essay on causes of world war 2

The Causes of WWII

The origins of the Second World War (1939-45) may be traced back to the harsh peace settlement of the First World War (1914-18) and the economic crisis of the 1930s, while more immediate causes were the aggressive invasions of their neighbours by Germany, Italy , and Japan . A weak and divided Europe , an isolationist USA, and an opportunistic USSR were all intent on peace, but the policy of appeasement only delivered what everyone most feared: another long and terrible world war.

The main causes of WWII were:

• The harsh Treaty of Versailles
• The economic crisis of the 1930s
• The rise of fascism
• Germany's rearmament
• The cult of Adolf Hitler
• The policy of appeasement by Western powers
• Treaties of mutual interest between Axis Powers
• Lack of treaties between the Allies
• The territorial expansion of Germany, Italy, and Japan
• The Nazi-Soviet Pact
• The invasion of Poland in September 1939
• The Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour

Treaty of Versailles

Germany was defeated in the First World War, and the victors established harsh terms to ensure that some of the costs of the war were recuperated and to prevent Germany from becoming a future threat. With European economies and populations greatly damaged by the war, the victors were in no mood to be lenient since Germany had almost won and its industry was still intact. Germany remained a dangerous state. However, Britain and France did not want a totally punitive settlement, as this might lead to lasting resentment and make Germany unable to become a valuable market for exports.

The peace terms were set out in the Treaty of Versailles, signed by all parties except the USSR on 28 June 1919. The Rhineland must be demilitarised to act as a buffer zone between Germany and France. All colonies and the Saar, a coal-rich area of western Germany, were removed from German authority. Poland was given the industrial area of Upper Silesia and a corridor to the sea, which included Danzig (Gdánsk) and cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany. France regained the regions of Alsace and Lorraine. Germany had to pay war reparations to France and Belgium. Germany had limits on its armed forces and could not build tanks, aircraft, submarines, or battleships. Finally, Germany was to accept complete responsibility, that is the guilt, for starting the war. Many Germans viewed the peace terms as highly dishonourable.

The settlement established nine new countries in Eastern Europe, a recipe for instability since all of them disputed their borders, and many contained large minority groups who claimed to be part of another country. Germany, Italy, and Russia, once powerful again after the heavy costs of WWI, looked upon these fledgling states with imperialist envy.

In the 1920s, Germany signed two important treaties. The Locarno Treaty of 1925 guaranteed Germany's western borders but allowed some scope for change in the east. The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed by 56 countries. All the major powers promised not to conduct foreign policy using military means. In 1929, Germany's reparations as stipulated by the Treaty of Versailles were reduced from £6.6 million to £2 million. In 1932, the reparations were cancelled altogether. This was all very promising, but through the 1930s, the complex web of European diplomacy began to quickly unravel in a climate of economic decline.

Economic Crisis

The Great Depression, sparked off by the Wall Street stock-market crash of 1929, resulted in a crisis in many economies through the 1930s. There was a collapse in world trade , prices, and employment. In Germany in 1923, there was hyperinflation, which made savings worthless, a blow many of the German middle class never forgot. The regular loans from the United States (the Dawes Plan), upon which the German economy depended, stopped. There was a hostile attitude amongst many states as international trade collapsed. The USA, the world's most important money lender, pursued an isolationist strategy. Britain and France looked only to their empires. Protectionism and trade tariffs became the norm.

Germany became determined to reach self-sufficiency and not rely on world trade partners, a policy that required the acquisition of natural resources through military occupation. Germany saw the route out of the financial mess as one of massive rearmament which would create jobs in factories and the armed forces. The policy involved not only stockpiling weapons but also creating an economy geared towards total war, where the armaments industry was given priority in terms of resources, energy, factories, and skilled workers.

Hitler & the Nazi Party

Nationalist fascist parties were doing well across Europe. From 1922, Italy was ruled by Benito Mussolini (l. 1883-1945), leader of the fascist party there. By 1939, Spain had a fascist ruler in General Franco (l. 1892-1975). In Germany, Adolf Hitler (l. 1889-1945) was the leader of the fascist National Socialist Party (Nazi Party), the largest party after the July and November elections of 1932. There were even fascist parties in democracies like Britain. Charismatic leaders were turning popular nationalist feelings into a much more sinister way of thinking: fascism. Fascist parties, although not exactly the same in different countries, did have some key goals in common. Fascist leaders wanted absolute power and to achieve this new order they emphasised "conformism, hostility to outsiders, routine violence, contempt for the weak, and extreme hatred of dissident opinions" (Dear, 274). Fascist parties initially gained popularity as opponents to communism, seen as a threat by many ever since the Russian Revolution of 1917. Indeed, in Western countries, a deep suspicion of communism prevented a powerful political and military alliance from being formed with the USSR, which might ultimately have avoided war.

Hitler promised the humiliation of Versailles would be revenged and that Germany would be made great again. Many Germans believed they had been betrayed by the high command of the army in WWI and were tired of the endless round of ineffective coalition governments since the war. Hitler, with no connections to the established elite, offered a new beginning, and most of all, he promised jobs and bread in a period when unemployment and poverty were at extremely high levels. The Nazi party promised a dynamic economy which would power German expansion, seen as a glorious endeavour, with the virtues of war championed. Nazism called for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. Nazism identified its principal internal enemies as Jews, Slavs , Communists and trade unionists, all people who were holding Germany back from realising its full potential the Nazis claimed. Nazism called for an international struggle where Germans could achieve their destiny and prove themselves the master race. Such ideas, none of which were radically new, meant war was inevitable. The argument that totalitarian regimes require wars and liberal democracies require peace to prosper may be simplistic but has some validity. Hitler promised the new Third Reich would last for 1,000 years and, using propaganda, show, and brutal repression of alternative ideas, many believed him as he expertly tapped into long-held views in Germany and Austria. As F. McDonough states, "Hitler was the drummer of an old tune accompanied by modern instruments" (93).

In January 1933, the German President Paul von Hindenburg (l. 1847-1934), having run out of all other options, invited Hitler to become Chancellor. After systematically crushing any opposition, Hitler began to put his domestic policies into practice and establish a totalitarian regime, everything he had written in his book Mein Kampf ( My Struggle ) back in 1924. When Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler effectively merged the positions of President and Chancellor and declared himself Germany's leader or Führer. Hitler had become the state, and all that was now needed for him to achieve his impossible dream was a rearmed Germany.

Germany's Rearmament

Hitler was determined to rebuild the nation's armed forces. Rearmament rocketed despite the restrictions of Versailles, which Hitler formally repudiated in March 1935. The army was already four times bigger than permitted. Eventually, Western powers were obliged to take a damage-limitation approach. In June 1935, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was signed, which capped the German navy's strength to 35% of the Royal Navy and allowed Hitler to build giant new ships like the battleship Bismarck .

In another instance of the cult of Adolf Hitler, all armed forces personnel had to swear allegiance to Hitler personally. Thanks to rearmament, Germany had achieved near-full employment by 1938. Hitler had fulfilled his promises to the German people. Germany's new war machine came at a cost. Rearming necessitated huge imports of raw materials, and these could not be bought for much longer as Germany's balance of payments went into tilt from 1939. Occupying territories where these resources could be found seemed a simple solution to the problem. Crucially, Germany had an arms advantage over its enemies, but this situation would not last long. For Hitler, the time to strike was now.

Appeasement

Allowing Germany to rearm was part of the policy of appeasement: giving reasonable concessions to avoid the total disaster of war. Appeasement, which was pursued by Britain, France, and the United States, did not mean peace at any price, but the problem with the policy was that it did give, step by step, aggressive powers the impression that their continued aggression might not necessarily lead to a wider war. To review these steps, we must look at global politics in the early 1930s.

The League of Nations (forerunner of today's United Nations) was established after WWI to ensure international disputes were settled and world peace was maintained. Although US President Woodrow Wilson (in office 1913-21) was instrumental in forming the League, crucially, the United States never joined it, seriously weakening the organisation. Germany joined in 1926 but left in 1933; Japan left the same year. The League proved to be utterly incapable of achieving its aims, as was shown most starkly by its failure to prevent Japan's invasion of Manchuria in September 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in October 1935. Hitler no doubt watched these events and the League's total lack of a military response with particular interest as, with his own armed forces rejuvenated, he prepared to expand Germany's borders.

