People's War: Examining Historical Context, Impact, and Significance

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the concept of 'People's War,' examining its historical context, particularly within the framework of World War II. It explores the complexities of the war, including the clash between imperialist interests and the rise of fascism, totalitarianism, and anti-Semitism. The essay delves into the role of the United States, analyzing its motivations, actions, and the impact of the war on American society, including economic consequences, social inequalities, and the civil liberties movement. The analysis draws on references to understand the political and social dynamics that shaped the era, providing a nuanced perspective on the war's legacy and the evolution of American foreign policy. The essay further discusses the impact of the war on marginalized communities and the subsequent need for economic restructuring and policy changes. The work concludes by highlighting the lasting impact of the war on the American superpower.

Running head: PEOPLE’S WAR
PEOPLE’S WAR
Name of the student
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Author Note

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The Axis power and the Allied power that fought against each other at the backdrop of World
Wars had repeatedly told the general public that it was a war between the imperialists. However,
with the growing instances of terrible fascism, totalitarianism, tyranny, ultra-nationalism and
institutional racism, the imperialist war turned into a “people’s war” that fought against the evil
power of Hitler to liberate the lives from the tyranny of him and his government. All the
Americans, irrespective of their political bent, class, race or socio-economic background
declared the war as “people’s war”.
However, if the annals of history is noted and observed, it would be clear that America had
always been a democracy with certain magnitude of liberties, whereas, Germany was a complete
totalitarian dictatorship that had been persecuting its Jewish minorities and other ethnic
minorities to uphold the imaginary concept of supremacy of the Aryan Nordic race. The Anti-
Semitism sentiment of Germany was equivalent to the Anti- black sentiments of America. It also
has to be admitted that the US did very less about the fascist policies taken up by the Fuhrer. The
US had joined hands with England and France to appease Hitler government. The intentions of
the US government could have been clear by observing the help which the US did to Italy by
sending them oil during Mussolini’s fascist regime that the US government might be completely
involved and intended to increase their imperialistic wing and carry out their capitalist business
even by supporting the fascist countries. The Anti- Soviet policy taken by America in the thirties,
and suddenly, a change in course of action by formulating Anti- Nazi policy after getting
pressurized from Japan and Germany of world interests clearly shows that America was only
concerned about its imperialist conquests and gains and nothing else.
Japan’s deadly attack on the American naval base at the Pearl Harbor was a threat to the
Imperialistic interests of America which was the main reason why America declared resistance

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against Japan, Germany and other fascist forces, as argued in the respective piece (Zimm). The
attack at the Pearl harbor shook the infrastructure on which the imperial ideals of the USA was
built that led the American government to speak “We, the governments of Great Britain and the
United States, in the name of India, Burma, Malaya…. hereby declare most empathetically, that
this is not an imperialist war.” The Japanese and German cities were attacked by the best
weapons of the United States. However, even after the battles and the Second World War ended,
the United States have been testing its atomic power. The USA saw poverty and unequal
distribution of wealth and hierarchy in the American society (Lebergott). The standards of
income and living of the Americans went down. The African Americans were the worst sufferers
of the aftermath of the wars. Economic reviewing and restructuring needed to be carried out and
a complete change in the foreign policy had to be initiated (Comor). The civil liberties movement
that emerged in 1960s also shook the foundation of the USA that proves that the American
superpower had loopholes in its ways.

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References:
Comor, Edward A. Communication, Commerce and Power: The Political Economy of America
and the Direct Broadcast Satellite, 1960-2000. Springer, 2016.
Lebergott, Stanley. The American Economy: Income, Wealth and Want. Princeton University
Press, 2015.
Zimm, Alan D. Attack on Pearl Harbor: strategy, combat, myths, deceptions. Casemate, 2013.