Introduction
World War Two was the second global military outbreak that struck the 1900s, affecting many countries and starting a new generation of global politics after its end. It included the Axis Powers, which involved Germany, Italy and Japan. It also included the Allies, which were Great Britain, France, Australia, the United States of America, the Soviet Union, China, Canada, New Zealand and India. However, one of the main inquiries on the topic of the second world war, was the question of its causes. In response, many historians have put forward many plausible causes or influences for the beginning of WWII, many of them deriving from the end of WWI. Determined by evidence, the three main causes of WWII were the treaty of Versailles, Nazi Germany, and the failure of the League of Nations. This essay will explain how, and why these three influencers were the primary causes of WII.
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a signed agreement, in which, its purpose was to put an end to the Great War. In its production, negotiations were done by the Allied powers, which included the Triple Entente, along with the United States of America and Italy, in which negotiations were mainly done by the “main three” , including Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson. It involved five main aspects, in which four were pointed towards Germany. Firstly, Germany was to accept the blame for the war, which was specified in “Clause 231 – the infamous War Guilt Clause”, courtesy of (C N Trueman "The Treaty Of Versailles", 17 Mar 2015). Secondly, Germany was forced to pay in compensation for war damages and repairs, which eventually summed to form “£6,600 million – a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to pay”, (C N Trueman "The Treaty Of Versailles", 17 Mar 2015). Thirdly, Germany was to return all land gained from the war, along with others. Some of the lost territory was Alsace-Lorraine, which was given to France, Eupen and Malmedy, which was given to Belgium, Northern Schleswig, which was given to Denmark, Hultschin, which was given to Czechoslovakia, and West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia, which was given to Poland, (C N Trueman "The Treaty Of Versailles", 17 Mar 2015). Fourthly, Germany had restrictions placed upon their military, only allowing a small army, 6 naval ships, no tanks, no airforce and no submarines. Furthermore, the Rhineland was demilitarised. Additionally, union with Austria was forbidden, in which their alliance was a main aspect of the war. In the entire process of the production of the agreement, Germany was not allowed much influence. Although Germany signed, its people felt this was unfair. It was viewed as an insult and a burden to Germany, especially due to the economic factors involved. As Germany lost land, its economy was negatively affected, and along with the exceedingly high war debt they had, German people were extremely poor, proven by the price of basic goods being much too high, and not many jobs being available at the time. Due to the sudden separation of many bonds between countries, namely Germany and Austria, there was a lot of tension between neighbouring nations and inside South-Western Europe. With the anger of the German people, and the tension present, all Germany needed to be convinced that something must be done was a good speaker, with great charisma, and an ability to lead with power. This person, was Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Party and Hitler
Hitler was an extremely charismatic and convincing leader, who became the German Chancellor in 1933. This position allowed him near complete power of the nation, allowing him to act as a dictator, to bring his Germany to a “pure and righteous” state. Soon after, Hitler ordered for the building up of Germany’s army, along with its corresponding weapons, and in 1934, he began to increase his navy, by manufacturing warships, and began to build an air force. Along with this, he introduced compulsory military service. As according to Germany’s signature of the Treaty of Versailles, this broke the regulations placed upon said nation. Britain and France were aware of these actions, however, they allowed it to continue, as they believed that a stronger Germany could help prevent the spread of Communism that was beginning to forge in the west. In 1936, the Rome-Berlin alliance introduced a beneficial relationship between Italy and Germany, bringing them together. Furthermore, the Anti-Comintern pact allied Germany and Japan. At this point, with the building of alliances with Germany, and the strength of German military steadily increasing, many neighbouring countries began to grow worried. Despite this, in March 1938, Hitler ordered for German troops to march into Austria. The Austrian leader was forced to hold a mandatory vote to determine whether Austrians wanted to reunite with Germany, in which, indicated by the vote, 99% of Austrians were in favour of the action. In response to this, the Austrian leader asked Britain and France for aid, however, Hitler promised that this was the end of his “expansion goals”, in which Britain and France chose to not interfere, in the avoidance of war. Despite this, 6 months later, Hitler demanded that the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland region be handed over to German control. This act caused major concern from larger nations, such as Britain and France. In turn, Neville Chamberlain, the Prime minister of Britain, organised meetings with Hitler, with a total of three meetings being held in September 1938, in which was to reach an agreement with one another, that would meet German expectations, while in the avoidance of war. The Munich Agreement stated that Hitler could have the region, if he swore to not invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. From this, many worries were dispelled, however, tension still remained. Nonetheless, Hitler, in 1939, ordered troops to enter the Rhineland. This was clearly against the Treaty of Versailles, and Germany’s military was small at the time, and could easily be stopped, yet, neither Britain or France did anything to intervene. Dispelling the trust of Chamberlain, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. This caused panic in surrounding nations, with the fear of an invasion facing smaller territories. The two great powers, Britain and France, were not prepared to take military action against Germany. However, they believed that a response was required. Both nations swore to wage war against Hitler if Germany invaded Poland. Britain believed that, in the threat of a war with France and Britain, Hitler would cease his threatening actions. At this point, the tension between all surrounding European countries was exceedingly high, acting as fuel to a fire waiting to catch. Seemingly uncaringly, German troops invaded Poland on 1st of September, 1939, marking the beginning of World War Two, and acting as the spark needed to ignite the flame that would engulf the world in catastrophe. Ultimately, the beginning of a new war was the failure of the prevention of another physical outbreak, in which one of the biggest preventative actions was the creation of the League of Nations at the end of World War One. Perhaps, if the League of Nations had more order, and was more efficient, the second world war may have never begun.
Failure of the League of Nations
The League of Nations, established mainly within clauses in the Treaty of Versailles, was created in the order of the prevention of another catastrophe, such as World War One. It was supposed to contain all countries, to start a new age of global politics, yet many nations never joined, in which the United States of America was the most notable exception. Furthermore, some countries were only members for a short period of time, before ending their membership, and withdrawing from the league. This failure of complete participation meant that some nations were left to their own will, whereas others were under the control of the league, and primarily by major nations, such as Great Britain or France. Additionally, with only a limited number of members, there were not many available resources to prevent war to the extent that was envisioned, in which it is believed that, had the United States joined, there would be a much larger support to prevent war, and possibly, the second world war might have never begun. Furthermore, some nations were barred entry to the league, such as Germany and the Soviet Union. If Germany had been a part of the league, it might have resulted in easier negotiations, greater political relations, which might have reduced tension between nations, calmed the anger of the German people, and even prevented the outbreak of war. However, a main flaw in the league was its lack of a private armed forces, in which it depended on member nations to act, but none of the members were ready for war, and didn’t provide support. Furthermore, the leagues two largest and most prevalent members, Britain and France, were reluctant to resort in military actions. All of these factors added up to an inability to complete the league’s purpose, with the start of war.
Conclusion
Amidst many reasons for the outbreak of World War Two, such as Japanese Militarism, and The Great Depression, it is difficult to conclude what the main causes are. However, out of all of the reasons for the catastrophe, all but three can be pushed aside. As was shown by this essay, the three main points, in which caused World War Two, are the Treaty of Versailles, Nazi Germany, and the failure of the League of Nations. As has been shown above, these three have the most evidence behind them, and have the most direct influences on the events that took place in the time period.
Bibliography (not complete)
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/treaty-of-versailles
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-treaty-of-versailles/
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nazi-party
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/adolf-hitler
https://www.historyonthenet.com/adolph-hitler/