From 1933 to 1935, Hitler had pursued an ambiguous foreign policy, sometimes promising he had peaceful intentions. He caused confusion with such diplomatic conjuring tricks as a peace treaty with Poland in January 1934 and a statement later the same year that he had no intention of merging Austria into the Reich. Then, from 1935, his plans became ever clearer, even if some historians maintain the Führer actually had no plans at all but was merely seizing opportunities as his enemies presented them. Some historians claim Hitler was not entirely free to act as he would wish, due to constraints within the rather chaotic and factional Nazi party. In March 1935, the Saar was reunified with Germany following a plebiscite. The same year, conscription was announced. In March 1936, Germany occupied the Rhineland. In October, Germany and Italy became formal allies with the Rome -Berlin Axis. In November 1936, Italy and Germany (and later Japan) signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, a treaty of mutual cooperation in empire -building and a united front against communism. In March 1938, Hitler achieved the Anschluss, the formal unification of Germany and Austria. Encouraged by the League of Nations' lack of a strong response, Hitler then occupied the Sudetenland, the industrial area of Czechoslovakia which shared a border with Germany, the excuse being a German minority there was being repressed. Again, the Western powers made no military reaction despite France and the USSR having signed a treaty of assistance with the Czechs. The Munich Agreement of September 1938 was signed between Germany, France, Italy, and Britain, which accepted Germany's new, expanded borders. The USSR was not invited, a lost and last opportunity to present a united front against fascism – perhaps here was the real price of pursuing a policy of appeasement to the exclusion of any other possible strategies. The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (served 1937-40), fluttering before journalists a piece of paper Hitler had signed, confidently declared that he had achieved "peace with honour" (Dear, 597) and that we now had "peace in our time" (McDonough, 121). Chamberlain was nominated for that year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Appeasement was an attractive policy to Western leaders since the horrors of the last war were still fresh in everyone's minds. France, in particular, was politically weak in this period, experiencing 16 coalition governments through the 1930s. Britain feared losing its empire if weakened by another great war. Public opinion was overwhelmingly against war and rearmament in Britain, France, and the United States. Further, it was by no means certain that Hitler would continue to expand Germany's borders; certainly, he had promised he had no additional ambitions beyond restoring Germany to its previous territories before WWI. Finally, appeasement, even if not actually believed to be a policy with any chance of success, did gain crucial time for Western powers to follow Germany's lead and rearm. In Britain and France, there were, too, strong lobbies which considered rearmament a waste of resources in economically turbulent times and pointed out that Germany was Britain's fifth largest customer for its exports. Hindsight has shown that appeasement was folly since Hitler was intent on occupying as much of Europe as he possibly could, and his track record of breaking treaties proved negotiation was pointless. Keeping the Czech heavy industry out of German hands was probably a better point to go to war over than the subsequent invasion of Poland, but Britain, France, and the USSR were simply not then equipped for war. Not until 1939 did these countries seriously begin to establish economies geared to war.

Invasion of Poland

In 1939, there was further significant activity by Germany and Italy in their quest to occupy more and more of Europe. In March 1939, Germany absorbed the rest of Czechoslovakia and Memel (part of Lithuania) into the Third Reich. Increasingly appalled by the Nazis' attacks on German Jews, Western powers now began to question if negotiating with such a regime could ever be justified on moral grounds. Appeasement was finally dead.

On 31 March, Britain and France promised to guarantee Poland's borders, and in April, this was extended to Romania. Turkey and Greece also began talks of mutual protection with Britain and France. It had finally dawned on leaders in Britain and France that the fascists were intent on territorial expansion at any cost. There was already a localised war going on, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, which directly involved German and Italian military hardware on the one side and Soviet aid on the other. In April, Italy occupied Albania. At the end of the same month, Hitler repudiated the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. In May 1939, Italy and Germany signed a military alliance, the ‘Pact of Steel'.

Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter!

In August 1939, Germany agreed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (Nazi-Soviet Pact), named after the foreign ministers of each state. The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (l. 1878-1953) was increasingly aware that Britain and France seemed perfectly willing to appease Hitler as long as he moved eastwards in his direction. The possibility of 'collective security' (Britain, France, and the USSR working together) was not realised because of a lack of trust between the parties. The Nazi-Soviet Pact, in contrast, allowed Stalin to grab eastern Poland and keep the USSR out of a war for a while, gaining precious time for rearmament. Perhaps, too, the possibility for Germany to wage war only in the West against Britain and France – Stalin's 'blank cheque' for Hitler – would sufficiently weaken all three so that they could no longer threaten the USSR.

Europe was a tinder box awaiting a single spark that would explode it into war. The spark came soon enough with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. The next day Chamberlain warned Hitler war would follow if Germany did not withdraw. Hitler ignored the ultimatum. On 3 September, Britain and France, in order to protect free and independent nations, declared war on Germany. Italy, waiting in the wings to see what might happen to its advantage, remained neutral for the time being. The world, too, awaited with bated breath to see what would happen next. The unexpected answer was nothing at all.

