Reflections on Totalitarianism, World War 2, and the Cold War

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Reflections
The Turn of the 20th Century
The forces or underlying causes behind the First World War deemed it an inevitable event waiting to occur at the slightest provocation by and from any of the concerned parties. The battle for supremacy of power in the European region pitted countries in unison and individually against each other, which eventually went to war after the assassination of Archduke Franz (Harris, pg. 805). The economic interdependence of the European nations, they Western democratic ideologies further forestalled any efforts to prevent the war until it was too late, which made defense the only solution to achieving peace and ending the war. Mahatma Gandhi's activism took an inclusive approach and thus united all the Indian nationals against foreign rule. The inclusivity coupled with his nonviolent activism brought changes impacted positive changes in the country, which makes an excellent leader to follow. The 20th century Europe was synonymous with other parts of the world as nationalism or the clamor for national identity and freedom from foreign or oppressive rule spread all over the globe. Just like Europe, supremacy battles and alignment of power based on nationalistic ideologies took place in China through Mao Zedong, Turkey under Ataturk, as well as in the Arab world through various leaders (Tesar).
Totalitarianism and World War II
The simultaneous occurrence of the totalitarian regimes during the 20th century is probably because all built or rather formed around the sufferings of the people, or at least disguised as such to attract the masses. Most of the regimes formed after WWI and thus the leaders appealed to the people’s need for land and equal distribution of resources, which most thought would be available after the war (Harris, pg.807). The people’s need for such resources and enhancing their quality of lives led to the rise of totalitarianism as it delivered on the promises despite its unorthodox means.
Genocide, as witnessed in modern wars, is a product of combined factors ranging from the p...