Famous Leaders of World War II

On the fall of 1939, with the German invasion of Poland World War II began on the European front. This war was fiercely fought between the Allied forces and the Axis powers and had the potential to test the greatest minds on both the sides and allowed them to leave their permanent mark on the world.

1.    Winston Churchill:  One such mind was Winston Churchill. He was born on November 30^th ,1874. From an early age Churchill showed early interest in politics. He served during World War I as an officer of the 6^th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. After World War I he returned to politics and became the Prime Minister of The United Kingdom in 1940. As a PM he performed admirably. His speeches were inspiring to all and helped rally the British Army. In the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air force successfully defended Britain from German invasion. This was largely due to Churchill’s strategic mindset and his artful mastery of English language that the Royal Air Force became motivated and won the battle.

Winston Churchill

2.    Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR): He was often referred to by initials FDR. He was born on January 30^th, 1882, Hyde Park, New York. He also had a keen interest in politics. He began as member of state Senate and in 1913 he was appointed assistant secretary of the Navy by the then President Woodrow Wilson. In 1929, he ran for the governor of New York as the current Governor ran for the President. In 1932, he became 32^nd President of The United States. At this point the US was suffering from the Great Depression, which was a result of World War II. With his decision to enter the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the allies received the assistance it needed to succeed in the war. He was stricken with polio, yet he never showed any ounce of sickness. FDR successfully tricked Hitler into believing that the Allied forces would attack at Pas de Calais (France) on the D-day instead of Normandy. Due to this Hitler moved many of his forces there. As a result, Normandy was won back which was a turning point in World War II. Roosevelt died in April 12^th, 1945.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

3.    Benito Mussolini: He was born in Predappio, Italy on July 29^th, 1883. He was a part of the army in World War I and was discharged from the army in 1917. In the same year he created Italian Combat squad to restore order in Italy. In the next two years, this squad turned into National Fascist Party with Mussolini as its leader. In 1922 he overthrew the then PM and took over Italy. It was under his leadership that Italy went into an alliance with Germany. In 1943, when the allied forces advanced into Italy, Mussolini was dismissed by King of Italy and Italy switched sides to the allies. He was captured by his former colleagues in the Fascist Government. Eventually he was freed by the German’s and fled to Switzerland where he was captured and later and was shot dead by Italian partisans.

Benito Mussolini

4.    Joseph Stalin: He was General Secretary of the Communist party of Soviet Union. Born on December 18^th, 1878, he was originally named Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili but later changed it to Joseph Stalin. He became involved with Bolsheviks where he met Lenin which boosted his position and enabled him to rise to power in Soviet Union. In 1922 he became General Secretary of the Communist party. He set up a public communist government. He also signed a Non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, according to which Germany was to invade Poland and the captured land would be divided into two parts one for Germany and one for Soviet Union. Under Stalin’s leader he transformed Soviet Union into an industrialized and militaristic country. As a result, Hitler started demanding more from the Soviet’s and Stalin backed out of the agreement and sided with the Allies. Seeing this, Hitler attacked Soviet Union driving its way up to Stalingrad. However, the Soviets under Stalin’s no surrender policy defeated Nazis and took back Stalingrad. This was one major factor of Hitler’s defeat in World War II.

Joseph Stalin

5.    Adolf Hitler: The WWII might have never happened if it weren’t for Adolf Hitler. He was born on April 20^th, 1889. His father died when he was 14. He was described as lazy, short tempered and uncooperative. He dropped out of High School and made efforts to become artist though he failed. He fought in WW I and survived many near death experiences, eventually he was injured and returned back to Germany. He became member of the National Socialist German Workers Party (commonly known as Nazi Party). He had a strong hatred for the Jews and blamed them for the downfall of Germany in WW I. He became Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and later on the Fuehrer of Germany in 1934. One of the most talked about topics from his reign as the Dictator of Germany was the Holocaust. He targeted whom he thought were racially inferior like gypsies, disabled, the Communists and especially the Jews. He initiated World War II invading Poland on September 1^st, 1939. (follow this link to know some unknown facts about Adolf Hitler)

Adolf Hitler

                      

The actions of each of the above mentioned individuals along with some other leaders left a lasting legacy of World War II on mankind. It changed the world forever. If this war had not taken place the world would have been completely different from what it is today.