World Wars, importance (H-History blog 1)

These wars were important because without them we wouldn't have the same level of protection that we do now. In an odd way, the amount of nuclear bombs we, (America) have pretty much guarantees us safety from large attacks, (since we can blow up the earth seven times).

Also, I personally believe that the dropping of the atomic bombs might have saved us from a third world war. The damage that we caused to Japan, (focusing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki) showed the world that if one country gained a certain amount of power, the rest of the world could be in serious danger. While the death of thousands of Japanese men and women was tragic, I believe that the display of power and lack of mercy shown by the Americans made other countries somewhat doubt how good of an idea it would be to attack one another.

Another good part to this is that countries are now realizing that it isn't a good idea to be completely militaristic. Japan in WW2 had basically been converted into a country-wide army. This is what made it "legal" for the bombs to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then, I am sure that many countries have gone against the idea of becoming completely military based, which gives people at least a little bit of freedom.

Click to read an article I found about the use of atomic bombs.

Click to read an article about people's first-hand experience with the bombs.

Click here to read an article that was written directly after the dropping of the bomb over Hiroshima.

World War 2

I think the most interesting part of WW2 for me would have to be the new technology, (ie. new weapons). I'm not really sure why this particular subject catches my attention more than anything else. I did a project about the weapons of WW2 last year and I remember that the entire unit fascinated me. Last time though, I only really studied about the atomic bomb(s) that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This time around, I wold really like to study more about the other types of weapons that really became known during WW2, (perhaps something about the advancements in planes).

World War 1/2

1) I think that the most interesting part to WW1 and 2 would have to be the new technology that was created. I think that the new forms of weapons were part of what made the World Wars so different. Air planes, tanks, submarines, they were all new devices at the time that changed warfare forever. They created new means of transportation for ammo and reinforcements, whoever had the most of these machines often had a higher advantage than the others, (not always the case though) and it opened gateways to technology that we still use today.

2) I would like to know more about each individual country involved. I would like to know more about what their economy was like pre WW1, pre WW2, post WW2 and what the economy looks like now. I would also like to learn more about the individual countries exact involvement with the war(s). I know slightly broader details about both the economy of individual countries and their involvement, but I would like to know more detail.

3) These wars are/were important because without them, the Europe would be completely different geographically. For one thing, Austria would still be Austria-Hungary, there would still be a "Ottoman Empire" and Prussia wouldn't exist. Beyond geography, we also wouldn't have a lot of the technology that we have today. Many cars were designed after each of the wars since airplanes couldn't be flown out of Germany, (they turned them into cars). Perhaps most importantly though, a lot of European and Asian countries would probably still be suffering from either poorly exicuted Communism or Dictatorships. Italy, Russia, Japan, Germany, several parts of Spain and multiple other countries were suffering from Dictatorships. Without the World Wars several of these countries would probably still be unfairly ruled.