World War II Research Paper Topics

World War II is a significant global event that schools cover in their history curriculum. Many teachers cover this war in broad terms and then ask their students to research a particular element of this massive conflict, and because the subject is so vast, students may find it difficult to narrow their research down. An ideal World War II research paper would cover a specific topic in a level of depth -- discussing and analyzing points that the teacher may not have pointed out.

Decisive Battles

Several battles in World War II are considered decisive to a particular military campaign, and analyzing any one of them would make for an interesting paper. An example of such a battle would be the Battle of Berlin in April 1945, considered a central World War II event because it effectively decided the state of the war in the entire European continent. The paper could research and analyze the important facts of the battle such as troop numbers, weapons and technology used and key tactics.

Major Players

Presidents and generals are famous figureheads of the war. However, there may be some important facts about each person that history books were not able to cover, and researching any of these figures would be appropriate for a research paper. An example would be to take a closer look at Adolf Hitler’s life and rise to power. The paper could cover his views about culture, race and how he constructed his philosophies. Additionally, a paper could also research the methodology Hitler used to efficiently control Germany’s media; this was central for his strategy to garner internal and external public support.

Treaties and Pacts

Certain World War II treaties and pacts became the precursors to present-day international organizations. Some of these treaties were made to prevent the outbreak of massive scale wars in the future. For example, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization originated from the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. This treaty states that if any member of the organization is attacked, it will be considered as an attack to all members of the organization. The research paper could discuss the necessity behind the original treaty and how this has affected events since World War I.

Single Country Focus

A country focus could be a comprehensive research paper covering all the causes and effects of World War II as it pertains to that country. This could include the reasons for the country’s war involvement, losses sustained and the effects of the war. For example, World War II particularly affected the Philippine Islands because of U.S. occupation at the time. A research paper on the Philippines, for instance, could include Japan’s subsequent forced occupation or the effect of the aftermath of the war on the country’s economic development.