Who benefited from World War 2?

Answer 1

All the Allies supplied men and fought with honor to defeat the Nazis. It was a joint effort of all Allied countries, but two biggest contributors were Soviet Union ( Russia) and United States. No wonder that they became superpowers after the war.

Soviet Union, in my opinion the biggest contributor, fought most battles on the ground and was responsible for destruction of 80% of German army. It received very important help from United States but that help amounted to only 7% of Russian own war production. Also 7 out of every ten German soldiers served on the Russian front and Russians broke the back of the Germans at the battles of Stalingrad - bloodiest battle of the war - in winter 1942-43 and Kursk in 1943 - the largest land battle and biggest tank battle in the history of man.

United States was the largest supplier of material and Americans fought bravely many battles. But the greatest American battle of D-day came rather late in June 1944 and at that time was called Second Front. Much larger First Front was in Russia. Americans and British also contributed to victory by strategic bombing, but it brought significant results only by the end of the war.

There is also opinion that Britain was the greatest contributor to WW2, but it's not supported by facts. British were responsible for destructionof a large percentage of the German army and even that they archived with the help of Canadian, Australian, Polish, New Zealand troops and very large material help from United States,in return Britain trained American troops before storming Omahar Beach ( D day)

Answer

If Britain, alone with the Commonwealth, had not stood up to Nazi Germany 1939-1941 there would have been no "Second Front". Russia was allied with Germany until its invasion, and many of its losses were self inflicted. Britain was pivotal in the winning of WWII, the US supplied men and materiel in Europe later in the piece, although Britains role was crucial.

Answer 2

The Real Winners of WW2Here are opinions

• There are no true winners in war. For there are always the dead and maimed. America profited well financially from the war. Britain had to pay the US for use of resources and machinery, leaving Britain heavily in debt, thus Britain's empire eroded as the cost of retaining it was too much when compared to the debt they were in. The Soviet Union profited well territorily. They set up many supportive regimes in countries that were pro Soviet, securing their borders and having a powerful influence in Europe and the world. The US and USSR came out best off, whereas Britain suffered. Switzerland profited well from staying neutral, hording Nazi gold and looted belongings that the Germans had placed there for safe keeping. Japan of course, is now a major economic power based on America's model of capitalism. But in total reality, there are no true winners in war.

• Who won the peace? The major winners of WW2 were the US and Germany. The US became the leading superpower while Germany'S economy was rebuilt by the US. West Germany, in fact became one on the richest countries in the world on a per-capita level. Soviet Union certainly made territorial gains but they were not substantial. Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechloslovakia and Hungry were relativly poor countries prior to the war. Only Hungry and Czechsloslovakia had any substantial indusry prior to the war. Bulgaria and Poland were primarily semi-autocratic agargarian socities where close to 70% of their respective workforces worked in agriculture.

• Switzerland, Russia, and Great Britain benefited the most. None truly win in war. Switzerland, Russia, and Great Britain benefited the most at the end of the war for the following reasons: Switzerland ended up grabbing any spare money the Nazi's left behind in their own country. After taking that, they also realized that because they remained neutral, they lost no money due to buying or manufactering weapons, tanks, etc. Russia gained a vast amount of land for their home, and I would argue that it is not worth all the lives of those who died for all that land (there are others who would argue against me, that's your decision and I respect it). Great Britain is the third because they managed to survive through dozens of bombings and raids on their homeland. Germeny bombed them frequently throughout their 'march and conquer' plan across Europe. I would not like to say that the U.S. benefited from this war, seeing as how America was strong going into it and strong going out of it (the main reason for this is because America entered the war very late.)

• If you think the economic explanation of WWII was that Germany wanted to ensure that they get access to world market and get enough share of wealth, which was impeded by British Empire worldwide. At the end of the war Germany achieved that objective. The British lost the empire, got drowned uder a huge debt and Germany reemerged as an economic superpower. In fact, until recently (till German reunification) West Germany was well ahead of England in economic indicators e.g. per capita income.

• The idea that Germany won the war in any sense is absurd. The country has been well and truly cured of any dreams of world power status. That was a fundamental issue in WW2. Moreover, ever since WW2 Germany's reputation has been badly tarnished.

• Those who say that in some sense Germany "won" obviously have no idea of the mood of despair among many German nationalists at the end of WW2 and the number of ordinary Nazis who committed suicide, in some cases killing their kids, too. Unlike in 1918-1919 Germany had surrendered unconditionally. This meant that the victorious Allies could just as they pleased with Germany. Many Germans suspected that Germany was about to be split into several small, non-viable little countries. Every major German city had been severely bombed, mothers and children returned from evacuation to find they had to live in ruined houses. Married women often had absolutely no idea whether their husbands were still alive, and so it went on. For the second time in a generation there was hyperinflation, with the postwar currency having lost at least 85% of its value. The population was subject to 'de-Nazification', which was regarded as humiliating. It was the unexpected emergence of the Cold War and the long postwar boom that helped the West German economy. On the other hand Germany's reputation was in ruins. There can be few countries that were *morally as bankrupt* as Germany after the war. Last but not least, ask former East Germans and expellees from further east if they think Germany "won the war".

Answer 3

This is a difficult question due to the fact the the major three each played a crucial role in defeating Nazi Germany. Without Britain, the Germans would have conquered all of Europe and then been able to focus on the Soviet Union. Also without England, there would have been no place to stage Operation Overlord. This means that they would have had to invade Europe thru southern France. The Germans would have made this the key point of resistance.

Without the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht would have never been bled to death. Remember Churchill could not believe it when the planners told him they were concerned that the invasion of Sicily might fail because there was the possibility of 2 German Panzer divisions. The Soviets dealt with well over 150 divisions on the eastern front. Also the losses suffered by the Soviet Union would have forced either the UK or the US to the negotiating table. The Soviets lost, some say, over 20 million direct and indirect combatants.

And then there is the US. Without lend lease, neither the UK nor the Soviet Union could have continued the struggle. Also the US' daylight bomber campaign destroyed the Germans ability to make the implements of war. Without these two ingredients the Germans would have won. So to answer your question it is really impossible to say that this or that country was the key to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Without the UK, there would have been no US lend lease. Without the Soviet Union, the Germans would have been able to concentrate solely on the UK and destroyed them. Imagaine no Operation Barbarossa. This would have meant that Hitler could have sent as many Panzer divisions to Rommel as he needed. Also he would have had ample Luftwaffe assets to drive the Royal Air Force from the skies. In this scenario, Rommel would have succeeded in defeating the British 8th Army, seizing Egypt and the Suez and ultimately all the oil in the Middle East. And never forget the southern route for lend lease, with the Germans in control, this would have been closed. And this might have also forced Turkey into the war, although it is arguable whether this would have been a help or hinderance upon Germany, as Turkey was not ready to fight a major war. And we all know that without the US the other two could not have managed to keep on fighting the Germans.

Answer 4

The US and the USSR both emerged as world powers. All the European countries involved in the war emerged with their relative status much reduced.