WORLD WAR II AND THE GROWTH OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM

World War II was a military confrontation between the Axis powers led by Germany of Adolf Hitler, Japan of Emperor Hirohito and Italy of Benito Mussolini and the Allied powers led by France, Britain and later USA and USSR. The War broke out in 1939 with German invasion of Poland, and lasted until 1945 when the Axis powers were defeated.

The war began in Europe but fighting took place all over the world. In Africa, the war was fought in North Africa, North-east Africa and the Malagasy (now Madagascar).

European powers like France and Britain recruited Africans their colonies to serve in the war as  fighters,  cooks,  nurses,  drivers,  storekeepers,  scouts  and  porters.  Britain  took  about

374,000 Africans servicemen while the French colonial office recruited over 80,000 Africans. Africans  who served in the war included  Bildad Kaggia,  Dedan  Kimathi and Waruhiu Itote General China) of Kenya, Jaona Jiny of Malagasy (now Madagascar), Leopold Sedar Sengoh of Senegal, Mzee Muhammad of Zanzibar, Jean Bedel Boukassa  of the  Central African Republic, Ahmed Ben Bella and Belkacem Kerim of Algeria, Sergeant Walasi from East Africa, and etcetera.

Nationalism among the Africans did not come about until the beginning of World War II. Before this  time  came,  there was only a limited amount of African nationalism  among the elites of the colonies. In reality, the form of nationalism that was present at the time was not nationalism at all, it was anti-colonialism.

Impact of World War II on decolonisation of Africa:

Reference  questions:

a)  How did World War II influence the growth of African nationalism?

b)  Assess the impact of World War II on the growth of African nationalism

c)  To what extent did World War II contribute to the growth of African nationalism?

1.  World  War II  created  political awareness  among  Africans,  which influenced them  to demand for immediate independence. During the recruitment of Africans. European colonial masters  claimed they were taking them to fight against German imperialism and restoration of a "free world in Europe." African servicemen like Bildad Kaggia got exposed to ideas of western democracy. In 1945, while  in Britain, Kaggia campaigned for the Labour Party against the Conservative Party. Upon returning to Africa, the ex-servicemen of  World  War II  organised  uprisings  against  European  colonialism  with  an  aim  of establishing similar democratic governments like in Europe.

2.  Africans recruited to fight in the Second World War acquired training in military skills and guerrilla  tactics  which  enabled  them  to  struggle  for  independence.  The  African combatants  learnt how to operate sophisticated weapons and conduct modern warfare. On their return the African ex-servicemen of World War II  used such skills to fight for independence. Ben Bella used the National Liberation Front (FLN) to fight against the French imperialism in Algeria (1954-62). In Kenya, General China and Dedan Kimathi led the mau-mau uprising against the British (1952-55).

3.  World  War II  exposed  Africans  to the  weaknesses  and  conspiracy  of the  Whiteman.

African servicemen were surprised to see that Europeans could die of the same bullet that killed the Africans. It shocked them to see European soldiers run away from the battle fields. Africans witnessed the existence of slums and a destitute kind of life among some Europeans.  The Africans  also  came  to  learn  that  European  colonialists  were  only interested in independence of European countries like Poland but not Africa.  All these destroyed the invisibility and superiority of the Whiteman, hence increasing African anti- colonial sentiments.

4.  Consequently,  the military losses  suffered by the major  Allied powers during  and soon after the war had impact on African patriotism. In South-East Asia, Japan overrun and pushed the British out of Malaya, Hong Kong, and Burma. The worst defeat faced by the British at the hands c: Japan was the loss of Singapore. After the war, the Indonesians defeated the Dutch while the Vietnamese humiliated the French in the presence of their African subjects like Ben Bella, leader of the Algerian revolution and Jean Bedel Bokassa, who later became  president of the Centra. African  Republic. The defeat  of European colonialists by yellow people encouraged African peoples to organise struggles that would mark the decolonisation of Africa.