The 'phoney war', when the Allies and Axis powers did not directly confront each other, lasted until April 1940 when Germany invaded Norway. In May, Germany invaded the Low Countries and France. Germany proved unstoppable, and by the end of June, France had fallen. In October, Italy invaded Greece. In 1941, Germany occupied Yugoslavia. Britain was left alone to fight for its survival until Hitler invaded the USSR in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa).

The war became a global conflict when Japan attacked the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. Japan had already invaded Eastern China over concern at the rise in Chinese nationalism and then occupied most of South East Asia in search of imperial glory and natural resources, especially oil, whose import was restricted by a US embargo. Japan perhaps hoped events in Europe would prevent any direct reaction against them, but the United States did finally join the conflict. Peace would not be achieved until the world had suffered four more long and bitter years of war.

Subscribe to topic Bibliography Related Content Books Cite This Work License

Bibliography

• Dear, I. C. B. & Foot, M. R. D. The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press, 1995.
• Dülffer. Nazi Germany, 1933-1945 - Faith & Annihilation by Dülffer, Jost [Paperback ]. Blomsbury USA, Paperback(2009), 2009.
• Holmes, Richard. The World at War. Ebury Press, 2007.
• Liddell Hart, B. History of the Second World War. Caxton, 1989
• McDonough, Frank. The Origins of the First and Second World Wars . Cambridge University Press, 1997.
• Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich. Simon & Schuster, 1997.
• Taylor, A.J.P. The Origins of The Second World War. Simon & Schuster, 1996.

About the Author

Translations

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate this article into another language!

Questions & Answers

What were the three main causes of world war 2, which event started world war ii, why did the allies not stop hitler earlier than they did, related content.

Causes of the Hundred Years' War

Causes of the English Civil Wars

The Crusades: Causes & Goals

Causes of the Wars of the Roses

Second Punic War

War of the Second Coalition

Free for the world, supported by you.

World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.

In this age of AI and fake news, access to accurate information is crucial. Every month our fact-checked encyclopedia enables millions of people all around the globe to learn about history, for free. Please support free history education for only $5 per month!

External Links

Cite this work.

Cartwright, M. (2024, March 26). The Causes of WWII . World History Encyclopedia . Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2409/the-causes-of-wwii/

Chicago Style

Cartwright, Mark. " The Causes of WWII ." World History Encyclopedia . Last modified March 26, 2024. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2409/the-causes-of-wwii/.

Cartwright, Mark. " The Causes of WWII ." World History Encyclopedia . World History Encyclopedia, 26 Mar 2024. Web. 12 Oct 2024.

License & Copyright

Submitted by Mark Cartwright , published on 26 March 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike . This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

• What Were The Main Causes Of World War II?

World War II  began on September 1, 1939, when  Germany invaded Poland . However, while this invasion was the sparkplug for the conflict, its underlying roots went back decades. Indeed, the legacy of the  First World War , economic turmoil in  Germany ,  Adolf Hitler 's worldview, Allied incompetence, and Japanese territorial expansion all contributed to the beginning of the war. 

World War I And The Conspiracies It Fostered 

World War I ended in November 1918. Having failed to win any sort of decisive victory on the Western Front, Germany signed the November 11 armistice as the loser in the conflict. However, this outcome angered many Germans, causing widespread domestic unrest that included mutinies, attempted coups, and assassinations. Amidst this turmoil, conspiracy theories emerged about what "actually" happened at the war's end. The most popular of these theories was the "stab-in-the-back" myth, the notion that Jewish and communist politicians had betrayed the army by accepting the armistice. Drawing on these beliefs, the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP, or Nazi Party) eventually rose to power.

The Consequences Of The Treaty Of Versailles

One must also consider the  Treaty of Versailles , the peace treaty signed after World War I when assessing the causes of World War II. The terms of this agreement were as follows: Germany needed to give up all of its colonies and a significant portion of its European territory. There was also a stipulation that the German Army would be reduced to 100,000 men and that the Rhineland would be demilitarized. Germany was also forced to pay the equivalent of 33 billion American dollars in reparations to the Allied countries and take sole responsibility for the war. Much like the November Armistice, anger towards the Treaty of Versailles helped the Nazis rise to power. Furthermore, as will now be demonstrated, the agreement led to economic catastrophe in Germany. 

