Spencer

How has my world view changed since my study of World War II?

By: Spencer Hill

My worldview has changed dramatically. Every single life lost during the war was unique, and now I realize what each loss meant. Also through the study, I learned how other countries exist and how much they differ from America. I’ve also learned how the military officials made their plans and what they were thinking. Now I have a completely different perspective of the world.

I have realized that every single person who died was someone's friend, or child, or parent. In many battles thousands of people were killed. Most people considered that a low casualty battle. But if you really thought about it, you would see that for every loss, there were families and friends that were devastated. It’s almost impossible for many people to imagine being on the battlefield trying to take other peoples lives while at the same time risking their own. This is why I now believe that no matter what the cause, or what the accomplishments, war is never a success.

Apart from the losses of human lives, I’ve learned a great deal about foreign countries and their losses. For instance, I had never realized that the Great Depression affected so many nations, and had hit them so hard. The customs and beliefs of the Japanese, such as their complete devotion to the government, and their view on death also amazed me. But what really knocked me off my feet was how much the Germans loved Hitler. I had never realized that he was such an idol to the Germans. Before I started this journey through WWII, I had thought that America, Britain, Japan, and Germany were the only countries that had made a difference in the war. Now I realize that World War II was a very good name for this war of all wars, for this epic page in history.

One of the most interesting topics of the war for me was the strategy. I learned how the allies defended and attacked in Europe and the Pacific. But on the flipside, I learned how the Axis Powers used trickery and propaganda to their advantage. Our class also got some hands on experience by playing Axis and Allies, a board game that allowed us to see how each side had some geographical advantages and disadvantages. Along with the board game, we had a guest speaker, Jon Bosch, come in to talk to us about how the Japanese caught us off guard at Pearl Harbor. Another guest speaker, Mr. Gary Swanson, came and talked to the class about the strategies in some of the key battles in Europe. By learning about the tactics and strategies of the war, I realized that war is a lot more complicated than shooting guns at the bad guys.

As you can see, I’ve learned a great deal on World War II. I now think back and can see that every single death was a disaster in itself. Also I’ve learned much more about foreign cultures and their affects on the war. Plus I got a good idea of what those generals were thinking when they made their moves. But how has this knowledge affected my worldview? I can now look at the world and realize that despite the differences, every culture is unique, and every human being is special in his or her own way.