Preview

What Was the Cause of World War 2?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
624 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Was the Cause of World War 2?
What was the Cause of World War 2?

The seeds of World War 2 can be traced all the way back to the first World War.
Many can say that Germany caused both World War 1 and World War 2. As well as the Treaty of Versailles, the main causes for the start of World War 2 was that Germany wanted power over the world, and the failure of The League of Nations. Germany’s desire for power, their economic downfall, and international tensions they provoked sparked World War 2. The Treaty of Versailles did not solve the major problems that caused the first World War. The treaty only weakened the economy of Germany, and it only became worse with the Great Depression coming soon after. “ ...angry, impoverished people voted Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party into power.” ("The Great Depression (Overview)." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013). As you can imagine, this only made things worse. Hitler promised things - that once he was elected into power - pushed away. He wanted the power that Germany had lost with the creation of the Treaty of Versailles, and this was the perfect time to get it back.

By the end of World War 1, Germany’s political and economic system was in ruins. After long years of warfare and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was hopeless. One man wanted to restore Germany and it’s power, that man was Adolf Hitler. Hitler wanted to restore Germany’s prestige that was said to be lost in World War 1. “The country's general economic unrest led to increasing Nazi representation at all levels of government through elections held during the 1920s.” (Fredriksen, John C. "Adolf Hitler." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2013). At first, it only seemed like he wanted to restore Germany’s economy, but it was much more sinister than that. “Once in power, Hitler ruthlessly suppressed civil rights, murdered his political opponents within the Nazi Party during the infamous Night of Long Knives on June

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Why Did World War 2 Start

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the causes of World War 2 was the Treaty of Versailles. Germany lost their land as part of the settlement of World War One. Adolf Hitler believed he was supposed to be the ruler of the world and wanted to reclaim land for Germany. Once he had taken back the land that was stolen, Hitler continued to take more land that did not belong to Germany. He wanted to take over all of Europe (theweek.co.uk).…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War Two was a time of devastation and misfortune for all people in the world. The war lasted for six years, and involved more than 200 countries, costing fifty-five million lives and material damage of some three billion dollars. WWII was said to be the easiest war ever to be prevented, but once it started there was no stopping it. What or who could cause such a devastating war? Many people place the blame on the country of Germany. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, which was the start of the war.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hitler started world war two because the treaty of versaille made germany pay money to other countries that fought in world war one. Remember capitalization! World war two was started by Hitler invading Poland and Britain along with France, which declared war on them. “Within a month, Poland was defeated by a combination of of German and Soviet forces…” Germany, France, and Britain kept going at it until the United States was sucked into it and still kept going at it until the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They all surrendered because they agreed to never use nuclear weapons again.…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There were many direct and indirect causes for World War Two to start, such as, Japan's enormous expansion, Germany’s attack on Poland, and World War One’s repercussions on the involved countries. World War Two across the Pacific was caused by the Nationalists Party of Japan as they wanted to expand and conquer all the East-Asian and Oceanian countries, which caused the need for aggressive reactions from USA, and plunged both countries into the war, even though the US was strongly hoping not to get involved in it (ducksters…). Also, World War One played a massive role in motivating Germany to cause a second world war, as they were forced to pay £6,600 million in reparations to the Allies, and they weren’t too keen to do that (johndclare...).…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War 2 Summary

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There were many events in the world that led to the start of World War 2; however much of it was due to the turmoil left over from the World War 1. The main event of the treaty of Versailles that ended the war between Germany and the allied powers; Germany had lost and the treaty of Versailles held harsh penalties against Germany. Many German people felt what their country owned was too much and much of Germany was poor and hunger stricken. It left the people in dismal conditions and the people sought a leader that would lead them out of the darkness.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginnings of World War II, which started in 1939 and officially ended in 1945, can be linked to the results of World War 1, which ended just two decades before. The Allied nations, who emerged victorious in WWI, imposed bleak punishments on Germany, through the peace treaty agreement known as Treaty of Versailles. Instead of accepting their penalty, Germany became bitter and the harsh terms of the treaty fuelled the rise of nationalism, Economic factors, and Appeasement and isolationism.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Did the Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War II? On June 28th, 1919 the Germans were forced to give up all of their territory, decrease their military strength, pay reparations, and remain guilty of all the events of the Great War due to the treaty of Versailles, and because of that Germany began creating conflicts with other countries which would lead into the second world war. With the loss of territory many were simply kicked out of their country without even knowing it. Unfortunately one of the main factors of warfare was strength in numbers, with many countries having a million men, and after the treaty the Germans were forced to reduce that number to 100,000 which may sound like a lot but at the time it was not much.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The causes of the world war were 4; the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Arms Race, Alliances and the Empire. I think that the most important cause is the Alliances, because if other countries didn’t start coming into Austria-Hungary’s war with Serbia, it wouldn’t have turned into a major war.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This humiliation and anger gave Adolf Hitler the platform to launch his political career. Hitler rose to power by campaigning a Germany United. He vowed to strengthen the economy that suffered the affects of war reparations and the Great Depression. Another pledge that rallied the German people behind him was his goal of defying the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the First World War, Germany was devastated due to the unattainable demands of the Treaty of Versailles. The hyperinflation in Germany was out of control leading to Germany becoming a very distraught nation that needed hope to look up to after the depression. The conditions in Germany at the time, lead to a nationwide desperation. These conditions were of great benefit for Hitler to take advantage and to succeed in the infamous accomplishments he has achieved.…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Historians have many theories about how the First World War started, although most believe that there were three fuses and one spark! The first world war broke out in 1914 and involved mainly Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Most of the causes were long-term, such as the rivalry of the European countries, however there was one short term cause which triggered the start of the chaos that was the First World War.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some of the main causes of World War II were when Great Britain and France declared war on Germany for invading Poland. Germany was irritated because they were the only ones being punished by the Treaty of Versailles (That had them pay for all the damages World War I caused to other countries). Germany also felt they were being robbed and they couldn’t feed…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cause Of World War II

    • 283 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When World War I ended it left behind agression that lead to the start of World War II. There are many reasons that caused World War II started. Some of the main reasons that caused World War II to start where the Treaty of Versailles, The Great Depression, Japanese Imperialism, and the Attack on Pearl Harbor.…

    • 283 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    World War Two at a Glance

    • 2304 Words
    • 10 Pages

    World War Two, a war that changed the entire world, began, ominously, with the German invasion of Poland. It was the most costly war, in terms of human lives lost. It is estimated that about 55 million people died in the European theater during World War II. Globally a total of over 60 million people died in WWII and of those 60 million, more were civilian than soldiers. The war lasted for more than five years, and more than seventy countries were involved in the war. The catalyst, however, was the September 1939 German invasion of Poland. There were other "related" skirmishes taking place around the world prior to Germany 's invasion of Poland. For example, Japan invaded China in 1937; and in the spring of 1939, Japan clashed with Russia. But, most contemporary historians site Germany 's invasion of Poland as the beginning of WWII.…

    • 2304 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War 2 Causes

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There were many causes that started World War 2, but the 3 most impactful events were; Hitler coming into power, the Great Depression, and the League of Nations inability to fix major international issues.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays