Hitlers Influence on World War II - Research Paper Example

 Adolf Hitler was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He had previously tried to overthrow the German Authority in 1923 but had failed in his attempts. He managed to garner the chancellors’ seat as the leader of the Nazi Party, which then created a totalitarian single party in Germany with Hitler’s ascension to power (Vandeer-Hook 12). Hitler advocated for a radical, racially motivated world order. He signed various treaties with European countries and broke as many. His desire to amass large tracts of territory and states for himself created much tension in Europe that eventually culminated into a world war. World War II began in 1939 and lasted until 1945. It involved two opposing sides, the axis formed by the Germans and its supporters and the allied forces. The war broke out soon after Germany invaded Poland a neutral state that was under the protection of the British. It is accounted that Hitler motivated his soldiers on a personal level and that he watched from his special train, the progress of his army invading Poland (Roberts 26). The invasion prompted the UK and its allies to wage war on the Germans leading to the start of World War II. However, Hitler’s behavior on several occasions fueled the underlying tensions that later caused the eruption of the war. Hitler was able to win Italy over to his side by supporting Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. Germany was the major European country to offer their Support to Italy thus inducing her to drop her previous objections of Germany taking over Austria. In Italy, Germany found an ally together with whom they hoped to capture and subdue large tracts of eastern European land. Mussolini was Italy’s leader at the time and they collaborated to support the Fascist and authoritarian National forces against the Spanish Republic that was supported by the Soviets in the Spanish war of 1936 (Haugen 76). According to Giblin, Hitler found the Versailles treaty to be degrading and particularly the demilitarization of Rhineland. He also vehemently opposed its stipulation that Germany accept the responsibility of Causing World War I (Giblin 138). He therefore disregarded the treaty and ordered for the remilitarization of Rhineland in order to support the Spanish War. It is said that both Germany and USSR supported the opposing sides of the war just so they could carry out tests on their warfare equipment and strategies (MacDonald 117). An alliance was formed between Germany and Italy that year named the Rome-Berlin Axis. Japan was invited to join the alliance thereby increasing the Axis’ power and strength.Hitler’s repudiation of the Versailles treaty and its decision to form an alliance with Italy and Japan might have aggravated the already tense situation among other European Countries like the United Kingdom and its commonwealth allies (Haugen 78). In 1938, Hitler subdued Austria and proceeded to Sudetenland, an area with predominant ethnic German population that was part of Czechoslovakia. Britain and France entered into an agreement dubbed the Munich Agreement that allowed Germany to have this territory. Hitler was however not satisfied with this deal and he therefore forced Czechoslovakia to give additional territory to Poland and Hungary. He was angered by the British Supremacy and despite the fact that all his demands had been met, he ordered a buildup of the Germany Navy to challenge the British in 1939. Hitler is seen to have been provoking the British into war (Roberts 57). Germany eventually captured the remaining Czechoslovakian territory and attacked Lithuania forcing them to hand over to then the Klaipeda region. The British and the French were fearful of Hitler’s behavior as his actions inclined them to think that he would wish to attack the free city of Danzig. They therefore assured the Polish people that they will offer them aid and protection incase this were to happen (Roberts 48). Following the British assurance, Germany and Italy formed the pact of ‘steel’ anticipating warfare. Hitler probably entered into this agreement as an assurance that Italy would fight on their side if a war were to erupt (MacDonald 124).The attack on Poland by the British is what caused the different countries to have a war mentality and therefore prepare for a potential war. Hitler, therefore, can be blamed for the rising tensions of possible warfare. Hitler attacked Poland Under false pretexts claiming that their attack was a response to a previous attack by the Polish. Britain made good their promise of protecting Poland by declaring war on Germany. The allied forces joined the UK and fought real hard to drive the Germans out of Poland (Giblin 142). France and Britain carried out a naval blockade of Germany navy in order to frustrate their economic activities and hinder