THE HOME FRONT
Soviet unionDuring the German invasion earlier in the war, Soviets suffered greatly - especially during the initial military defeats, which led to drastic emergency measures that greatly affected civilian life. For example, the city of Leningrad experienced 900 days of siege, where supplies were cut off to them. Over 1.5 million people died, a leading cause of death presumably from starvation. As German armies continued to advance, Soviet workers moved their factories from the western part of the country into the interior, where they were safe for the most part. Machines were placed on the bare ground and walls went around them when they worked. This is a direct example of military mobilization. Notably by 1945, 55% of the national income went for war materials vs the mere 15% in 1940. This did not come with bad effects however as there were severe shortages of both food and housing.
Notably, women played a major role in the war effort as they worked in industries, mines, and railroads. They were also expected to dig antitank ditches, to work as air-raid wardens, and also in battle (aircrew of bomber squadrons and snipers). |
UNITED STATESSince the fighting did not occur on US grounds, the country became the 'armory' of the Allied powers. It produced most of the military equipment that the Allies needed. For example, by November 1945, they were building 6 ships a day and 96,000 planes per year. With the mobilization of the economy, there was some social turmoil. Boomtowns became the result of new factories/jobs, yet there was lack of schools and housing.
There were racial tensions when African Americans searched for jobs in Northern and Western cities with the citizens. Racial riots were sometimes the dangerous result of these tensions. Japan Americans faced more issues however. For example in the West Coast, 110,000 Japanese Americans (65% born in US) were forced to relocate to camps surrounded by barbed wire and had to take loyalty oaths due to 'security reasons.' |
GERMANYWhen Germany went to war 1939, the streets were quiet as most citizens showcased apathy towards the effort. Many were actually scared with the whole ordeal, the first world war not too far from their minds. Hitler was aware of this however and thought it was important to do his best to prevent the collapse from the first war that caused Germany's defeat. With this being said, he adopted economic policies that could have cost the war. These policies include not cutting consumer goods production or increase productions of armaments. This worked alright for the first two years as the early years of the war, Germany was successful. After defeats on from the Soviet Union and US joining however, it had to be changed.
In early 1942, there was a massive mobilization of weapons and the size of the army. The economy was also moblizied by June 1944 where enabled for schools, theatres, and cafes to be closed. It was already too late though - Germany was already about to become defeated. Women were able to also get more jobs as men were away serving, but not many chose to do so. |
JAPANDuring the war, Japan was very mobilized and carefully planned out by the government who set up a board to control all national resources. The use of traditional habits of obedience and hierarchy were used as encouragement for citizens to sacrifice resources and sometimes their lives for the 'national' cause.
These sacrifices hit an all time high however, particularly during the final years of the war. For example, young Japanese citizens were encouraged to volunteer to serve as kamikaze pilots in suicide missions against U.S. fighting ships at sea. |