World War II

Start of the War

The second World War took place between 1939 - 1945 and is mostly associated with Hitler's Nazi Germany and his campaign against the Jews, which ended with six million of them dying. It is debated as to when the war actually started, but many agree a great contributor was when Germany invaded Poland on September 1.

 

The two main parties in the war consisted of the Axis Powers being Germany, Japan, and Italy; and the Allied Powers which included the United States, Great Britain, China, and Soviet Union.

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The U.S. Enters the War

 Not all countries were active participants in the war. Some countries declared themselves neutral during the war including Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal. The U.S. tried to remain neutral once again, however, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 killing 2467, the United States could no longer ignore the conflict. They entered the war and joined the Allied Powers.

 

Two years before the U.S. joined the fight, the Great Depression ended in the states in 1939. During the war, the United States passed the Lend-Lease Act; this allowed the U.S. to lend weapons or other materials to those fighting against the Axis Powers. Taxes and bonds were the primary methods to fund the war.

 

The war ended in Europe when the Western Allies invaded and captured Berlin, Adolf Hitler died by suicide, and Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945. Japan would not surrender to the United States until August 15, after two atomic bombs had decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki and invasion of the country was imminent. 

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Toll of the War

World War II was devastating. Nazi Germany was responsible for the Holocaust. They captured Jewish (along with Polish, disabled, Jehovah’s Witness, and homosexual) people and put them into concentration camps. In these camps, approximately six million people were killed altogether. Over 60 million people worldwide died because of WWII. It was a brutal, ugly war that killed more civilians than soldiers.

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Talley's Folly 

World War II greatly affects the characters in the play. Matt reveals to the audience that he is Jewish and a refugee in the states. His parents were taken captive in World War I by the Germans. The play takes place during World War II, and what is happening out there impacts Matt more than he is leading Sally to believe. His connections to the war illuminates his character. He believes the government and those in power use war to make money off of atrocities.

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