5.  The end of World War II  led to increased European exploitation of resources  in their African colonies. The war negatively affected European powers in economic terms to the extent that where it ended, colonial masters like the French and the British immediately ran to Africa to seek  economic remedy. They targeted  African mineral resources, African human resource (or labour and cash crops. More mining and trading companies came to Africa,  while  labour  exploitation worsened  as  colonialists  implemented compulsory growing of cash  crops.  Heavy taxes  were imposed on  African  natives  as  European colonialists tried raising resources  to reconstruct their economies ravaged (destroyed) during the war. This continued European exploitation increased African suffering which influenced them to express  their  nationalism  by agitating for self-rule  through peaceful and armed resistance.

6.  During the course of World War II, there was rapid influx (arrival) of white settlers in Africa which provoked Africans to fight for independence. Most of these European settlers who arrived in Africa were running away for their lives as Europe became unstable and insecure. They settled in. Kenya, Algeria, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe today) and South West Africa (Namibia today and elsewhere in Africa. Their settlement in Africa increased the evils of colonialism which included increased racism, land grabbing, over taxation and competition for the existing jobs they caused  destruction of African  Culture, poverty, exploitation of African labour and the general suffering of Africans. This led to African hatred against foreigners, hence causing them to fight for political freedom and self- determination.

7.  The Second World War led to economic boom in Africa. During the war, many of the African resources and commodities were highly demanded for in Europe. These included minerals and cash crops. Groundnut oil from the Senegal, Palm oil from Nigeria, Cocoa from the Gold Coast (now Ghana), coffee from Ethiopia and Ivory Coast; uranium from Congo Leopoldville (now DRC and copper from Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) found their way to Europe. Besides, some European investors relocated their investments to Africa, which influenced increased growing of cash crops, expansion of mining activities and the emergence of small scale industry that employed many Africans. In colonies like Kenya, Africans were allowed to grow crops like tea and coffee which they were previously denied. All these improved the socio-economic conditions of Africans; first, trade unions were created to fight for workers' rights, then it enabled peasants  to 3 pay for their children's education and later, they could afford to fund political activities geared towards attaining independence.

8.  The Second  World  War led to increased urbanization in Africa  hence  influencing the growth of African nationalism. This was due to white settlers, who developed towns and improved on the transport network. Such towns included Nairobi in Kenya; Suez in Egypt, Salisbury (now Harare is Southern Rhodesia, Accra and Cape Coast in the Gold Coast, Algiers  and Setif  in Algeria and Lagos  in Nigeria,  among others. The growth of urban centers  attracted  African  populations  to  settle  in  mining centers,  towns  and  ports. Africans who flocked to  towns  in  large numbers  shared  ideas and  experiences and suffered from the same problems of unemployment, discrimination from the whites and high costs  of living.  The conditions in  the urban areas  frustrated  African  who easily mobilised and united themselves under anti-colonial movements to struggle for independence.

9.  The outbreak of World War II led to the liberation of Ethiopia from Italian occupation in 1941.Musolini joined the war on the Axis side led by Hitler, which worsened his friendship with Allied powers of France and Britain. The French and the British approved the Italian occupation of Ethiopia expecting Mussolini to stay away from Hitler. The Allied powers were disappointed by Italy hence diverted their support towards Ethiopia through Sudan and Kenya. Consequently, Italy withdrew her troops from Ethiopia to concentrate in the Second World War, which also enabled Ethiopians to defeat Italy. The victory of Ethiopia over Italy inspired the hope of Africans under colonialism that European powers can be defeated.

10. During the course of World War II, the Atlantic charter was signed in August 1941 between Winston Churchill of Britain and Franklin Roosevelt of USA; with Stalin of USSR as an observer.  The Atlantic Charter called for self-determination of all peoples through its Article III which acknowledged the sovereign right of states  under foreign domination and for the colonial people to choose a government of their own. The resolutions of the Atlantic Charter on self-government and sovereignty existence of states  under domination were adopted by the United Nations Charter of 1945.  The Atlantic Charter influenced African nationalism through calling for independence and improved livelihoods of the colonised people.

