Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

The Second World War brought about many social changes – both positive and negative. Without delving into academic ‘gobbledygook’, I believe a brief discussion of terms and concepts is needed here. 

Arbitrary War Dates

First of all, there is no such thing as the Second World War, as it is a manmade concept in the sense that it does not relate to ‘reality’. Therefore, the date range of 1939-1945 is arbitrary. It could just as well have been set between 1936 and 1945; or even from 1931.¹ Thus, ‘realities’ differ.

In Russia, the Second World War is called the Great Patriotic War. They also have a different start date and end date: June 22, 1941 – May 9, 1945. This may be contrasted with the dates of the Second World War: September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945. The Chinese also have a different concept of what constituted the ‘Second World War’; in China, it is termed the ‘War of Resistance’, with a start date of July 7, 1937. 

Social and Political Change

The ‘Second World War’ is a man-made concept; moreover, the word ‘war’ is also confusing; as, like WWI, WWII was a period of radical social and political change.²  A simple definition of war is something like, “a state of armed conflict between countries.” In other words, such simple definitions don’t take into account how economic, political and social structures are changed. But as mentioned above, we don’t want to delve too deep into academic ‘gobbledygook’; but some ‘theoretical’ explanation is needed in relation to the ‘family history’.

In relation to the ‘family history’ war need not necessarily be wholly negative. Or said more simply, ‘one man’s loss is another man’s treasure’. This is better expressed in Norwegian: “En manns død er en annen manns brød”, literally translated as, “one man’s death is another man’s bread.” 

More specifically, in the context of this family history, how did war affect my family’s lives, their employment, income, and so on? I write more about this in the post: Empowerment during World War II

Sources

¹ September 18, 1931 Japan invades Manchuria. October 2, 1935–May 1936 Fascist Italy invades, conquers, and annexes Ethiopia. October 25–November 1, 1936 Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation on October 25. On November 1, the Rome-Berlin Axis is announced.

November 25, 1936 Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. The pact is directed against the Soviet Union and the international Communist movement. July 7, 1937 Japan invades China.

November 26, 1937 Italy joins Germany and Japan in the Anti-Comintern Pact.March 11–13, 1938 Germany incorporates Austria in the Anschluss. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-key-dates

² https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/stories/how-ww2-drove-social-change Date of reading: 16 August 2022.