Totalitarianism During Ww2

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Characteristics of totalitarianism such as control of individuals, military terror, and ideology contributed to the atrocities committed in Japan and Germany In World War II by causing the kamikaze attacks, the atomic bombings, and the scapegoating of non-Aryan races. The kamikaze attacks committed by Japanese forces during World War II were a result of their control over individuals. Control over individuals is a totalitarianism trait which demands loyalty to the state and denies basic rights to the citizens. This trait can be seen in Japan where the emperor convinced soldiers that dying for their country in battle was the most honorable way to die. This forced Japanese soldiers to kill themselves or continuously fight a losing fight until they were killed because they did not …show more content…

By 1944, after their victory at Guadalcanal against Japan, the Allies began to fight for the island of Leyte in the Philippines. Unlike what most people believed to be an easy fight for the Allies, the takeover of this island was one of hardest. Japan would use their suicide pilots, also known as the kamikazes, to sink Allied fleets by crashing their bomb filled airplanes. However, after many hard fights also in Iwo Jima and Okinawa, The Allies were victorious. In the end, over 12,000 Americans were lost in battle and over 100,000 Japanese troops were lost (Modern World History, pg. 511). Japan’s fight until you die mentality led to many American soldiers dying as well as Japanese soldiers. The shame of not dying in war was implanted into Japanese soldiers and so not only did Japanese soldiers kill many Allied troops, Japanese soldiers killed each other. The totalitarianism trait, control over individuals, led to the kamikazes. The

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