11. The Second World War influenced the Brazzaville conference of 1944. General Charles de Gaulle the French leader called a meeting of representatives of French colonies of West and Equatorial Africa. The aim was to find ways of thanking Africans for supporting France in the Second World War and for standing with the French during trial moments  when Germany occupied  France.  At  the  conference,  the  French administrators  also  laid strategies to divert African attention from demanding for independence. The conference proposed  political reforms  in  French West and Equatorial Africa, which included; the establishment of native assemblies, increasing African representation in the French parliament  and  allowing African  participation in  administration. The political reforms created political awareness  of Africans to demand for independence, instead of keeping them silent and naive as the French colonialists thought.

12. World War II led to the rise of USA and USSR to the rank of superpowers, replacing Britain, France and Germany, that had failed to protect world peace. The USA and the Soviet Union had an anti-colonial attitude thus they encouraged colonial powers to decolonize. The new superpowers wanted to be free to pursue their trading interests in Africa but could not due to the colonial restrictions established at the Berlin Conference in 1885. USA also wanted to spread  the ideology of capitalism while the USSR would spread  communism. They therefore provided logistical support  to African liberation in form of morale, finances, weapons, and  scholarships for education. The USA  and  the  Soviet Union  used  their influence in the UN  to call for immediate independence of African  colonies, and this encouraged the development of African nationalism.

13. The end of World War II resulted into the formation of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) in 1945 as the new world peacekeeping body, replacing the League of Nations. The emergence of the UNO gave Africans hope that decolonisation was within their reach. UN provided Africans with a platform to talk against colonialism by inviting freedom fighters to present their anticolonial grievances to the General Assembly. It created a "Trusteeship Council" to take care of mandated Territories. (Mandated territories were former German and Italian colonies previously under the League of Nations). The United Nations declared the years between 1950 and 1960 as a decade of decolonisation; during these ten years, colonial masters  were required to  promote  political developments (changes)  in  their colonies aimed at preparing Africans for independence.

14. The war led  to  the  coming  to  power of the  Labour  party in  Britain  that  influenced independence imitations in British Africa. Shortly after World War II elections were held in Britain with the labour Party of Clement Atlee defeating the Conservative Party of Winston Churchill. The Labour government under Clement was liberal; initiated political reforms in British Africa-colonies which included new constitutions i.e. the Burns constitution in The Gold Coast and the Richards constitution in Nigeria (both in 1946); and increased African representation in the Legco. These political developments increased African morale for independence.

15. The end of World War II led to the calling of the Fifth Pan African Congress in Manchester in 1945, which increased African desire for self-rule. The conference was organised by Africa-descendants like W.E.B. DuBois and George Padmore, and was attended by many delegates from Africa like Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast (one of the secretaries), Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya (assistant secretary), Kamuzu Banda of Nyasaland and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria. The Manchester conference encouraged African nationalism by recommending  that  freedom  fighters  must  form political  organisations  and  involve masses in the struggle against foreign rule.' and the use of military means if non-violence was ineffective  in achieving  self-rule.  The conference influenced  the return of Africans from abroad to lead independence agitations, hence Kenyatti returned to Kenya in 1946 while Nkrumah went back to the Gold Coast in 1947.

16. World War II  weakened European colonial  empires  in Asia,  which  affected  the rise  of African nationalism. The end of the war led to the notable independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 Independent India immediately joined the UNO and increased on the members of the General Assembly who voted in favour of total decolonisation of the whole world. India went ahead to extend financial, technical and military assistance to enhance the African struggle for independence. India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru became a political counselor to many of the African nationalists like Apollo Milton Obote of Uganda and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya. The success of Gandhiism (Non-violence) in India inspired many freedom fighters in Africa like Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast and Albert Luthuli of South Africa, to employ defiance campaigns, boycotts, demonstrations and strikes as part of nationalist activities against foreign rule.

17. World War II exhausted and depleted the resources of Allied powers like the British and the French. This followed the high investments made in the war and the shattered economies during the war. The French and the British suffered economic challenges like inflation, low export volumes and unemployment due to poor industrial performance during the course of war. The post war period witnessed loss of colonial will of the British and the French to continue  administering  Africa and instead  preferred to put more effort in restructuring their nations which were heavily destroyed by the war. The colonial masters  gradually withdrew from Africa hence creating the opportunity for Africans to achieve independence.