Causes of the Second World War

The Second World War began in 1939 and lasted six years. Most of the major powers of Europe were involved,
battles were staged in all four corners of the globe and over 45 million people were killed, making it the most
devastating war in history.

This entry looks at some of the issues that caused such a horrific war to begin.

Causes

The First World War

At the end of the First World War, many of the disputes that caused it still needed to be settled. When Germany
surrendered, the German people still felt a huge amount of resentment for other countries interfering in the
infrastructure of Germany itself. The level of bad feeling coming from Germany and other countries was so great
that they weren't even invited to participate in the peace treaties that were put in place at the end of the war. The
Treaty of Versailles that dealt specifically with the future of Germany left no room for discussion on the part of the
German people. The result was that Germany was left bitter and full of hatred for those who had sought to demean
them as a race - hatred that Hitler would exploit in the 1930s in his rise to power.

Hitler stood under the banner of revenge against the other countries for Germany's defeat. His desire for power was
justified by claims that he wanted to get rid of the government that surrendered in the First World War, and
replace it with his own organisation (the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which became known as the Nazi
party) so that he could have full control of the European powers that had subjugated Germany after 1918. It's fair to
surmise therefore that the First World War was the main cause of the Second World War because it was the first in
the chain of events that ultimately led to the declaration of war in 1939.

The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles angered the German people for many reasons. The first was that it was a Diktat ('Dictated
Peace'): Germany had no say in the formulation of the treaty and was forced to agree to the terms of the treaty
regardless of whether its people liked them or not. Over time, other European powers came to realise that the
original terms had been too strict. When Hitler broke the treaty many years later, the reticence of the other powers
to react immediately was taken as an indication that many of them agreed with Hitler that the treaty had been
implemented wrongly anyway. In effect, the Treaty of Versailles didn't settle any disputes; it created more issues
between countries already fractious and struggling to recover from the last war.

A significant sticking point was a clause in the treaty that made provisions for the Rhineland (which borders France
and Belgium)to become a demilitarised zone - Germany would be prohibited from stationing any military troops in
the Rhineland. Additionally, Germany was ordered to disarm, supposedly the first step towards world disarmament,
but no one else was encouraged to join Germany in disarmament. Germany would technically be defenceless should
France decide to invade them - which they eventually did in 1923 when Germany was unable to pay the reparations
owed to France that year.

Reparations - effectively a 'fine' for the damage done by Germany in 1914-18 - was possibly the most unpopular part
of the Treaty of Versailles. At the end of the war, land had been destroyed all over Europe, but especially in
France. The treaty said that Germany had to make reparations by paying regular sums of money to France. What
this clause failed to recognise was that the war had equally damaged Germany's economy and they simply could not
afford to pay. The German solution to this was, in retrospect, foolish - they printed more money. The effect was
that the German currency devalued to the point where the economy was on the verge of total collapse. This issue
of reparations was eventually solved by the Dawes Plan and Germany were able to pay France again.

The Dawes Plan

The Dawes Plan was created so that Germany could afford their reparations to France, but it also seemed to solve
many of the world's money problems. America loaned money to Germany, Germany used it to pay for the
reparations, France used it to pay Britain the money they owed, and Britain used it to pay America the money they
owed. This seemed to be the perfect solution to everybody's problems, and countries started getting along with
each other again. However, it had one major flaw - if anything went wrong, and one of the countries was no longer
able to pay another, then conflict would ensue and the economic and diplomatic situation could be worse than it
was before. This happened in 1929 with the Great Depression.

The Great Depression

The stock market crash in America caused economic strife throughout the world. America could no longer loan
Germany money for reparations, and they even wanted the money back. The result was that America went into
isolation with the intent of nursing their own economy and avoiding being dragged into another costly European
war. Countries all over the world were facing economic crises, and distrust started to form again between
countries. Unemployment was high all over the world, and countries solved this problem by creating large armies.
The global depression was therefore a contributing cause of the Second World War as it gave Germany an excuse to
break the Treaty of Versailles and establish larger armed forces on their own turf.

The Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

The economic depression even affected Japan; the people of Japan were suffering from starvation, unemployment
and a general lack of resources. To solve these problems, Japan invaded Manchuria, the first of a number of steps
that made their involvement in a World War more inevitable.

Cause One Japan was a poor and starving country. It wanted more and so it invaded China.
Trade barriers between China, the USA and Japan meant that Japan's economy faltered
Cause Two so they decided to build an empire of their own through force.
Japan had no raw materials such as coal or iron. These were traditionally imported from
Cause Three China.
In 1931, Japan claimed that China had sabotaged the Manchurian Railway and invaded
Manchuria and threw out the Chinese forces there. In 1932, they set up a 'puppet
government' in Manchuria (or Manchukuo as it was called), which answered to the
The Event Japanese army. They then bombed Shanghai. The government in Japan ordered the army
in Manchuria to leave, but they were ignored. China appealed to the League of Nations,
but because Japan had such a stronghold in the League no decision was reached.
The League did nothing until September 1932. Then they made a report on the
Manchurian Crisis, saying Japan had acted unlawfully and Manchuria must be returned to
What the League Did the Chinese. In 1933, Japan invaded China again. Japan then resigned from the League.
The League became powerless. It was interested in keeping up good relationships with
Japan rather than giving sanctions.
The League appeared to be weak and ineffective as it offered lame excuses and the idea
Consequence One that one country would have protection from all the others was completely shattered.
China received little help from the League.
As the USA and USSR were not members of the League, their capability of removing the
Consequence Two Japanese from Manchuria was lost and Japan continued their occupation.
Both Mussolini and Hitler, when they saw how the League of Nations reacted to this
Consequence Three invasion, followed Japan's example (Abyssinia and Czechoslovakia - see below) and six
years later the world erupted into full-blown war.
The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia

In 1896 Italian troops tried to invade Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), but were defeated by a
Cause One poorly equipped army of tribesmen. Mussolini wanted revenge for this humiliating
defeat.
Cause Two Mussolini wanted the fertile land and mineral wealth of Abyssinia.
Mussolini wanted glory and conquest. He wanted to restore the glory of the Roman
Cause Three Empire.
In October 1935, Mussolini's army launched a full scale invasion of Abyssinia. The
The Event Abyssinians were no match for the modern Italian army, who were equipped with tanks,
aeroplanes and poison gas.
In the months leading up to this, the League were supposedly negotiating with Mussolini.
There was much talk but nothing happened. In the end the League put forward a plan
that would give some of Abyssinia to Mussolini. He rejected it. After Italy invaded
What the League Did Abyssinia, a committee was set up to impose sanctions. Each week a decision was
delayed, Mussolini would be able to build up his stockpile of raw materials. The League
banned arms sales, loans and exports of rubber, tin and metals to Italy, and imports from
Italy. However, it took two months for them to decide to block oil exports to Italy.
In Britain, about 30,000 coal miners were in danger of losing their jobs because of the
Consequence One ban on coal exports to Italy.
The League of Nations didn't do much to stop Italy, and other countries like Germany
Consequence Two thought they could invade other countries as Italy did.

The League of Nations

The League of Nations was an organisation created by the Treaty of Versailles. The idea was that the League would
become the world's 'police' and enforce peace in Europe. The idea was that when one country attacked another, the
aggressor would have sanctions imposed against it. First there would be material sanctions, with trading with that
country being stopped, and this would be followed by military sanctions. This process is called collective security,
as all the other countries were supposed to support the league and contribute to stopping the aggressive country.
The League failed in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria. Japan was one of the main countries in the League, and
Britain and France did not want to have bad relations with them. Italy saw how the League appeased Japan, and in
1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia. All the League did was talk with Italy, and they never got anything done. They only
really cared about their own problems, and they did not want to get involved in other countries' problems. Once
again, the League of Nations appeased Italy, just as they had done with Japan, and let them have what they want.
Now nobody trusted the League to protect them, and it wasn't long until Germany, under Hitler's rule, followed
Japan and Italy's example.

