|
|
|
|
By virtue of its scale alone, World War II produced more damage and death than any other previous conflict. However, it was also unique in two other respects. First, World War II saw the systematic effort to eliminate a group within the civilian population. At the same time as the Nazis pursued a war of conquest against the Allied nations of Europe, they pursued a genocidal war against Europe's Jews. The Nazi's "Final Solution" to the "Jewish problem" was the extermination of all Jews. In the end, they succeeded in murdering some 6 million Jews. Second, the war in the Pacific ended with the use of the most destructive weapon the world had ever seen, the atomic bomb.
|