officially began after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war. The war was made up of a seriesRead MoreThe War Of World War II Essay1323 Words   |  6 PagesSince its end, World War II has been talked about extensively by historians. The lead up to the war, the war itself, and the events after the war have contributed to why the war has been so popular among historians. The unique way the war was f ought and the way the war altered the course of history has intrigued historians. Up until World War II, civilians had generally been off limits in war. While you could cause as much carnage as you wished on the battlefield against soldiers, killing civiliansRead MoreThe War Of World War II1348 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War II was fought between two powers; the axis and the allied powers. The axis powers consisted of Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria while the allied powers consisted of U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia. While the United States Armed Forces were deployed in other parts of the world, the ones back home were facing the struggles of a war they had no