Switzerland's Neutrality in World War II

Switzerland could possibly be called the smartest country in the world, why? Because they know better than to get involved in the wars of other countries. Throughout both of the World Wars, Switzerland did not form any alliances with anyone involved in the war. Because of that they weren't dragged into a war that meant nothing to them. They maintained a status of armed neutrality through out the wars. They were always ready to defend themselves if they were attacked. But had no intentions of joining the fight. Switzerland was also a sought after location for immigrants trying to escape the war. However due to being neutral and choosing not to take sides, Switzerland was forced to send these people away. By the end of World War II Switzerland had not lost any men from fighting in the war and they lost only 100 from crimes against humanity.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Many people know a lot about Martin Luther King Jr. already but I'm going to recap some of the highlights of this amazing man's life.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th 1929 in the town of Atlanta, Georgia. From a young age MLK was held to high standards by his father. While his fathers methods of discipline may have been harsh, they seemed to be effective in young MLK.  He also began to see the effect of racial segregation. As a young boy MLK was good friends with a white boy who's father owned a shop near the King's house. But as they grew older they were forced to go to different schools, Martin to a blacks only school and his friend to the whites school.

Something I learned in my research of MLK is that he had periods where he suffered from depression for most of his life. When he was 12 his grandmother passed away and he blamed himself for her death. Because of that he threw himself out a second story window but survived the fall.

Growing up in the south MLK was quickly forced to be aware of his place on the social ladder. It was something that frustrated him and the anger and shame that went with being treated as less than human is one of the things that pushed MLK into his times of depression.

MLK was well know in his high school for his ability in public speaking and his success on the debate team. Both were talents that would be extremely instrumental as he went forward in life and with his fight against racial segregation. King would go on to use his speaking talent to become Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which is quite an impressive title. But he was more than a name as I'm sure you all know. He brought change to our country that we were in desperate need of. He set things in motion that are still moving today. He is a man that truly inspired millions of people. But like Gandhi, his work brought enemies and MLK was assassinated on April 4th 1968. But his legacy, his dream, lives on even today.

World War II Allies

To follow up on my last post I'll now talk a bit about what countries were a part of the Allies, who lead them and what their reasoning was for being in World War 2. The United Kingdom, Soviet Union and United States of America were called the "Big Three" of the allies. The big three along with China were called the four policemen.

United Kingdom
Lead by Winston Churchill, The United Kingdom declared war on Germany in 1939. If Germany had occupied Belgium they would have controlled ports that would have made them a serious threat to the United Kingdom, so Brittan declared war on Germany after they attacked France through Belgium.

Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was under the control of Joseph Stalin, great guy. They were brought into the war when Germany unsuccessfully tried to invade their land. After they had been invaded, Stalin endorsed the western allies and joined them in the war against the axis powers.

United States of America
At the time of World War 2, Franklin Roosevelt was in the white house. USA stayed neutral in the war until 1941 when FDR and Winston Churchill came together to promulgate the Atlantic charter. Which called for the destruction of Nazi tyranny.

World War II Axis

There is too much to write about on World War 2 for just one blog. So this one will be focused on the Axis powers of the war, who they were, who lead them, and why they where in the war.

The main Axis powers  were Nazi Germany, Italy, and the Empire of Japan.

Nazi Germany
As I'm sure everyone knows, the leader of Germany in World War 2 was Adolf Hitler. Based on the steps he took, it would seem that Hitlers reason for being in World War 2 was an attempt at world domination. Hitler blamed World War 2 on western powers that intervened on Germany's war with Poland. Hitler also claimed that Germany need the war because they were overpopulating and needed to expand their boarders.

Italy
The leader of this axis power was Duce Benito Moussalini. When Italy entered the war against France and England Moussalini said, "We are going to war against the plutocratic and reactionary democracies of the West who have invariably hindered the progress and often threatened the very existence of the Italian people." Along with that Italy also claimed that they needed to expand so there would be more room for their citizens they said they were fighting for "spazio vitale" or, vital space.

Japan
The Empire of Japan was a constitutional monarchy ruled by a man named Hirohito. Japan defended its right to be in the war by saying that they were trying to unite all of Eastern Asia under Japanese leadership. They called it the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. They said they were trying to free Eastern Asia from the control of Western Powers, specifically USA.

Joseph Stalin

All I can say about Stalin, is that he has a great first name. But that's about the only good thing he's got going for him. Many people consider Adolf Hitler to be the worst man in the history of the world. And there is certainly a place for him in the debate. But some people don't realize how terrible Joseph Stalin was. Many people assume that since he was on the same side as the US in WW2 that he must be a good guy. That is far from the case. Stalin was responsible for roughly 20 million deaths in Russia. Some of the things he was recorded saying show that he had little respect for human life.

Here are a few of his most known quotes,

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic."

"Death is the solution to all problems, no man - no problem."

"In the soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance."


Maybe he was the leader of our ali and not our enemy, but you can not deny that Joseph Stalin was a terrible man. He cared little for the common man and treated them as pawns in his personal game.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi is known all over the world for his ways of peace, truth and simplicity. He led Indians in the ways of nonviolent disobedience in order to get rid of the British oppression in India. Through his nonviolence and hunger strikes Gandhi supported civil rights, reducing poverty, women's rights and religious amity. He encouraged everyone to learn the ways of Swaraj, or self-control.
Gandhi was the fourth child of his father's fourth wife. He was born October 2nd, 1869 in Porbander City, India.
Gandhi was raised on the coast of Western India. When he grew up he studied law at the Inner Temple in London. After that he went to South Africa which is where he first implemented his nonviolence practice. His nonviolence certainly did not leave him without enemies, he was assassinated in January of 1948. Though he has passed away, the world will never forget the strength and love shown by Mahatma Gandhi. He will forever be an inspiration to people regardless of race, religion or age.

World War 2 The Blitzkrieg

Did you know that a very common football term, the blitz, came from the word blitzkrieg which was a German attack strategy in World War 2? A blitzkrieg is a surprise full out attack. Blitzkrieg translates to Lightning War. Germany used this tactic against Poland, France, and the Soviet Union to catch them off guard. The Blitzkrieg used multiple different modes of attack, tanks, artillery, and bomber planes. The ground troops would communicate with the planes so that they knew just where to target the troops under attack so that the ground troops could crash through. It was an attack that utilized speed in the air and a fast paced ground attack to smash through the confused defenders.
To start the attack Stuka dive-bombers attacked the front line of the troops, or any mode that was used for transportation, railways and roads. As soon as the air attack was done the artillery would attack, once the artillery surprise had passed the tank panzer division would join in the fight. All the tanks focused on one specific place in the front lines and smashed through. Once a path had been cleared by the tanks the infantry soldiers rushed in on foot to quickly strike the foe's flanks and sides. Eventually the Germans would practically have the opponents surrounded, they were everywhere.