When did WW2 start? 1939 or 1937?
Posted: 2014-09-05 05:45pm
In light of the recent 75th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Poland I began wondering if 9/1/1939 was in fact the most accurate place from which to date the Second World War, or if the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7 1937 would be better.
World War Two was in many ways a collection of connected wars running together. In Europe, you had German war against the western allies which was kicked off by the invasion of Poland in September '39, followed by the start of the larger German-Soviet war in June '41. In the Asia there the full-scale Sino-Japanese war began with the Marco Polo Bridge "incident" in July '37, which later was joined by the Japanese war on the US and the other allies after Pearl Harbor.
While there had been fighting between Japan and China before 37, and the Chinese Civil War picked up after 45, the war from July 7 1937 to September 2 1945 was distinct, continuous, and brutal. Chinese casualties were on the order of 20 million, including civilians, second only to the losses suffered by the Soviet Union. To put the war's start at the invasion of Poland while reducing the Sino-Japanese war to merely being a separate conflict that was later absorbed into the actual World War serves only to sideline and obscure this conflict.
The Soviet Union's contribution to defeating the Nazis has long been downplayed in the West, but is by now widely acknowledged. I think a similar change should take place in regards to China. It wouldn't much change serious study of history, but dating the overall war from 1937-1945 would have a major impact on the popular understanding of the war. Besides simply forcing the average person to acknowledge the Chinese portion of the war, it would also put the American diplomacy with Japan before Pearl Harbor, and the pre-1939 diplomacy and conflict in Europe, in a broader context. It would also help people in the West I think gain a bit more understanding about the emotional legacy of the War in China, Japan, and their neighbors today.
Thoughts?
EDIT: It'd also make it easier to make sense of the Soviet-Japanese conflicts.
World War Two was in many ways a collection of connected wars running together. In Europe, you had German war against the western allies which was kicked off by the invasion of Poland in September '39, followed by the start of the larger German-Soviet war in June '41. In the Asia there the full-scale Sino-Japanese war began with the Marco Polo Bridge "incident" in July '37, which later was joined by the Japanese war on the US and the other allies after Pearl Harbor.
While there had been fighting between Japan and China before 37, and the Chinese Civil War picked up after 45, the war from July 7 1937 to September 2 1945 was distinct, continuous, and brutal. Chinese casualties were on the order of 20 million, including civilians, second only to the losses suffered by the Soviet Union. To put the war's start at the invasion of Poland while reducing the Sino-Japanese war to merely being a separate conflict that was later absorbed into the actual World War serves only to sideline and obscure this conflict.
The Soviet Union's contribution to defeating the Nazis has long been downplayed in the West, but is by now widely acknowledged. I think a similar change should take place in regards to China. It wouldn't much change serious study of history, but dating the overall war from 1937-1945 would have a major impact on the popular understanding of the war. Besides simply forcing the average person to acknowledge the Chinese portion of the war, it would also put the American diplomacy with Japan before Pearl Harbor, and the pre-1939 diplomacy and conflict in Europe, in a broader context. It would also help people in the West I think gain a bit more understanding about the emotional legacy of the War in China, Japan, and their neighbors today.
Thoughts?
EDIT: It'd also make it easier to make sense of the Soviet-Japanese conflicts.