Nationalism In World War 1 Essay

Nationalism played a huge part in the events that played out in World War One, Interwar years, and World War Two. Nationalism led to the rise of great powers and the takeover of Europe and led others to a great demise. Nationalism is when a country or a group of people bring together a community under the common threads that they have in common such as culture, race, religion, and location. Nationalism is a great concept and it brings people together, however; people can take it to extremes and start to believe that certain people are above others and this can lead to conflicts. “In Big Era 8 nationalism went from being a good tool to bring a country together during World War One into problems with Civil war and problems with nationalism

led into one of the deadliest wars in history” (Notes). Nationalism is a good ideal that cause people and countries to come together because of common things like religion and culture, but when it gets into the wrong hands it can become a wedge in a country and a driving force in wars.
In World War One nationalism was used as a positive because nationalism got people to work in the home front for their country and propaganda got people to pay war bonds to help their country in the war. Propaganda played a large war in World War One because it influenced the people at home working and not fighting to pay war bonds which was money that went directly to the benefit of the war. Propaganda were posters and signs that were throughout the city and it helped with nationalism because it brought the people together over their country and the war. The home front is when the people at home working and not in the war would work very hard in factories and would ration their food in order to help the soldiers get food and supplies for the war. This is important to nationalism because it shows how the civilians love for their country allows them to sacrifice food and working long hours with less pay for the greater good of the country.
The Interwar years saw Nationalism as a positive ideal because of Gandhi’s great leadership and attempt to bring a country together but negative from Lenin and Russia as they went into Civil wars. Nationalism when in the hands of leaders like Gandhi can be used as a great tool to make a country stronger and more united. When Gandhi was trying to untie India it was separated by the Hindus and the Muslims, while the country was taken control of by the British. Gandhi wanted to make India a United Front meaning that the Muslims and the Hindus would come together under the nationalistic ideal that they are the because of their culture and where they live. Gandhi wanted them together in order to be able to fight off the British soldiers in India. Gandhi’s use of proper nationalism led to the eventual freedom of India and uniting them once and for all. Lenin and Russia on the other hand were feuded by nationalism and that was the reason they couldn’t move forward. Russia during the Interwar years went from a government with one leader like the Czar into an attempt at democracy, when that failed Russia went into civil war with the Czarist’s on one side and the Bolshevik’s on the other. This shows how Russia used nationalism incorrectly because they never could get a stable government and they couldn’t unite themselves so they fought each other and their country became weak.
World War Two had nationalism play a large role and was the reason that the Germans were fighting all these other countries and why so many people died, it was also part of the reason that the British didn’t surrender and why Germany fell.

Nationalism was used negatively because the Nazis used the ideal of Nationalism to allow them to think that they were above the Jews and the Gypsies and it made them think it was ok to kill them because they were sub human to the Germans. This thought led the Germans into taking over most of Europe and, “By one means or another, approximately 6 million Jews, about 75 percent of the European Jewish population, were put to death” (Goff 262). The Jews were killed do to Hitler and his crazed mind this also shows how leaders like him can take nationalism to a new level and think that they are superior to other humans. Nationalism was used positively in World War Two as well, this is seen when Winston Churchill had such pride and such a love for his country that he wouldn’t give up to Hitler and the Nazis during the battle of Britain. This shows how nationalism was used to unite people together and was used to keep a country alive and the idea was based on a love for a country not as a belief of being more important or better than another group of people. This shows how nationalism was used as a good or bad things based on who was running the country and who had all the power. When Hitler, an evil and power crazed man, took power he used nationalism as a weapon not as a tool to bring others

together.
Nationalism played a huge role in Big Era 8 through positives like brings a country together and negatives like cause wars and tension. In World War One nationalism was used as a positive to bring people together in the home front and bring them together to help the soldiers in the war. Nationalism was used in the Inter War Years as a positive when Gandhi helped get independence for the Indians. Nationalism was used in World War Two by the Nazis when they attacked other countries because they thought they were better than the other countries because they were Germans. Nationalism is used today because a lot of wars are caused by nationalistic thoughts. Overall Nationalism had a huge impact in Big Era 8 through causing wars and also bringing countries together.