German Economic Turmoil In The 1920s And 1930s

To pay off the aforementioned reparations payments, the German government began printing money, resulting in  hyperinflation . Thus, by November 1923, one American dollar was worth 4.2 trillion Reichsmark (RMS). But, following the introduction of a new currency, the Retenmark, and the Dawes Plan, a more manageable series of reparations payments, the economy began to stabilize in 1924. This was all undone, however, with the onset  Great Depression  in 1929, and 33% of the working population was unemployed by February 1932. When combined with lingering anger toward the Treaty of Versailles and memories of the early 1920s, this paved the way for the rise of the Nazis. Indeed, after several elections in which they gained more and more support, Adolf Hitler was finally named chancellor on  January 30, 1933 . With the Nazis in power, Europe was now significantly closer to war. 

Hitler's Worldview

The major reason this was the case can be attributed to Hitler's worldview. To Hitler, "struggle," specifically struggle between races, characterized the nature of the world. Furthermore, he believed that gaining access to living space ( Lebensraum ) in the East, in particular the  Soviet Union  (USSR), was critical for the victory of the "Aryan race." This belief needs to be understood in conjunction with his understanding of Slavs and Jews. To Hitler, Slavs were inferior to Aryans, whereas Jews stood outside his racial hierarchy. Thus, "the Jews" were able to subvert the struggle-based nature of the world by introducing ideas, democracy, human rights, capitalism, and communism. Hitler thought that this was what happened in the First World War and was obsessed with preventing another such subversion of nature. This obsession, paired with the belief that the USSR was a Slavic state run by Jews, informed most of the Nazis' foreign policy decisions.

The Failure Of Appeasement

Another major reason for the Second World War was the Allies' failure to stop Hitler's aggressive foreign policy. For instance, in 1935, he reintroduced conscription. Then, on March 7, 1936, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland. Despite these actions clearly violating the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies did nothing, hoping that giving Hitler what he wanted would prevent another war. However, this inaction only made him more aggressive. In March 1938,  Germany annexed Austria.  The Sudetenland, a region of  Czechoslovakia  that contained mostly German speakers, was  annexed in the autumn of 1938 , followed by an invasion of the rest of the country in early 1939. Ultimately, the invasion of  Poland  on September 1, 1939 was the final straw for the Allies, with  France  and the  United Kingdom  (UK) declaring war on Germany days later. By all accounts, appeasement had failed.

Japan's Desire For Territorial Expansion

Germany was not the only world power making aggressive foreign policy maneuvers during this period. Indeed, in the second half of the 1800s,  Japan  experienced massive population and economic growth. However, a lack of good farmland and few natural resources necessitated imperialism to sustain this prosperity. Thus, in the late 1920s, after years of military and diplomatic pressures, China gave Japan control of Manchuria's railways. Japanese forces then invaded Manchuria in September 1931 following a  self-inflicted railway bombing  and set up a puppet regime. Finally, following an exchange of fire between Chinese and Japanese soldiers near Peking in July 1937, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China. With that, the  war in Asia  began.

In conclusion, the legacy of World War I needs to be understood as a cause of World War II. Furthermore, Hitler's worldview should be considered when assessing the motivations of key actors. Moreover, the Allies' desperation to avoid another conflict ultimately contributed to increasing tensions. Finally, Japan's desire for territorial expansion was the sparkplug for war in Asia. 

More in History

The 10 Largest Cities of the Medieval World

The Barbarian Successor Kingdoms of the Western Roman Empire

Caral-Supe, The Peruvian Architectural Marvel As Old As Ancient Egypt’s Pyramids

These Ancient Roman Inventions Are Still Used Today

The World's Greatest Ancient Cities

The Roman Empire During the Flavian Dynasty

11 Unresolved Questions About Ancient Rome

How Did The First Palestinian Intifada Begin?

Home — Essay Samples — War — Aftermath of World War II — The Causes and Effects of World War II: A Comprehensive Analysis

The Causes and Effects of World War Ii: a Comprehensive Analysis

• Categories: Aftermath of World War II Effects of War

About this sample

Words: 620 |

Published: Jun 6, 2024

Words: 620 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, the treaty of versailles and economic instability, rise of totalitarian regimes, failure of appeasement and the league of nations, body paragraph 4: global effects of world war ii.

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr. Karlyna PhD

Verified writer

• Expert in: War

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

8 pages / 3615 words

3 pages / 1584 words

2 pages / 753 words

1 pages / 532 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Aftermath of World War II

Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Schocken, 1997.Szabłowski, Zenon. 'Between Forgiveness and Unforgiveness.' UNESCO Courier, vol. 52, no. 11, 1999, pp. 41-43.Behreandt, Dennis. [...]