their war efforts. Germany’s response was starting a U-boat war against the allied merchant ships causing many loses in damaged and lost property. This was known as the Atlantic Warfare (Crowl 125). The USSR joined German’s side in the warfare and attacked Poland conquering Warsaw. They then divided the region amongst themselves. (Roberts 52). The Atlantic warfare was a direct result of Hitler attacking Poland and it can be categorized as a factor that intensified and led to World War II. Hitler continued invading more European countries despite the considerable amount of areas he had conquered for various reasons. In April 1940, Germany invaded and conquered Denmark and Norway. The reason for attacking the two countries was just so they were able to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden that the allies were attempting to intercept (Giblin 140). He then turned on France and Invaded Paris. Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands were also attacked for a strategic purpose. The Italians offered their support to Germany in fighting the French and the British. The Axis powers overpowered the allied forces leading to the fall of Paris, which was then divided amongst them. In response to an earlier attack that the British had carried over the Germans, Hitler responded by bombing various British cities. He then called upon the British to surrender and to sue for peace but they however adamant to do so (MacDonald 138). The Germans’ attack on Paris was the event that instigated the United States of America to join the war as recorded evidenced by a letter from John F Kennedy to the Navy Commander ordering them to prepare for a war against Germany (Museum of World War II Memoirs). This was despite the fact that they had intended to remain a neutral state in the course of the war.The Americans joined the allies against the Axis to fight in the war that Germany had started. They felt that they needed to do so because they thought Hitler to be on a mission to conquer the world thereby threatening their position (Crowl 327). The Americans started to hold secret meetings with the British where they strategized on how best they would attack Germany if they decided to join the war. The turn of events shook Hitler who began to fear that USSR would join the allies in fighting him. He therefore waged war on the USSR, which started in June 1944. The UK believed that if they were to have the USSR, USA and other allied forces fighting alongside them, they would manage to bring Hitler to the ground once and for all. They, therefore, joined the USSR against the Germans in the war started by Hitler on USSR’s grounds (Roberts 87). In the beginning, Germany was able to advance into USSR territory while the British, French, Americans and other allied forces fought back to prevent further subdue. This was the climax of the events of World War II as the allied forces fought vigorously to try to defeat Germany. Hitler’s successes encouraged Japan to start a war over the British holdings in Indochina. The Allied forces tried to stop the attacks by collaborating to freeze Japan’s Assets making them to start preparing for war. The events that followed led to the eventual atomic bombing of Japans two cities by the Americans, which led them to surrender (Crowl 493). The Allies were recaptured Italy and freed Paris. Eventually, the Italian Leader, Mussolini was captured and killed while his ally Hitler committed suicide in the same year (Vandeer-Hook 88). Germany Ultimately surrendered causing World War II to finally end in 1945 coinciding with the death of Adolf Hitler. World War II can be attributed to have begun because of Hitler’s political ambitions. His attempts to enforce the Nazi rule over all European countries had started a war that left most countries in Europe impoverished and Desolate including his own country Germany. His demise had ended an era marked by Germany dominance over Europe and the downfall of fascist ideas and ideals. One can therefore conclude that, Hitler started World War II and that his demise partly led to the end of the war. Works Cited Crowl, Philip. War in the Pacific. London: Macmillan and CO. Publishers, 1860. Print. Giblin, James. The Life and death of Adolf Hitler. New York: Clarion Books, 2002. Print. Haugen, Brenda. Adolf Hitler: Dictator of Nazi Germany. Minneapolis: Compass point Books, 2006. Print. MacDonald, George. Quartered Safe out Here: A Harrowing Tale of World War II. UK: Harper Collins Publishers, 2012. Print. Museum of World War II: Rise of Nazism. A letter from John F Kennedy to the US Navy department. Roberts, Priscilla. Voices of World War II: A Contemporary Account of Daily Life. California, USA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2012. Print. Vandeer-Hook, Susan. Adolf Hitler. Minnesota, USA: ABDO Publishing Company, 2011. Print. Read More