Nationalism In Europe After WWII

The majority of European countries gave up on the powerful idea of nationalism after World War II as they, as a group of nations did not want to fall victim to another extremely destructive worldwide conflict.  Not only did the Second World War eliminate the pre-existing central idea of nationalism but also it (as a result) redefined imperialism.

Before World War II, nationalism, tracing its origin back to the French Revolution, was a force that nations used in order to unite themselves against other countries and promote their own progress. One of the dooming factors of nationalism after WWII was its use by Adolf Hitler who used it as well as the weakness that followed WWI to gain power and play out his anti-Semitic pipe dreams. Nationalism, after its use by Hitler, switched from a positive, progressive force to a negative, scarily powerful idea that was to almost be avoided.

In addition to the now different aura of the word ‘nationalism’ many of the European countries, feeling defeated and scared after the second World War decided to come together and make an effort towards uniting with the intention of never entering another war like those they had just experienced. A variety of organizations including NATO, Euratom, the EU, and the Common Market are all examples of the European effort towards unity and peace. One can consider this effort particularly non-nationalistic as it represented instead of individual nations looking out for only their own well being (nationalism) European countries were working together for Europe’s collective benefit. The idea of imperialism was also redefined, as nations no longer had the soul interest of expanding but merely staying afloat. This movement can be seen in many countries’ abandonment of colonies. The colonies were presumably fighting for their independence at the same time, inspired by the happenings of Europe. One can look to the leading countries of France and Britain for examples as to how two leading European countires that had been eextremely imperialistic, looking for more and more land to use in order to expand their empire, to see the effects that WWII had on the imperialistic spirit. England, promptly released their colonies, granting them their independence quite quickly after the end of WWII as they themselves were attempting to recover economically as a nation from the losses that they sustained during the war. France on the other hand held onto its colonies for a bit longer, hesitant to part with the precious rewards to their many years of imperialistic endeavors. As nationalism and its power had essentially been discovered in France during the French revolution, one can understand their hesitation in abandoning their owning. In the end, France did, alongside Britain and many other European nations, give up their colonies. Evidentially, the effects of WWII on nationalism were wide reaching for the lives and government of European countries at the time.