World War II (WW2) stands as one of the most defining events of the 20th century, reshaping the course of history. This essay will meticulously explore the multifaceted dimensions of WW2, encompassing its historical and cultural [...]

World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, was a global conflict between two military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The Axis alliance consisted of Japan, Italy, and Germany, while the Allies alliance included France, [...]

Anthony Doerr’s remarkable novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” is a literary piece that moves briskly, efficiently, and beautifully in precise and pristine sentences. Every sentence is a lyrical poetry that the author [...]

World War 2 lasted from 1939 to 1945 with majority of battle being fought overseas. Once Australia was heavily involved, over 200,000 women joined various work forces. Whilst in the beginning women felt helpless fighting the war [...]

In the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War, the world was in ruins because of the mass destruction brought upon it. It was recorded that in the 1990’s, one of the deadliest genocide cases since World War II had occurred [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

The Causes and Consequences of World War Two Cause and Effect Essay

Introduction, consequences of world war two, causes of world war two, european war, pacific war, works cited.

World War Two, which started in 1939 and ended in 1945, caused more deaths, several countries got involved and a lot of money was used than any other war in global history. Above 60 million army men participated in the war and about 18,000 soldiers died during the war.

Around 20,000 million soviet people, seven million Jews in European, and 11 million Chinese were killed in World War Two (Nash & Graves 67). This war was actually an international war since around 75 nations participated in the war and this conflict happened on Europe, Asia, and Africa continents.

It also took place on the high seas. The war is believed to have been motivated by Germany and Japan and it came with severe consequences which, to some extent, exist. This paper discusses the causes and consequences of World War Two.

Geopolitical

As shown above, around 50,000 deaths were reported, which represented 3% of the world population. Some studies reported that the war caused around 62 to 80 million deaths, and this made it the deadliest fighting in the global history in terms of reported number of deaths compared with the world population (Foner 947).

World War Two showed a huge fault in the international power structure and when this structure was unsuccessful, the outcomes were severe and disastrous. The inconceivable degrees of devastation in the war made several countries to decline a balance of power system.

Alternatively, the successful nations launched a system of collective security through the League of Nations where assault by any nation would cause other nations to react. However, after World War Two, this process did not work since each nation had different views and ideologies.

The British Empire decolonization was not actually caused by World War Two but relatively due to several continuous practices like increase of anti-colonist movements which upset the way of colonization by British Empire.

Thus, irrespective of the timing of the World War Two, the British Empire could have been caused to undergo decolonization afterward but the fighting aided to accelerate the process. Europe’s supremacy was damaged and new institutions assisted in weakening the colonization of Europeans in Africa.

The Soviet Union and United States became more powerful and both were against colonization of Europeans in Africa. Some of the European powers, such as France and Britain, faced hard time sustaining their domains both economically and physiologically (Hill 56).

The course of European integration which facilitated the creation of European Union (EU) started immediately after World War Two and it was partially motivated by the occurrence of that disastrous war.

Some heads of Europe like Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman decided that any war would not be allowed to demolish the European nations. The best way to protect this promise was to unite all the European nations that they would not fight one another.

The Cold war was established after World War Two and was intended to control global affairs for decades and several major crises happened such as Berlin Wall and Cuban Missile Crisis.

Several people and nations were worried about the developments of mass destruction. Most theories claim that as the USSR and USA was in same position during Second World War (Nash and Graves 65), their association after the fight was predicted to be strong and sociable but this never actually occurred and any emergence that both were allies in the war seems misleading.

Holocausts particularly aimed Jews and most people did not understand or were not bothered with that. Before the war, some nations which allowed fleeing Jews had firm quotas, and in the war several other persons except Jews were killed also.

Actually, several people furtively followed the Nazi strategy and expected that they would be killed like vermin, and this was mostly due to established anti-Semitism in Europe.

Domestically

Huge legacy was left by the depression and New Deal made people to depend on government for assistance instead of Private donations. After the Second World War, every government tried to prevent the reoccurrence of the Great Depression and economic plans was created to be firm and more inflationary.

Having the gold standards vanished, governments had increased liberty to customize their economies with growth of credit and money. The protectionism of 1930s facilitated the post-war attempts to decrease tariffs and other business blockades.

Lastly, the inconsistence of exchange rates which happened after countries left gold standards prompted the formation of the Breton Woods structure of fixed exchange rates in 1945. This system stated that all currencies were to sustain fixed exchange rates relative to U.S. currency, but this arrangement collapsed in 1970s (Hill 68).

