WORLD WAR II - Causes

WORLD WAR II

Causes 

1. Humiliating Treaty of Versailles – Germany was the most discontented and angry nation due to the imposition of the Treaty of Versailles on her. It was a dictated treaty that humiliated her. It was vindictive and unjust. By the treaty of Versailles, Germany lost territories in Europe. Her overseas colonies were taken away and her military strength was reduced to minimal. Germany was blamed for the war and asked to pay a huge indemnity, which was beyond her capacity. Thus, the Treaty of Versailles created hatred among the Germans against the allied powers and she wanted to take revenge. Thus, the Treaty of Versailles contained in itself the seed of the Second World War.

 

2. Aggressive nationalism and Imperialism – formed an important factor in creating international tension and rivalry. England, France and other countries, which were talking about international peace and understanding, had big empires. Germany, Italy and Japan got ready for war and imperialist expansion, as they also wanted big empires and be on par with their rivals. Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo, by creating a strong spirit of aggressive nationalism and militant imperialism, paved the way for the Second World War.

 

3. Problem of National Minorities – The causes of the Second World War related to the failure of the peace terms of 1919-1920. By annexing territories from the defeated nations, the peacemakers sowed the seeds of bitterness and conflict. The population was dissatisfied, and this was exploited by dictators.

 

4. Failure of Democracy and rise of Dictatorship – Following the First World War, democratic governments were established in different European countries, especially Italy and Germany. However, these democratic governments failed to solve political, economic and social problems in their respective countries. The political instability and corruption among the politicians led to the collapse of democratic governments and led to the rise of dictatorship. The dictators created confidence and hope among the people and provided political stability. However, the rise of dictatorship proved to be dangerous to world peace.

 

5. Failure of the League of Nations – Another important cause of the Second World War was the miserable failure of the League of Nations in its primary duty of preventing the race for armaments and punishing nations, which committed acts of aggression. The league was dominated by the big imperialist powers who were selfish, unfair and corrupt.

 

6. Failure to achieve disarmament – Though Germany was disarmed after the First World War, the victorious allies never attempted to limit their own armaments. A number of attempts were made within and outside the League of Nations to arrive at some settlement regarding disarmament. Disarmament conferences were held at Washington and London at different times, but these did not produce any success. Hitler openly resorted to the rearmament of Germany in violation of the terms of the peace treaty. Other nations also resorted to armament race. The failure to achieve disarmament resulted in tension among the nations and naturally endangered world peace.

 

7. Two armed camps – The emergence of two armed camps in the world after 1937 greatly contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War. With the collapse of collective security under the League of Nations various countries became convinced that they should form their own arrangement for their security and national interest. The Fascist dictatorial powers who had withdrawn from the League of Nations, Italy, Germany and Japan formed the Rome Berlin-Tokyo axis. On the other hand England and France drew closer and cemented their alliance to face the possible threat of the Fascist powers. The existence of the two rival armed camps with differing ideologies and programs brought the world to the brink of war.

 

8. Immediate cause – Invasion of Poland by Germany – The immediate cause of the Second World War was the invasion of Poland by Germany. When Poland refused to concede German demands she was attacked by the German troops on 1st September 1939. The German invasion of Poland drew England and France into the conflict on 3rd September 1939, as both these countries had guaranteed the territorial integrity of Poland. Thus, began the Second World War.