The Failure of the League of Nations and the Outbreak of War in 1939 There are many causes for the outbreak of the Second World War. These include the failure of the League of Nations, the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler's actions and so on. Some of them are more important then others and are mostly linked with another cause. The failure of the League of Nations was one of the main reasons for the outbreak of war. It exposed weaknesses which encouraged Hitler to invade. The League had failed to resolve the major political disputes. There were a number of such incidents but the most important ones were the Manchurian Crisis, 1931 and the Abyssinian Crisis, 1935. In 1931, the members of the League failed to take decisive action when Japan invaded Manchuria. The League did not apply sanctions because without America (Japan's main trading partner) it would not have had much effect. Member nations were unwilling to contribute troops to a League of Nations force, so the League had no effective way of compelling other countries to accept its decisions. Britain was also more interested in maintaining good relations with Japan. Countries could not even agree on banning arm sales to Japan as they were worried that Japan would retaliate. Their self-interest meant that that did not want to risk their own armies against Japan. Only the USA or the USSR would have to resources to remove the Japanese from Manchuria but there were not members of the League. In 1935 Mussolini (Italy) invaded Abyssinia and overthrew the Emperor Haile Selassie. Italy was condemned by the League as the aggressor. The League applied economic sanctions but members were reluc... ... middle of paper ... ... interests would be better served by an agreement with Germany. On 24 August 1939 Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact. They announced that they would not attack each other. Privately they agreed to divide Poland between them. With the threat of USSR out of the way, Hitler was now confident of success. On 1 September the German army invaded Poland but to Hitler's surprise, France and Britain declared war on Germany. It would be difficult to determined whether the failure of the League of Nations was the most important reason that led to the outbreak of war in 1939 as there were many other important causes which are all linked together. For example, without the Treaty of Versailles there might not have been the League of Nations at all. Also there would not have been as much resentment towards the League.
The League of Nations did not prevent another World War due to numerous different reasons. First of all, the League of Nations whole identity was to maintain peace, discourage aggression from any nation, and to inspire other countries to cooperate especially in the field of trading different resources. One of the main ideas involved in the non-prevention of another war by the League of Nations was the Treaty of Versailles. The League of Nation was fully responsible for the process of the treaty going through the International Court of Justice. One the treaty was signed, Germany was reprimanded unethically. The Germans soon started cheating and developed military forces like submarines in the region of the Netherlands and placed tanks in Russia.
Germany was economically frail subsequent to World War I. The Treaty of Versailles had held them accountable for the cause, and the Great Depression further deteriorated their condition. Germany was ambitious for power and resources. Envisioning world domination, Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany, led his Nazi Party to invade Poland in 1939. France and Britain guaranteed to offer military support if Poland were to become attacked; they declared war, initiating World War II.
The Geneva Peace Conference failed because, first- it was stalled over German demands for equal strength and French insistence on reliable protection against the possibility of German aggression. European skepticism about American intentions was confirmed when the Senate Foreign Relations committee responded with a resolution banning shipments to all belligerents, after the American representative at the conference said that if international agreement effected a substantial reduction in arms, the US was prepared to consult with the other states in case of a threat to peace. The failure of this conference was a substantial event in the chain of events that led up to W.W.II, because if this conference had been successful Germany may not have been as volatile, and may not have had the means and arms to initiate the war. Hitler's annexation of Austria took place in the March of 1936. This event was crucial in the build up to war, because it was the first step in the buildup of a German empire. It was the first step militant step towards the Second World War. The next militant step towards world war was when he used the plight of the German minority in the Sudetenland as a pretext for demands on the government of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was now a part of the growing German territory. The more territory Germany acquired the more of a threat it was t...
Another factor in causing World War II was the Wall Street Crash of 1929 resulting in a 2-year economic depression all over the world. Not only did these cause countries such as Britain and France to take a less active foreign policy, but also it destroyed the newly found prosperity in Germany and made many people jobless. This led to Hitler
Outbreak of World War I and Germany's Responsibility The War Guilt clause has been called the 'historical controversy par excellence[1]'. At the end of the war article 231 explicitly placed the guilt for 'all loss and damage' of the war on the defeated Germany and her allies. This clause was bitterly denied by Germany and has been a subject of keen debate ever since. The issuing of the 'blank cheque' to Austria in 1914, their strong "will to war", the aggressive
The causes of World War II can be attributed to the following ideas or events: the mentality of power is strength by Heinrich von Treitschke, the Treaty of Versailles, the global depression following the end of World War I, and Nazi Imperialism.
The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power. World War II was not only started by Adolf Hitler and Germany, but had a lot to do with the humiliation that Germany felt when the terms for the Treaty of Versailles were laid down. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles may be indirectly related to the cause of World War II, but nonetheless was a huge factor in starting the war.
The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the participating nations was everything but that. The blame for the war was placed on Germany and justified the reparations that were outlined by the treaty for the war. The terms of the treaty were very harsh to the Germans and they took on great resentment. It was a fragile peace agreement that would be used as fuel to keep hostilities going 20 years later.
Who To Blame for the World War II World War II began on the 3rd September when Britain and France declared war on Germany after they had invaded Poland. Ever since the end of WWI Europe had been divided into different camps. The ideas of peace during the 1920s and 30s had been designed to eliminate the gaps between the camps. Unfortunately, this never worked and so Europe was still divided into two main camps when war was declared. Britain and France in Western Europe were the leaders of one camp.
The world plunged into World War II in 1939, from the unsettlement between countries. Different countries had different ideas about world affairs. Some countries preferred appeasement and other countries preferred collective securities to solve problems such as the turmoil in Germany. According to the circumstances of Europe during 1939, from economic depression and unsettlement between countries, collective security was the best answer. Appeasement was attempted, but it turned out to be a failure.
Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to the potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed. The coalitions brought by the Versailles Treaty contributed greatly to starting WWII. The Treaty was responsible for the formation of the Allies. However, when made, these alliances were based on promises from the superpowers, particularly France.
The League of Nations came into play shortly after WWI because everybody was petrified and did not want to have another Great War. (League of Nations) The other reason was that the Treaty of Versailles was such a horribly written treaty. The idea of such a league sounded amazing and wonderful after such a devastating war. (The Treaty of Versailles) A league that would bring peace to everybody. An organization that was supposed to never allow a war that big to ever happen again. The league was made of 42 countries when it started and gained/ lost countries as it went on ending with 49 countries because it slowly started to not work as it initially planned to. This league caused many international disputes whether to help countries that were about to be attacked or if they should not help them (like they were supposed to). Many countries got attacked and the League did not do anything to help. The league basically just gave them a slap on the wrist and let them do what they have been doing. The league was a great sounding plan and had an even better purpose.
The Manchurian incident was a turning point in Japanese history in which it abandoned its somewhat general policy of cooperation and peace and instead chose to pursue their personal interests in Asia (S,191). The Japanese interest in China was evident even before its invasion in 1931. In both the Sino Japanese war from 1894 to 1905 as well as the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905 Japan secured specific locations in Manchuria and other areas in China (U,351). Overall, the consensus for the extensive needs of the empire ultimately drove its policy making until the end of World War 2. To take control of what they believed to be the most mineral rich section of China in which they controlled expansive holdings in such as the South Manchurian Railroad, officers part of the Kwantung Army that were stationed there hatched a plan that would become to be known as the Manchurian Crisis. On September 18th 1931, Japanese soldiers located at the South Manchurian Railroad set off an explosive that they blamed on China (launching both nations into hostile relations for years to come.?? (P,115)) The Japanese invaded Japanese Invaded Chinese controlled Manchuria in 1931 because they wanted to accommodate the rising of the Japanese population, obtain more natural resources, and to stimulate their nearly collapsed economy.
weakness of the League was that it did not have an army of its own.