The results of WWII, being one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the modern era, are generally seen to be extremely negative, however, are all of these results negative or are there some positive outcomes due to the events that took place in the Second World War? World War II was being fought from the 1st of September 1939 to the 2nd of September 1945, between the Allied Powers (Soviet Union, United States, France, Britain, Yugoslavia, China, India, Poland, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Greece, new Zealand, South Africa, Norway, Denmark and Spain) and the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary). The main results of the war are seen to be the extreme amount of deaths, the mass destruction of homes, schools, offices, etc. that forced people to relocate, and the 7 million people that found themselves displaced post-war.
After the war, women were given more opportunities for work due to many different factors. Once the war ended, the role of the typical female adult in those days was slightly altered, as a lot of work opportunities emerged, which were separate from the typical “men’s work”, as they were needed to make way for the returning soldiers of the war. The welfare state created many job opportunities in what was seen as ‘women’s work’. Jobs were available in the newly created National Health Service for nurses, midwives, cleaners and clerical staff. Banking, textile and light industries such as electronics also expanded during this period and provided women with opportunities in clerical, secretarial and assembly work. These jobs were specifically meant for women, and the women were paid at their own “women’s rates”. In the early 50s, many employers still ran a ‘Marriage Bar’, which was a place where married women were excluded from certain occupations such as teaching and clerical jobs, however, the women that were already working were sacked upon marriage. The reason that women benefited so much from the war, was because there were so many desperate companies and workplaces that needed more workers because of the large amounts of deceased past workers that fought in the war.
After the war, the economy grew enormously as a “post-war boom” emerged. Many people feared that after World War II, in particular the subsequent drop in military spending might cause another Great Depression. However, pent-up consumer demand fueled exceptionally strong economic growth in the post-war period. The automobile industry successfully went back to producing cars, and new industries such as aviation and electronics grew by leaps and bounds. A housing boom added to the expansion. The United States’ gross national product rose from about $200,000 million in 1940 to $300,000 million in 1950 and to more than $500,000 million in 1960. At the same time, the jump in post-war births, known as the “baby boom,” increased the number of consumers. A main factor that contributed to the growth in economy is the mass production of war products. The need to produce war supplies had given rise to a huge military-industrial complex. It did not disappear with the war’s end. As the Iron Curtain descended across Europe, the United States found itself embroiled in a cold war with the Soviet Union, the government maintained substantial fighting capacity and invested in sophisticated weapons such as the hydrogen bomb. Economic aid flowed to war-torn European countries under the Marshall Plan, which also helped maintain markets for numerous U.S. goods. The government itself recognized its central role in economic affairs. The Employment Act of 1946 stated as government policy “to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power.” The United States also recognized during the post-war period the need to restructure international monetary arrangements, spearheading the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Institutions designed to ensure an open, capitalist international economy. Businesses, meanwhile, entered a re-structuring period. Firms merged; International Telephone and Telegraph, for instance, bought Sheraton Hotels, Continental Banking, Hartford Fire Insurance, Avis Rent-a-Car, and other companies.
Finally, the results of the war that are mainly recognized by most people are the negative results. In my opinion, the most catastrophic result of the whole war was the fact that approximately 55-60 million people were killed, including civilians, with further millions of mobilizations. After the war, homes, schools, offices, etc. were destroyed and forced people to relocate. This resulted in 7 million people to and crowd into different cities and essentially become displaced. Also, although there were many great impacts the war had on the economy on different countries, there were also many negative impacts. Particularly in the United States, The U.S. government, despite being run primarily by progressive Democrats, suspended most economic and social reforms in favor of increasing defense expenditures. Antitrust legislation was virtually ignored during this period. Factories lengthened the typical work day to increase production, ignoring labor laws to do so. Businesses throughout the nation suffered from labor shortages due to men leaving to serve in the military. Women entered the labor force in large numbers, and child labor laws were relaxed or even ignored to boost the dwindling workforce. The number of teenagers in the workforce rose from one to three million during the war, about one million of who had dropped out of high school. Congress took the opportunity provided by the war to cut funding to several New Deal agencies. Among the effected organizations were: the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration and the National Youth Administration. These organizations were intended to help disadvantaged groups who were typically discriminated against in the job market, including women and minorities. Therefore, these groups were most affected by the reductions in funding to these associations.