Bitterness And Division In Australia During The First World War

During World War 2, Australian’s were prisoners of war all over Europe. More than 30,000 Australian’s became prisoners between the years 1940 – 1945. These prisoners included airmen, soldiers of the 6th, 7th, and 9th division, and some nurses. They were prisoners of many countries. The main countries that captured Australian’s were Germany and Japan.

The Australian government implemented different types of controls during World War 1 and World War 2. While some of the measures were similar, there were significant differences in the way the government managed the home front during these two conflicts. One of the key differences between the government's control during the two wars was the role of technology. During World War 1, the government had limited access to advanced technology, which made it more difficult to manage the home front.

Australia and nazi Germany are very different in terms of rights, how they act, etc. But in terms of government, it is pretty similar. They both have a head of State, branches of government, and levels of government.

The document calls upon the people of Australia to protect the land the men are fighting for by voting no to Prime Minister Hughes’ referendum on the 26th of October, 1916. The referendum was significant as it proposed the introduction of conscription of

Australia had little experience in war and some soldiers were peer pressured into enlisting but they continued to support Britain as they were their ‘mother country’. Britain and Australia has very deep connections and will be there to support each

While there were divisions in Australia along class and religious lines, as well as competing visions for the future of the young nation, at first Australians were overwhelmingly united in response to the war. Politically, normally divided political parties united in the face of the crisis. Then Liberal Prime Minister Joseph Cook publically committed 20,000 troops and funds to the cause, opposition leader Andrew Fisher declared that Australia would defend the Empire “to the last man and the last shilling”, and, in December 1914, the War Precautions Act pass through parliament with “little overt dissent”, according to Joan Beaumont. But it was not only within the political arena that support for the war effort was strong. With few exceptions, newspapers across the country reported a growth in patriotic sentiment, with individuals wearing emblems of England and France and the national anthem being played at nightly cultural events.

Despite the economic losses incurred from the vast war effort, the Australian government were intent on recreating and exceeding Australia’s economic prosperity prior to the event. These intentions are denoted by Lawless, Young & Cameron (2000, p.69), in the following claim: “Money was accessed by governments, both Commonwealth and State, by taking out large overseas loans to help pay for the ‘boom’ economy.” This statement is a suggestion that the government and public sought to forget the horrors of the war through a more lavish, technological lifestyle that became a cultural phenomenon known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’. However, the huge loans that potentially led to the Great Depression would have led to extensive improvements in handling finances in Australia. For returning servicemen, employment was futile as women were preferably retained in their roles due to low maintenance, and thus the government intervened to ease their transition into life at home.

The communist government of North Vietnam and its South Vietnamese allies, known as the Viet Cong, were the targets of a brutal war fought by the government of South Vietnam and its main partner, the United States. The conflict in Vietnam was known as the "American War" and involved the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies. It was also a manifestation of the Cold War. Many of those who went to serve Australia in the Vietnam war were conscripts.

On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed, affecting millions of people worldwide (Stevens).[a] Australia was one of the most directly affected countries to suffer from this recession, due to their increasing debt to oversea countries and decline in trade (Stevens). Lots of Australian citizens were unemployed during this time. Although the Great Depression was a time of great suffering in the lives of citizens, wealthy government officials were unaffected and did not provide much aid for the poor.[b] Lots of Australian citizens suffered[c] greatly during the Great Depression. Despite many people’s beliefs, losing a job meant much more than just financial problems for the majority of Australians; they lost self esteem as well (Williamson).

Initially the Indigenous people were excluded from enlisting – resulting in almost every person joining under fake ethnicity/cultural backgrounds, some even changing their names, age, and personal details to enlist (Centenary of World War 1). At the age of 30, Douglas Grant signed for the 34th battalion, AIF in 1916 however, he was discharged at his battalion as government approval was required for Indigenous Australians (State Library NSW). Grant struggled to find his place in the War so much that he said “No I’m not wanted anymore … I think I’m better out here … I’ve lived long enough to see that I don’t belong anywhere, and they don’t want me.” (Douglas Grant Australian War Memorial).

They believed they were doing what was right. Taken into account the Turks thought that too. The Australian communities and states back home believed that… During the First World War Australia’s population was around 4 million highlighting that there was an estimate of 812,000 men between

Not only the war had a massive effect on the Indigenous in Australia, The war was a huge boom to the Australian economy and as it turned out another massive factor. As many Australian fundamental products were purchased as could be produced, and secondary, subsidiary industries manufactured many ‘modern’ items for the services. Many men and women retired and fled their careers to accompany the armed forces leading to a ‘deficit’ of labour. New commerce and businesses need to have been created to fund the troops with combat weapons, uniforms and ammunition. Scarce goods needed to be controlled by the Australian Government in enhancing better buying and selling and in ensuring that everyone received a fair share.

People started to think less about fighting for Britain and more about the impacts fighting in war brought to Australia. Accordingly, enlistment rates dropped from less than 5000 in the first half of 1917 to 2 500 in the second half of the year. However, despite the diminishing rates of enlistment, there were still people who put their names down to go to war. This wasn’t because of their sense of duty towards the ‘Mother Country’, instead, it was because of the belief to uphold

Popular culture in post-war Australia was immensely influenced by American and British culture. Upon the end of World War 2, Australians experienced increased leisure time with nothing to fill it with. The Union had successfully enforced the 8 x 8 x 8 principle, thus supplying Australians with 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure and 8 hours of sleep. Increasing globalisation meant that the average Australian became more aware of the world around them, rather than the impenetrable bubble of their farm or township that they belonged to. This knowledge of foreign ideas and behaviours were quickly adopted because of their tantalizing appeal and soon became extremely common in Australian society.

Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.