After the end of Second World War, the GI Bill facilitated the formation of so-called middle class in United States, permitting people who served an opportunity for schooling. The legacy of GI Bill is exist, but currently the aid, if provides, hardly attain veterans’ costs.

Governmental influence of science at the course of the Second World War shows the government administration on growth of technology which offers several benefits to the communities, economies, and armed forces in their plans during the fighting.

After the United States got involved in the war, taxation became directly linked with national survival and top rate attained 90% (Nash and Graves 121). In 1944, the government enforced a maintenance system on income tax payers, creating process simpler and increasing the country’s income in the same year which was an essential aid in the wartime.

After the war, the income taxes somewhat decreased, simply the increase after the some times. Japanese were put into internment sites and this internment happened although they had been registered citizens of America and even through they did not create any threat.

Before their displacement, they had experienced several issues, for instance Japanese bank accounts in United States had been frozen. Some of the political leaders were relocated or arrested and their relatives were not informed about their whereabouts. Most Japanese lost their homes or sold them with a loss.

The Gathering Storm (1930s), German and Japan Ambitions

In the Gathering Storm, written by Sir Winston Churchill Book, stated that Second World War was motivated by unhealthy ambitions of Adolf Hitler who was reluctantly helped gutless and unreliable French and British leaders who chose conciliation above resistance (Nash and Graves, 121).

In the start of 1950s, roughly all diplomatic history on the causes of Second World War went with Churchill’s aim in reproving French and British leaders for pacification in the 1930s (Foner 948). Hitler’s intentions to expand it boundaries was one main cause of the war.

The German participation on the war did not actually influenced America to get involved in the war, but Japanese made them participate after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Relatively, this attack accelerated the motive for United States to respond and declared total war against Germany since several Americans considered that Germany was either a partner or the director of Japan.

This made Hitler to be guilty just like Japan for the assault on Pearl Harbor. The assault on Pearl Harbor was the crucial point for United States to participate in Second World War (Hill, 2003, p. 2).

US Isolationism

Poland was attacked by Germany, and this caused France and Britain to go for war against Germany. United States was considered to be in a state of Isolationism and did not wish to participate in the war. After America was attacked, they declared war against Japan and Germany.

If Germany could not have declared war, people would have not supported Roosevelt government for the decision to participate in war. Hill (5) stated that there is no more explanations of the intentions for the new United States policy of European attacks are provided and United States revenge to German participation in war is projected to be patently obvious.

Soviet Manpower-Economic Revival

The World War Two was very severe and all the countries which participated were led to the moral and physical survival, where most of them faced huge impact of their economy and labor. Soviet countries were forced to experience very depths of moral and physical survival.

Most countries experienced manpower shortage and no other war had brought these sufferings in the world history. It took sometimes for countries to revive to their usual position. Civilians and fighters participated in this war and both parties were victims or died.

American Economy and Air supremacy

The impacts of war were varied and extensive and it determinedly finished the depression itself. The federal government appeared from the war to act as a possible economic player where there had a capacity to control economic actions and to, in part, manage economy through expenditure and consumption (Nash and Graves 129).

American industry was regenerated by Second World War and several industries were, by 1946, either piercingly willing to protect their assets or fully reliant on them (Atomic energy).

To be effective and stronger, some means have to be enforced and use of air planes act as effective methods to provide a major impact as an air supremacy fighter.

For instance, the Me-262 jet fighter was debatably the preeminent fighter plane of Second World War, especially against United States heavy bombers, but was implemented late in the war and it merely had a smallest influence.

American theater commandants went for the options for planes and they created their plans around the necessity for strategic air superiority. In 1943 in Pacific, the allies won the battleground air superiority (Foner 58). This showed that the Allies would enforce their strike forces anywhere they content and overpower the opponent with a prevalence of weapons.

In mid 1942, Japanese Admiral wanted to take the United States pacific Fleet into a fight where they would overpower and demolish it. They positioned themselves in Midway Island so that they could plan effectively the attack on Hawaii.

Through the application of decrypted Japanese radio intercepts, they were capable of offsetting the insult. After a month, United States aircraft attacked and ruined four Japanese shippers, making Yamamoto to surrender and the battle of Midway reported the defining moment of Second World War in the Pacific.

Firebombing and A-Bombing

Firebombing is a way of bombing intended to destroy a target place by using fire which is produced by inflammable devices, instead of blast effects of huge bombs.

Japanese firebombing caused more death and demolition than the A-bombs and probably powerful firebombing of bordering regions and all plants could perhaps have permitted the United States arm forces ultimately to overpower Japan, but the number of deaths would have been nearly unthinkable. It might have led U.S. not to use A-bombing (Nash and Graves 125).