The weakness of the League of Nations was a major cause of the Second World War because if it had worked, then
there would have been peace within Europe, and there wouldn't have been a Second World War. However, because
it failed to fulfil its promise to protect member states, countries broke the rules to get what they wanted.

Hitler's Foreign Policy

Germany was, as already stated, still reeling from their defeat in the First World War. The nation's desire for
'revenge' for how they had been treated over the previous two decades influenced Hitler' foreign policy:

• To go back on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles - Hitler acknowledged his country's hatred of the
Treaty of Versailles. He was also aware that a majority of Europeans agreed with him that the treaty was
harshly implemented. So when Hitler began to break the terms of the treaty, he was allowed to do so by
the League of Nations, who were effectively paralysed with guilt over the handling of Germany's situation.
However, if Hitler was going to re-gain everything that Germany had lost because of the Treaty of
Versailles, then he was going to have to invade other countries.
• To re-arm - Hitler wanted Germany to be a dominant power in Europe again, and to do this he needed to
 re-arm. He was given an excuse he needed in the early 1930s when there was high unemployment in
Germany. Providing the nation's youth with military training would reduce unemployment and provide the
country with pride in itself - the perfect solution to their problems.
• To unite all German-speaking people in one country (GrossDeutschland) - The Treaty of Versailles had
given each nation their own country, but of course an after-effect of the now-defunct Prussian Empire was
that German speakers existed all over Europe. Ownership of territories such as Alsace-Lorraine had
historically been the cause of debate between France and Germany, so if Hitler were to reclaim all former
German territories and unite them all as one country, it would restore his nation's pride. To do this, he
would have to invade those countries that had been divided among the other powers after 1918 and take
over any country that could pose a challenge to a new German Empire.
• To win living space (Lebensraum) for Germany - The only way that Hitler could do this was to take control
of the countries around Germany, even if such a move could lead to war.
• To racially cleanse the Reich - Again, to engender German pride, Hitler promoted the notion that the
German race was the most pure and perfect, and that other races were below it. If Hitler were to cleanse
the Reich, then he would have to remove elements that would sully his racial vision - in effect, he was
declaring his willingness to commit genocide in Germany and the surrounding countries for the survival of
the Germanic race.
• To destroy Communism - To do this, Hitler would have to wage war with the USSR. To get to the USSR,
they would have to go through Poland - most likely resulting in a war. However, Britain and France had also
shown opposition to the ideals of Communism, which could potentially mean they'd support Germany taking
a stance against the USSR. Though the USSR became part of the League of Nations in 1934, they left in 1939
when they realised that the League would not protect them from a German attack.

As Hitler tried to achieve his aims, Britain and France appeased him, and thus allowed Germany to become more
powerful. Hitler's foreign policy aims, which were made public, were a major factor in the build-up to the Second
World War, as they showed that, as the representative of an 'oppressed nation', Hitler was prepared to fight
countries for what he wanted. It was obvious from the very beginning, that the only way to stop Hitler would be
through war. The table below shows in basic form how Hitler went about achieving his foreign policy Aims and going
against the Treaty of Versailles.

