70 Years since World War II Began
September 1, 2009 will mark the 70th anniversary of the commencement of WW II. At least for us it will. For other friends, the date of the commencement of World War II will vary. Our Chinese friends remember 7 July 1937 as the start of the invasion of China and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War following Japan’s annexation of Manchuria. All English and Commonwealth nations, and most European nations, know it commenced with the German invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939 followed by the 3 September 1939 when France and Britain declared war on Germany, then with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on 10 September 1939. The Soviet Union marks the 22 June 1941 when Germany attacked the USSR.
Prior to September 1939 Germany had regained the Saarland by plebiscite. It annexed Austria in March 1938 and effectively Czechoslovakia, but these were not deemed acts of war by France and Britain. They agreed to the first annexation of Czech territory (Munich Agreement, 1938) in the hope of avoiding another major war. When he invaded Poland, Britain and France issued an ultimatum to Hitler, which was ignored, and declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa – independent members of the British Commonwealth – also declared war on Germany. The Americans, who only overcame their isolationist policies towards the end of World War 1, believe that World War II started on 7 December 1941 when Japan attacked America without any declaration of war.
The end of World War two likewise has several dates, for Italians 19 April, 1945 when the German forces in Italy surrendered. For England, Europe and the Commonwealth 8 May, 1945 when Germany surrendered VE Day, Victory in Europe Day. And for USA and Australia and New Zealand, it was 2 September 1945 when Japan surrendered (VJ Day, Victory over Japan Day).
However, many Japanese soldiers did not surrender because they believed they could never be defeated, because they never got the message, or because they believed they were being tricked. I remember every year or so, for nearly thirty years, bedraggled groups of Japanese soldiers surrendered in the Philippines or the Pacific Islands. The last Japanese soldier to surrender was Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onada who emerged from the Philippine jungle in 1974 to finally surrender.
Over 70 million people died worldwide, most of them civilians. Immediately after the end of the war, the United States and the Soviet Union, once allies against Germany, became engaged in the Cold War. This ideological conflict for global dominance lasted from 1945 to 1991 when the Soviet Union was formally dissolved. Indeed, many historians argue that World War II only truly concluded with the end of the Cold War. The 9th of November 2009 marks the twentieth anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the iconic event that signaled to the world that the end of the Cold War was at hand. Please God, may another such huge conflict never occur in the future.
Rev The Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.