ECONOMIES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

• 1. Define a "total war economy"?

  • when businesses depend on war to raise their economy
  • this is bc more machinery = more money
• 1. What was Japan's motivation for conquering and colonizing in Asia?


  • getting access to valuable sources so they can use and sell it
• 1. Why did the Soviet Union have an advantage in directing resources toward a total war economy?

  • they had a command economy which gave the state control of all the industries, including the farms and the food they produced
• 1. How did the outbreak of war affect the American economy?

  • it made the american economy better
  • production sped up, new factories were built, closed factories re-opened, and millions of jobs were created in both private and public sectors 
• 1. Japan and Britain are both small island nations. Why did the British not have to invade and conquer in order to supply its war effort?

  • british did not have to invade and conquer because it controlled a vast empire with access to resources and manpower from around the world
• 1. Explain how the Industrial Revolution helped the Allies win the war.

  • the Industrial Revolution helped the Allies win the war by enabling mass production of weapons, vehicles, and supplies, as well as facilitating transportation and communication, which boosted military capabilities and logistical support
• What developments during the long nineteenth century gave the Allied powers an advantage in this twentieth-century conflict

  Developments during the long nineteenth century, such as industrialization, improved transportation and communication, and advancements in science and technology, gave the Allied powers an advantage in this twentieth-century conflict by enhancing their military and economic strength, as well as their ability to coordinate and mobilize resources efficiently
• • the Great Depression created economic turmoil globally, with Germany being particularly affected
• • adolf Hitler's promises to end economic suffering and humiliation helped his party rise to power
• • to stimulate the economy, Hitler's government increased military spending and awarded profitable contracts to German businesses
• • hitler's plan included using military force to invade neighboring countries for resources and industrial goods to expand Greater Germany
• • hitlers plan also involved the removal or genocide of populations in conquered regions and forced unpaid labor from minorities and others for the German war effort
• • manhatten project produced the first nuclear weapons
• • in the United Kingdom and Canada, similar economic changes were made to meet the demands of war
• • rationing was crucial in Britain due to severe food shortages. Canada played a vital role by supplying dairy and meat products to help alleviate the scarcity
• • british women worked as "land girls" in rural areas because there was a dire need for agricultural labor
• • hundreds of thousands of children were evacuated to rural areas for safety during the war
• • the UK, despite being an island, controlled the world's largest empire, enabling its total war economy to have a global reach
• • the UK imported oil for military usage from Persia, Iraq, and North America during the war, and over 15 million subjects joined the British forces in the fight against the Axis Powers
• • india alone recruited over 2.5 million subjects to fight in the war, with over 150,000 non-British subjects sacrificing their lives for the British Empire
• • wartime disruptions in India led to severe food shortages and a famine that killed hundreds of thousands, while millions more colonial people suffered economic and human costs of the war