Terms of the
What Hitler Did and The Reasons he The Response from
Treaty of
When Gave for his Actions Britain and France
Versailles
In 1933, Hitler increased He needed larger armies Britain sympathised with
Germany's armed forces. In to protect Germany, and Germany, agreeing that
Germany's armed 1935, he made an agreement large armies also the Treaty of Versailles
forces to be with Britain to increase provided jobs and solved had been too unfair. The
severely limited naval forces, and he unemployment problems French were angry with
introduced conscription in caused by the Great Britain, but there was
1936. Depression. little they could do.
France and Russia had Many British people felt
made a treaty to protect that Hitler had a right to
In March 1936, Hitler moved
The Rhineland to each other from have troops in the
troops into the Rhineland,
be a demilitarised Germany. Hitler said Rhineland, and France
going against the Treaty of
zone that he should be wouldn't do anything
Versailles.
allowed to place troops without Britain's help, so
on his own frontier. nothing was done.
The Nazi party stirred up
There were lots of
trouble in Austria. In 1928, France and Britain refused
German people living in
Austrians has a vote to to help Austria. The
Austria and Hitler said
decide whether they would British Prime Minister
Germany the people of Austria
unite with Germany. Neville Chamberlain felt
forbidden to unite wanted to unite with
Germany sent troops into the Treaty of Versailles
with Austria Germany. Austria was
Austria to make sure the was wrong and that
economically weak and
vote was fair. A total of Austria and Germany
Hitler promised to solve
99.75% of Austrians voted to should be united.
the problem.
unite with Germany.
 On 29 September, after
There were lots of numerous meetings,
In 1938, Hitler said that he Germans living in the Britain and France made
The Sudetenland was ready to fight Sudetenland and Hitler an agreement to give
taken into the Czechoslovakia. After wanted to unite them. Hitler the Sudetenland.
new state of meeting with Britain, France He also claimed the However, Britain and
Czechoslovakia and Italy, Hitler was given Czech government were France also said that if
the Sudetenland. mistreating the Hitler invaded any other
Germans. country, then they would
declare war on Germany1.
There were Germans On 2 September, 1939,
On 1 September, 1939,
living in Poland, and Britain and France
Germany invaded Poland
Hitler wanted them to declared war on Germany.
The Polish from the west. On 17
be united with Germany. Germany did not expect
Corridor given to September, Soviet forces
Hitler also wanted more this, as Britain and France
Poland invaded Poland from the
living space, as this was had appeased Hitler
east. They split Poland
one of his foreign policy before and had not acted
between them.
aims. on their threats.

Appeasement

When Hitler began to break the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations (that was mainly just Britain and France)
appeased him, just as they had done with Japan and Italy. As Hitler broke more and more rules, Germany became
more powerful, but Hitler was still appeased. In the end, there came a point where Britain and France realised that
if they didn't attack now, Germany would be come too powerful for them to defeat, however, by this time,
Germany had gained lots of land, soldiers and technology and were a powerful force in Europe. If Britain and France
had attacked Germany in the beginning when they began to break the Treaty of Versailles, when Hitler sent German
troops in the Rhineland, then, as Hitler himself said, the war might only have lasted six weeks, instead of six years.
Appeasement was a large cause of the war as it allowed countries to get what they wanted, and in the end, allowed
Germany to become such a powerful force in Europe. It was through appeasement that Germany got what they
wanted, and it was only when appeasement failed, that the most devastating war in history began.

How the Causes are Linked

There were many different factors that caused the Second World War. The main cause of the Second World War was
the First World War. From the time the First World War ended, with Germany being forced to surrender when they
wanted to carry on fighting, another war was inevitable. From the distrust countries had for Germany, the Treaty of
Versailles was created. This led on to the Dawes Plan, which caused problems throughout Europe when the Great
Depression came. The Treaty of Versailles also created the League of Nations, which ended up failing countries
when it should have protected them. The appeasement of the League led to Japan and Italy invading other
countries, but still being appeased. This caused Germany, with Hitler's foreign policy, to follow their example.

In the end there came a point when the League of Nations had to stop appeasing Hitler - reluctantly, Britain and
France declared war on Germany. However, by this time, Germany had become powerful, and the war was the most
devastating in history. Though there were many different causes to the Second World War, almost all of them
originated from the embers of the First World War, 'the war to end all wars' that did anything but. The Second
World War was therefore necessary to solve these problems. Hitler's Germany wasn't solely to blame for the
outbreak of war in 1939; almost every country played their part, whether actively like Britain and France did when
they appeased Hitler for so long, or by not doing anything, as with America, whose isolationist stance lasted until
1940.