After the Battle of Midway, it was a clear indication to the American people and soldiers from both sides that Japan would not win the war. Just through strategic standards, Americans had more benefits.

Superior industry and several options to fuel its industry permitted it to extend it naval resources more than Japanese would ever expect to challenge. In order for the war to end, there were orders to attack Japan with a nuclear weapon. It was first dropped in Hiroshima.

Upon bomb explosion, around 80,000 people were killed instantly from the extensive heat produced from the explosion. About 60,000 more civilians died from the radiation-related diseases which accompanied the explosion. Another atomic bomb were dropped in Nagasaki and caused additional deaths (Hill 79).

Second World War cost all countries several casualties and more than 60 million deaths were reported. In United States alone, 400,000 people died and in both international and domestic affairs, its outcomes were extensive and some are still being felt currently (Hill 79).

Depression ended because of Second World War and caused several married women to enter labor force, radically extended existence of Government in United States citizens, and started wide changes in the lives of the country’s minority people.

Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: an American history. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2008. Print.

Hill, Richard. Hitler Attacks. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003. Print.

Nash, Roderick and Gregory Graves. From these beginnings: a biographical approach to American history, Volume 2. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005. Print.

• Critical Analysis of “Walking Since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Heart of Our Century” by Modris Eksteins
• World War 2 Consequences
• Tennyson’s Ulysses Poem Essay
• The Life of a Freedom Fighter in Post WWII Palestine
• Controversies of World War II
• World War II History
• The Use of Atomic Bomb in Japan: Causes and Consequences
• History of U.S. Film
• The Intelligence Failures of Operation Barbarossa
• The invasion of Normandy
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, April 4). The Causes and Consequences of World War Two. https://ivypanda.com/essays/second-world-war-2/

"The Causes and Consequences of World War Two." IvyPanda , 4 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/second-world-war-2/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'The Causes and Consequences of World War Two'. 4 April.

IvyPanda . 2019. "The Causes and Consequences of World War Two." April 4, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/second-world-war-2/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Causes and Consequences of World War Two." April 4, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/second-world-war-2/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Causes and Consequences of World War Two." April 4, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/second-world-war-2/.

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

• Basic site functions
• Ensuring secure, safe transactions
• Secure account login
• Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
• Remembering privacy and security settings
• Analyzing site traffic and usage
• Personalized search, content, and recommendations
• Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

• Remembering general and regional preferences
• Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy .

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy .

Exploring the Root Causes of World War II

This essay about the cause of WW2 examines the complex web of political, economic, and social factors that led to the outbreak of the war, discussing the role of key figures and nations in the conflict’s escalation.

How it works

World War II, a global cataclysm, stemmed from multifaceted factors. Central was the Treaty of Versailles’ harsh terms on Germany post-World War I, fueling resentment and economic distress. This environment enabled the rise of totalitarian regimes like Nazi Germany under Hitler, whose expansionist and racially motivated policies defied the fragile peace. The Great Depression further destabilized nations, making extremist ideologies appealing.

Key powers, notably Britain and France, initially chose appeasement, misjudging Hitler’s ambitions, thereby enabling his aggressive conquests. The League of Nations’ ineffectiveness in maintaining collective security further emboldened Axis powers.

Additionally, Japan’s imperialist ambitions in Asia intensified global tensions. The culmination was Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, a direct trigger of the war. World War II’s roots lay in a complex interplay of political failure, economic hardship, and aggressive nationalism, underscoring the fragility of peace in an interconnected world.

Cite this page

Exploring the Root Causes of World War II. (2024, Feb 05). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/exploring-the-root-causes-of-world-war-ii/

"Exploring the Root Causes of World War II." PapersOwl.com , 5 Feb 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/exploring-the-root-causes-of-world-war-ii/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Exploring the Root Causes of World War II . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/exploring-the-root-causes-of-world-war-ii/ [Accessed: 12 Oct. 2024]

"Exploring the Root Causes of World War II." PapersOwl.com, Feb 05, 2024. Accessed October 12, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/exploring-the-root-causes-of-world-war-ii/

"Exploring the Root Causes of World War II," PapersOwl.com , 05-Feb-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/exploring-the-root-causes-of-world-war-ii/. [Accessed: 12-Oct-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Exploring the Root Causes of World War II . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/exploring-the-root-causes-of-world-war-ii/ [Accessed: 12-Oct-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers