Context

In order to more accurately understand postmodernism, one must first understand the context and cause. The leading cause being artist civilians and military alike, experiencing trauma during World War 2. During the war, approximately 70,000,000 to 85,000,000 fatalities occurred. However, this number widely fluctuates. At the time, this was just about 3% of the total global population ("World War II Casualties by Country," 2021).

The Soviet Union and China felt the heaviest losses. In the end, more than 100 million people from over 30 countries participated in the war in some way (Graham Royde- Smith, 2021). During the war, not only soldiers lie down their lives in the ultimate sacrifice, millions of civilians were caught amid the war as well, their lives coming to a sobering end. The majority of war fatalities were civilians, some estimates pinning this number around 55,000,000. Arguably, this majority is due to the widespread famine and disease faced by civilians globally ("World War II Casualties by Country," 2021).  

In the bigger picture, World War 2 involved 30 different countries. These countries were mainly split into two sides: Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Allies, including the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. In the end, WW2 marked the redistribution of power between countries. The power began to pool in the United States and the Soviet Union, shifting away from western Europe (Graham Royde- Smith, 2021).  

World War 2 was full of nuance, detail, and complex political agendas. However, there are main events that one must know when understanding the main idea. Firstly, and basically, the war started because Hitler, who was leading Germany at the time, invaded Poland. Sometime after that, the United States of America joined the war due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan. Following that, in 1944, D-Day happened. On that day, the Nazis liberated France, which contributed to the Allies' overall victory. Finally, in 1945, due to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered (Graham Royde- Smith, 2021).