The horrors of WWII are arguably regarded as the most devastating that the

world has seen with casualties beyond measure and bodies still being found
today, dating back to that war. Some historians would argue that the Treaty of
Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference was the one and only root cause of WWII
as it fuelled the resentment that Germany had towards the other global
superpowers. But others would dispute this and claim that although the Treaty
and the Conference contributed to the initiation of this prolonged and
unnecessary feud there were many other prominent foundations for the war and
indeed there were, because the Treaty of Versailles had put Germany into a truly
catastrophic economic state as they were forced to pay reparations to the
victorious but scarred countries. The colossal worldwide collapse in the worlds
economy would one day be known as The Great Depression also hit Germany the
worst due to the Treaty. This depression then became the grounds on which a
fascist dictator, Adolf Hitler, rose to power. These fascist ideologies combined
with the ideologies of racism, expansionism and even social Darwinism all
contributed to the commencement of WWII. Finally, a subtler but primary cause
of WWII was the failure of the League of Nations. Together, these were the main
causes of WWII, an event that could have been prevented had it not been for the
Treaty of Versailles.
One of the leading causes of WWII was the Treaty of Versailles which was signed
at the Paris Peace Conference. When Germany lost WWI, the nation was already
in a bad social and economic situation. The Treaty of Versailles was a further
injustice towards the nation and it only fuelled the resentment that Germany had
towards other nations. Near the end of WWI Germany was facing hardships on
two fronts. On one hand, externally Germany had to continually fight the other
nations and on the other internally Germany was facing collapses in their
economy. At the end of WWI, Germany was forced to sign a document called the
Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference. The Treaty of Versailles,
drafted and passed after World War I, was a document that addressed the state
of the other countries affected by the first World War. Memorably, decisions
made during the conference were passed without input from German delegates.
Requirements of the treaty blamed Germany solely for the war, forcing them to
pay a compensatory 6.6 million marks, or 4.3 billion current Australian dollars.
Finally, Germany was ordered to demilitarize, reducing their military force and
militant power. Furthermore, they were required to give up several territorial
regions, one of which was their main source of revenue. Naturally, the requests
were detrimental to the German population, but the threat of an allied invasion
forced the newly inaugurated Weimar Republic to sign the treaty against the
wishes of their nation. While the Treaty of Versailles did not render World War II
inevitable, it did hasten the conflict; the conditions of the treaty caused German
expansion, economic downfall and hyperinflation, and vulnerability of the
German people that eventually led to the election of Hitler and the Fascist Nazi
party. But this was only one of the main causes of WWII because little did the
world know that things were only going to get worse when the Great Depression
hit.
Another significantly crippling cause of WWII was the Great Depression. Losing
significant industrial zones and being forced to pay reparations to the Allies
made an effective rebuilding effort nearly impossible for the new Weimar
Republic. In addition to this, people's spirits were crushed, and there was little to

no national pride in the former Germany. Loans from the United States were
keeping the Republic solvent, but after the Great Depression hit the United
States those loans disappeared. The Depression struck Germany hard, resulting
in unemployment rates of over thirty percent. This depression in Germanys
economy created a time of desperation where they needed a leader to look up
to, but the rest of the world was unaware that this would lead to the rise of one
of the most fearsome dictators ever, Adolf Hitler.
Adolf Hitler, born in 1889, was one of the most inspirational yet contemptuous
dictators known to the world rose to power through a series of engineered events
that firstly enabled him to gain the attention of the German Nation and then gain
its popularity. One of these events was his trial and incarceration which allowed
him to become a well-known person in the years leading up to WWII. Even the
speeches he gave to each demographic in the German Nation were engineered
to give fake promises to address the conflicts concerning that particular
demographic. For example, the upper class was promised the abolishment of
communism so that they could retain its wealth.
Para 5 - Incomplete
A final cause of World War two was how the world responded to rising threats.
After WW1, Woodrow Wilson, president of America created the idea of the League
of Nations. It was supposed to bring peace to the world. The main aims of the
League of Nations were to solve any major problem that had arisen. If this
problem was of the medical nature they would team up to isolate and cure the
disease, if it was of an aggressive nature they would, in theory isolate the
aggressive country, by restricting trade. This worked with the majority of small
problems but it failed to stop major issues. This was mainly because the major
issues took place during the Great Depression and countries were too afraid not
to trade with countries because they needed trade desperately. Also the League
of Nations didnt have an army so it couldnt take matters into its own hand. As
the League started failing countries started leaving. These countries included
Germany, Italy and Japan. What Germany, Italy and Japan were doing was slowly
getting worse. Hitler started ignoring the Treaty of Versailles, refusing to pay
reparations, placing troops into the Rhineland and eventually invading countries.
The Prime Minster of Britain, Neville Chamberlain wanted to put a stop to this so
he made Hitler sign an appeasement agreement saying that he could keep what
he had already taken as long as he didnt take anymore. Hitler signed it only to
ignore it invading Poland in 1939 starting WW2. The failure of the world to
respond to rising threats was a cause of WW2 as it left tension between
countries.