There is no …show more content…
While both World War I and World War II were global wars, the scopes of each are respectively much different. At the start of the Great War, countries and empires had been preparing for conflict for nearly a decade. The idea that was was coming, was not unfamiliar to many, some had embraced it, and others had hoped to not get involved. Initially, “Europe was a tinderbox on the verge of being set alight. The slightest spark could set off a conflagration which would engulf all of Europe in flames...There was the web of alliances: Germany with Austria-Hungary; Serbia with Russia, Russia with France, Britain with Belgium... the alliances were supposed to prevent war” (Purkayastha). The alliances between nations, while supposedly beneficial, ended up doing more harm than good. Creating allegiances, forced other nations to join allegiances of their own, essentially splitting all of Europe into eventually, 2 major alliances. The smallest conflict between two nations would essentially force the hands of every European country. The countries involved in the war were brought about by these vast webs of alliances, whereas during World War II, the reasons for joining the conflict were much different. It all can be traced back to “Sept. 1,1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Germany’s powerful war machine rapidly crushed Poland, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and France...In Western …show more content…
It is going to be messy one way or another. Post World War I, Western Europe was leveled. Families were torn apart, houses destroyed, food was scarce. Europe was left as, “An inefficient, unemployed, disorganized Europe..., torn by internal strife and international hate, fighting, starving, pillaging and lying” (Qtd in wixforth). Europe was in complete destruction and the US knew something had to be done to prevent the spread of communism. On April 3, 1948, the Marshall Plan was signed into law. There were still a fair amount of homeless and vagrant people living in Western Europe after the war, the US came about to help rebuild fallen countries hoping to create peace, with the help of the Marshall Plan. The US believed that if further steps were taken to help countries rather than leave them destroyed, it would help Germany understand that hate is not the answer. The idea behind the Marshall Plan was to rebuild Germany and begin to bring them out of crippling depression. “Over the next four years the US gave $13 billion in assistance to Western European countries. The US also offered assistance to Russia and its allies, however, they turned it down” (Wixforth). The outcome of the plan helped countries who had been destroyed throughout the duration of war. The plan also helped people realize how harmful war