What were the causes of the Second World War - Essay Example

?What were the causes of the Second World War? A number of factors caused the Second World War. Among them Hitler’s aims were responsible in a major way. Hitler wanted to bring together the Germans through NSD, which was not granted in the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler desired the living space to be self-reliant. He wanted to overpower the world and Europe. The Treaty of Versailles had to be invoked if Hitler had his ways, paving the way to the Second World War. The aggression of Allied forces also led to the Second World War. In Italy, Mussolini propagated Fascism and wanted to establish a Roman Kingdom in the Mediterranean and Africa, to quote his attack on Abyssinia in 1935. Another Allied power Japan desired a Nipponese rule in the Pacific, leading to China and Australia, as is evident from Japan’s attack on Manchuria in 1931. All the three Allied nations, namely Germany, Italy, and France were against Communism of the USSR, thus, sowing the seeds of war among nations. Another cause of the Second World War was the passivity of the Democratic powers. USA was detached while France was not willing to stand in opposition to Germany. France could not depend on Britain and America for support. Britain had a soft corner for recuperation of Germany between 1934 and 1937 and pacified Germany between May 1937 and March 1939. The Democratic powers could have hindered the path of Fascism before 1939 but preferred to remain in low-profile. The League of Nations failed in distancing the warring nations. Not a single factor could be blamed for the Second World War, as stated above but Hitler’s expansionism was the sole reason to cause the Second World War. Fascism was also a leading reason, as bent on expanding and the inability of democratic countries to stop Mussolini from his beliefs in Fascism. There were 9 causes of the Second World War, which are discussed in detail below. 1. The Rearmament of Germany It happened during the Geneva Disarmament Conference held in 1932-4 wherein Hitler made it clear that because other countries were not reducing their military strength to that of Germany, Germany would increase its military power to their level. Till 1935 the process of rearmament of Germany was ongoing by establishing conscription and munitions factories. France reacted to the rearmament of Germany by strengthening the Maginot line built earlier between 1929 and 1934 because rearmament of Germany created insecurity in the region. The Maginot line was made of steel and concrete mixture for added strength from Belgium to Switzerland; it was known as ‘a gate without a fence’, which Germany would not crossover and attack France through Belgium. Without the support of Britain, France never appeared on the front foot. Britain, on the other hand, was friendlier towards Germany than it was with France to actively support it. The Anglo German naval Treaty (June 1935) was the result of the sympathetic behavior of Britain towards Germany, which permitted the German Navy to be 35% of the size of the British Royal Navy. Hitler supported Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-9) with the ammunition at its disposal. Hitler sent the Condor Legion of the Luftwaffe to attack Guernica on 26th April, 1937. Guernica was eliminated and Franco marched ahead winning the Basque areas of Spain. Hitler had used Spain as a testing ground. 2. The Remilitarization of the Rhineland (1936) Hitler attempted breach of the Versailles Treaty once again after committing a breach once by marching to Cologne on 7th March 1936 with 30,000 soldiers. France could not gather the courage to come face-to-face with Germany militarily although amassing troop strength of 250,000 because Britain was not at its support. Britain expressed the opinion that Germany was ‘marching into her own back yard.’ Hitler held a plebiscite on remilitarization to prove the support of its people, which was vehement to 98.8% in favor of Hitler’s policy on militarization. This prompted Hitler to create his own defensive fortification, the Siegfried Line. 3. The Rome Berlin Axis (October 1936) The Rome-Berlin Axis got formed due to the failure of talks held between Britain and France at the Stresa Fort in 1935. Anthony Eden of Britain warned of using oil sanctions against Mussolini during the Abyssinian crisis causing the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936. This provided an opportunity to Mussolini to befriend with Hitler although Mussolini wanted to maintain distance with Hitler. This alliance between the two dictators was further reinforced on two times when in November 1937, the Anti-Commintern Pact was entered into with Japan and second time in May 1939 when the Pact of Steel was made. 4. Britain’s policy of Appeasement (May/June 1937 – March 1939) Britain pursued a policy of appeasement with Germany; the new British Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain could not identify the expanding aspirations of Hitler; he just had the view hat Hitler wanted to bring together the German speaking people. Although Hitler breached the Treaty of Versailles in uniting the Germans but Chamberlain had faith that Hitler would not attack. Churchill did not agree with Chamberlain quoting Mein Kampf (1924) showing Hitler’s intentions of recapturing lost lands ‘in the East … by the power of the sword.’ Chamberlain could not simply judge the aggressiveness of Hitler’s designs. 5. The Anschluss with Austria (13th March, 1938) Schuschnigg, the Austrian Chancellor, wanted freedom for Austria although Austrian Fascists wanted to be with Germany. Schuschnigg was not able to get help from France and the Little Entente. Out of compulsion he met Hitler in Berlin where he agreed to include Hitler’s confederate Seyss-Inquart in his ministry as Minister of the Interior. Under the command of Seyss-Inquart, internal strife in Vienna increased resulting in the resignation of Schuschnigg. This gave an opportunity to Seyss-Inquart to ask Hitler for help in managing the deteriorating situation there. Forces of Hitler entered Austria on 13th March 1938. A plebiscite on the Aschluss was received with a mandate of 99.75%, which was manipulated by partial questioning. Hitler gave the impression that he had been asked to interfere and hold control although he had provoked the union. 6. Hitler Gained the Sudetenland (29th September, 1938) The Treaty of St. Germain signed on 10 September 1919 resulted in the loss of the Sudetenland by Austria wherein Czechoslovakia acquired 3 million German speaking people. Later, the Sudeten German leader, Konrad Henlein, wanted to be united with Germany. The Czech leader could not get help from France and made up his mind to fight all alone. Chamberlain feared the approaching war and met with Hitler thrice at Berchtesgaden, Godesburg and at Munich. The Munich Agreement was made out of the meetings on 29 September 1938; it was signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier. Benes, the Czech Premier was absent. The Agreement proclaimed that: 1. Hitler could take the Sudetenland the next day without a plebiscite 2. Hungary and Poland could capture border districts from Czechoslovakia 3. Britain and Germany would never attack on each other. Chamberlain was very happy on the results achieved out of the Munich Agreement, declaring that he has achieved ‘peace with honour, peace in our time’. Everybody praised Chamberlain’s initiative except Churchill. On the other hand, Hitler showed satisfaction on the Agreement in public only although he outburst in private, saying ‘that fellow Chamberlain has spoiled my entry into Prague.’ 7. The Fall of Czechoslovakia (March 1939) In March 1939, Hitler exerted Memel from Lithuania because most of the population there spoke German. Chamberlain could not extend his appeasement policy further in the assumption that Hitler was capturing only German speaking areas but when Hitler coerced to attack Prague, the Czechs So far Hitler had only taken German speaking territory, so Chamberlain could still appease Hitler. However, in March 1939, Hitler threatened to bomb Prague, so the Czechs agreed to forgo land. Chamberlain saw defeat of his policy of appeasement and started building militarily to ensure peace in Poland. 8. Nazi-Soviet Pact (29th August, 1939) – The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact Hitler had finalized his plan to attack Poland by the summer of 1939 but he wanted to ensure that in case Britain attacked from the West, Eastern borders facing Russia should be safe. To avoid two sided attack on Germany, Hitler entered into the Nazi-Soviet Pact, according to which if either (Germany or the USSR) of the country waged a war with any other country, the other would remain non-party. Thus, Hitler ensured an opportunity to attack Poland while securing the Eastern borders facing Russia. Stalin, on the other hand, got time to capture the eastern half of Poland to serve as buffer zone between Russia and the countries bordering Poland. 9. German Invasion of Poland (1st September, 1939) Germany attacked West Prussia and Posen on 1 September 1939 employing blitzkrieg tactics. Chamberlain warned Hitler to recede back by 11 am, 3rd September 1939 to avoid war. Britain announced war on Germany to be supported by France, causing the Second World War. Thus, happened the sequences of the Second World War. Bibliography http://www.rpfuller.com/gcse/history/6.html Read More