Treaty of Versailles and World War II
World War II came after World War I, which was the war that was thought of as being the war that would end all wars. There are multiple reasons as to why World War II began. The reasons include the repercussions of the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, the economic depression that was occurring worldwide, the rise of military-oriented fascists dictatorships, and the failure of appeasement. World War II showed what nations were the allies and the axis and how the nations worked together not only to bring an end to the war but also for the intentions of the nation, and between the allies and axis the country with the most casualties as a result from such horrific events. During the war, the world came to learn about the holocaust, the ending of the war in the east and west, the historic atomic bombs, and the final result of World War II.
World War II began two decades after the ending of the Great War, which was the first total war, and was considered to have been the 'war to end all wars'. The Great War was later changed to being known as World War I once the war began to break out among European countries for the second time. According to the text, there may be a connection between the two world wars, and World War II cannot be fully comprehended without looking back at the impact the Great War had on those who surrendered and those who won. The start of the Second World War has many causes that include the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, the economic depression that was occurring worldwide, the rise of military-oriented fascists dictatorships, and the failure of appeasement. As stated in the provided video, 'The years following World War I European nations are suffering from the devastation of the lengthy battle and staggering under a heavy burden of debt'. Due to the immense suffering from the war came the Treaty of Versailles was the first step to creating order following World War I, it was a treaty that held a harsh punishment on the losers of the war while being easier on the winners. Germany was on the losing side of the war and the Treaty of Versailles ordered the payment of reparations, loss of territories, restrictions on their armed forces, and lastly, Germany would be forced to accept full responsibility of the war . As stated in the provided video, 'The years following World War I European nations are suffering from the devastation of the lengthy battle and staggering under a heavy burden of debt'. To a country like Germany, that was looking forward to world domination, the treaty was considered demeaning to the Germans, so they considered the treaty as something unfair pushed upon them. As the 1920s were coming to an end, Germany expressed their displeasure to the Treaty of Versailles and the nations surrounding them became concerned about a war breaking out and started to be cautious to avoid the outcome that concerned them.
The economic depression that was occurring worldwide was another cause that leads to the second war. Following the Great War, the economy was depleted which caused problems for the countries involved in the war. Europe was able to pick up the ruins during the 1920s and the economy became stable again. By 1929, the Great Depression began around the world, this led to allies to stop payments on their debt, the stock market crashed in the United States which led to other countries markets to crash as well. According to the video, since the countries could no longer pay off their debts a chain reaction occurred, which discouraged lenders from loaning money to countries in need. The Depression caused an awaking among those who were usually in support of democratic governments, during the 1930s, people noticed that some countries were isolated from the effects of the economic collapse. One of those countries happened to be Nazi Germany, due to Hitler taking advantage of Germany's displeasure and the Depression to advance his political appeal.
The rise of military-oriented fascists dictatorships developed not only in Germany with Hitler, but in Italy with Benito Mussolini, Japan with Emperor Hirohito, and the Soviet Union with Joseph Stalin. Following the Depression, 'existing governments were replaced with powerful, belligerent leaders, who see expansion as a solution to their country's economic problems'. The rise of dictatorships is said to have been one of the major factors that started World War II. The war began on September 1, 1939, with Poland being invaded by Germany. However, with other dictators invading countries in 1931 or 1937, could have marked the start of the war.
Lastly, the failure of appeasement was the final cause of the war. As Hitler began to make major changes to expand his power, creating the Luftwaffe and reentering the Rhineland, all of which breached the Treaty of Versailles. Following his actions, the west created the appeasement, it was supposed to have nations deal with international conflicts by following the demands of their opponents. By 1938, Czechoslovakia, who became an independent nation after World War I, became surrounded by Germans.' Hitler wanted to overtake the Sudetenland, an area in western Czechoslovakia where many Germans lived'.
The allies included Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The axis included Germany, Italy, and Japan. Following the attacks on Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Hitler and the Nazi's moved towards the west to conquer Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of France. This left Britain to fight alone, however, the U.S. worked to provide Britain with supplies to continue the fight, not long after London and parts of Britain were bombed. By 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and Japan attacked Pearl Harbor causing the United States to wage war on Japan. In response to the United States declaring war on Japan, Germany declared war on the United States. This confirmed that Japan and Germany were allies during the war. The Soviet Union and the United States to become allies with Britain to fight Germany. The Soviet Union's leader Stalin, wanted Churchill and Roosevelt to help fight due to the burden of fighting on the Soviet Union, the plan was open a 'second front' in Western Europe, however, the help wouldn't come until June of 1944. During this time, the Soviet Union lost the most casualties in the war, totaling up to the possibility of more than 25 million deaths.
The Holocaust occurred during World War II with Hitler who wanted the Aryan race to spread worldwide, due to him believing it was the superior race. The mass genocide was a process that began as discrimination against Jewish people but later lead to millions of people losing their lives. In 1925, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, where he stated, 'Everything we admire on this earth today—science and art, technology and inventions—is only the creative product of a few peoples and originally perhaps one race [the 'Aryans']. The Holocaust was mass genocide, with the killings of the Jewish, the Roma, the disabled, and gay people. 'Approximately six million Jewish people died in Nazi concentration camps during the war. Also killed were hundreds of thousands of Roma people, and people with mental or physical disabilities'.
World War II came to an end in the east and west following the invasion of Normandy, which caused Hitler to fight at two fronts. This allowed for allied troops to invade Germany from the west, while the Soviet Union invaded from the east. By June of 1945, Germany's defeat was final. The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in August of 1945 resulted in Japan to surrender. The atomic bombs were historic because it occurred in time for the Soviet Union not to enter Japan to fight in the war. According to the text, this was seen as a coincidence, 'For the argument that the decision to use the atomic bomb was based on a desire to scare or impress the Soviet Union'. Finally, the second World War came to its end.
World War II followed two decades after the Great War, which was thought to be the 'war to end all wars'. World War II began for multiple reasons including the repercussions of the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, the economic depression that was occurring worldwide, the rise of military-oriented fascists dictatorships, and the failure of appeasement. Finally, the war came to an end with the defeat of Germany in June 1945 and Japan in August 1945.
