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The causes and the effects of the Second World War
Causes and effects of the Second World War
Causes and effects of the Second World War
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On 3rd September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. Just two days earlier on 1st of that same month, Germany had invaded Poland, having been explicitly warned not to do so. Was this the only factor leading up to WWII? Or was there a string of events, occurring in cannon, waiting to be sparked by this final act? – Was it just the last straw? In this essay I will be explaining the four main causes of the war before analysing them and identifying their order of importance to answer these intriguing questions. One factor which contributed to the outbreak of war in 1939 was the Treaty of Versailles. It stated that Germany had to give up large areas of land such as ‘Alsace-Lorraine’ to surrounding countries and pay huge sums of money to the allies (mainly France) as reparations for WWI. It also made sure that they took full responsibility for starting the First World War, and placed restraints on their maximum army size and possible military actions - which was meant to abolish any chance of a ‘weakened’ Germany rising to power again to spark another war. As great as the attempt was, it failed drastically bringing another war upon the then, very unstable continent. This treaty upset and angered the German citizens, hurting them and their families. Germany had been in a great depression since the end of the war, and the money which they had to pay to France hindered the chances of them ever recovering from it. There was hunger and famine in the streets, people were poor, and in need of a great leader to guide them through. When Adolph Hitler rose to power in 1933, it was due to his strong feelings about overturning the treaty, and making Germany ‘great’ again. The Treaty of Versailles did a good job of casting a shadow of revenge ove... ... middle of paper ... ...ue to this intimidation and fear, and mistrusted Britain and France so he signed the ‘Nazi-Soviet pact’ with Hitler – the final major reason that WWII broke out. Also, as the allies started to realise the scale of wrongs Hitler was committing, after letting them grow – they couldn’t just stop him in his tracks like it was possible to do had they not appeased, he was too strong, and they let him gain strength. Appeasement meant that attacking with force would make for a full scale war –with two strong sides. The Nazi-Soviet Pact meant that he had an ally. Because of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Germany not only had an ally, but had the chance to invade Poland without fear of being attacked by Russia. Hitler took his chance, and invaded Poland because of his – and had it not been for the Nazi-Soviet Pact, he may not have taken this action, and the war may have never started.
There is no excuse for the horrible things Nazi Germany did during World War II. But one can get a better idea how that war started by learning about how World War I ended. The Treaty of Versailles was created by the winners of World War I, like France, Great Britain, and the United States, to make peace. So how did it help contribute to an even worse war less than twenty years later? It was mainly because it was too hard on Germany’s territory, military, economy, and national pride.
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.
World War Two began on the 3rd of September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, however Adolf Hitler had made a number of actions before this date that are directly responsible for the outbreak of what is bloodiest war in human history. Although there were a number of causes of World War Two, Hitler’s actions were the most important. Hitler’s actions can be broken down into three different points. Firstly, Hitler’s military actions such as the rearmament of Germany and the German assistance in the Spanish Civil War were major causes of the war. Secondly, Hitler’s breaking of The Munich Agreement and finally, Hitler’s invasion of Poland, which many historians believe to be the main trigger for The Second World War. Many of Hitler’s actions can be traced back to being a direct cause of World War Two.
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
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.
World War Two was the most devastating conflict in the history of humanity. It crippled many nations and caused millions of people to die. One of the major causes of this disastrous war was the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War. This treaty was destructive towards the Germans. Germany had to pay large amounts of reparations to the Allied nations at the end of World War One resulting in a Great Depression in Germany. Additionally, the Treaty of Versailles’ war guilt clause forced Germans to admit full responsibility for starting the war. Furthermore, to gain the support of the German populace, Adolf Hitler adopted an effective propaganda campaign. Adolf Hitler employed a successful propaganda campaign to gain the support of the German people combined with the Treaty of Versailles harsh economic and political sanctions ignited World War Two.
The Allies went beyond simply supplying each other with rations, weapons, and equipment. This alliance allowed them to coordinate war efforts with each other. Timothy Stewart, a student of history at the University of Minnesota, stated in his essay Why the Allies Won World War II that “Had the British and Americans not found a way to work with the ideologically disparate Soviets, the outcome of the war likely would have been different indeed. The Allies coordinated their efforts through a central staff and thus managed to ensure that good decisions were being made” (6). Hitler, on the other hand, did not necessarily ally, so to speak, with the other Axis powers, nor did he cooperate well with his own staff....
In a political context, appeasement is the idea of pleasing an enemy in order to avoid conflict, such as war. This is what Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, decided to do with Hitler in 1938 to avoid another European war. Some argue that appeasement was not a good idea because it gave Hitler what he wanted, but in other ways it was a very strategic move. Appeasement delayed war and showed that European countries could be responsible about political issues before jumping to conclusions. It also gave the countries more time to build up their armies to be prepared for any type of conflict. It was a fair thing to do because Germany had lost so much due to the Treaty of Versailles and deserved to recover. Appeasement was not a mistake because in the end everything turned out for the better.
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 Second World War was caused by Germany’s desire to revoke the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and Hitler’s relentless quest for empire. This was considered a valid response to why the war began in 1939, until 1961 when A. J. P Taylor...
During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics emphasised mobility and the concentrated use of armour and air power to overwhelm an enemy. Blitzkrieg was especially successful in flat, open countryside and was supremely suited for the Polish campaign in 1939. It was with blitzkrieg, as well as Germany’s superior tactics, effective use of armour, airpower and modern equipment, plus with the support of the USSR that the Germans used to overwhelm Poland in only 5 weeks. Two days after the German troops entered Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Hitler did not want this because it was a distraction from his main aim, to attack the USSR.
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.
...t, Hitler believed that the British government would reconsider its policy of appeasement. He thus decided to invade Poland on September 1st 1939, on 3rd, British declared war against Hitler (Scaife 121). Hitler’s invasion of Poland was from the hope that the policy of appeasement would be used to solve the matter, but it failed.
Adolf Hitler conquest began with the takeover of Austria, so the state can become part of Germany once more. Hitler’s policy was to unite the German people into a world power Germany and to transform the nation to an economic self-sufficiency for the German race. As time ran out, Hitler used military action to begin his conquest of Europe before other countries become too powerful to overtake. There was also appeasement all over Europe as countries cannot afford another war which led to Hitler demanding everything he wanted to keep the peace. As he expanded across Europe, France and Britain noticed Hitler's intent and sign a pact to aid Poland if Germany invaded. Hitler then formed an alliance with Italy called the Pact of Steel
Meanwhile, Fuhrer Hitler and the Nazi party were continuing their domination of Europe and threatening to invade Czechoslovakia, which many felt would most likely incite another World War. To prevent this, England, France, Italy and Germany entered into an agreement, which would allow Germany to seize control of Sudetenland and is today known as the ‘Munich Pact’. Sudetenland had a large German population and its borders were in strategically strong areas for the German military. For negotiations to be successful there are many components that one must be aware of such as personalities of all parties, end goals of each person and the history of the country. England led the process with an appeasement policy as an attempt to mollify Hitler and the Nazi party and prevent war, which this pact did not.