The World War II is described as one of the most defining events that took place in the 20th century. The war took place in several parts of the world including Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East. The war took place between two major military blocs, the Allied countries and the Axis countries. During the war, major technological changes were witnessed across the world. New weapons were introduced and new methods of fighting were also introduced (Beevor, 2012). The war caused a lot of destruction and loss of lives. It changed the world administration up to present and it had a major impact on the overall governance of the whole world. Major super powers emerged.
Even though the World War I was considered to be the last major and extensive war, after only 20 years, the world witnessed again a large scale war that plunged many countries in chaos against each other. It is believed that the Paris Peace Convention paved way for the World War II. In addition the political systems that had contrasting and conflicting political ideologies and the effects of Great Depression that caused the world economy to destabilize are also considered some of the main factors that led to the outbreak of the World War II (Beevor, 2012).
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"Causes Of World War 2 Essay".
Specific ideologies such as fascisms, communism, capitalisms, and Nazism shaped the events that caused the World War II. Similarly to the case of the World War II, German was again considered as the main aggressor of the World War II (Beevor, 2012). In September, 1939, German led by the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler invaded Poland and triggered a large scale war in Europe. After the invasion of Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany. Consequently, all other countries in the British Empire such as Australia declared war on Germany. Japan and Italy joined the Germans and formed an alliance. On the other hand, Britain and France were allies forming the Allies countries which was later joined by the United States. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese prompted the US to enter the war, joining France and Britain against the Germans, Italians and the Japanese.
The World War II is believed to have been caused by several factor. Particularly, the treaties that were devised after the end of the World War I was instrumental in causing the World War II. Nations such as Austria and German felt the treaties oppressed them and discriminated their identities in the world. One major treaty is the Versailles treaty that imposes a series of harsh conditions on Germany since it considered the main aggressor during the World War I. The treaty required Germany to pay massive reparations bill for its involvement in instigating the World War I. furthermore, Italy felt shortchanged for joining the Allies, a factor that led to the rise of fascism (Beevor, 2012). The Japanese also wanted to ensure racial equality with other Western powers, a move that was opposed by the British hence breaking down the relationship between the Japanese and the West leading to emergence of Japanese militarism and nationalism.
The League of Nations was formed after World War I. However, the international body that was primarily formed to safeguard and settle international disputed was ineffective in imposing its mandate. One reason for the failure of League of Nations is attributed to the failure of the US to join the League. In addition, the League of Nations had no its own military and had little power to force its members to ensure that they comply with the doctrines and directions of the body (Beevor, 2012). The League failed in its main role of ensuring that another war never occurred.
The rise of Nazi German led by Adolf Hitler was considered one of the major factors that led to the outbreak of the World War II. Hitler took seized power in 1933 and became the Chancellor of Germany. He established a totalitarian government that gained popularity among the Germans by reducing the rate of unemployment and inflation. In addition, Hitler promised the Germans that he would help them to restore their lost glory and national pride. Hitler rules German with his Nazi party and Nazi ideologies that were extreme and considered the most evil in history of human (Beevor, 2012). During the reign of the Hitler and the Nazi party, the Holocaust took place. Hitler led Germany in violating the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler increased the size of the military, reestablished the air force, reintroduced conscription, and expanded the production of ammunitions and more weapons which was against the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler also had an ambition of recapturing the territories which German had lost during the World War I.
However, after several attempts by France and Britain to avoid a large scale war with Germany, the war finally broke out in Europe after Hitler invaded Poland. The Holocaust was one of the major event that characterized the period during the World War II. In addition, millions of life were lost and property destroyed. Another notable event was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which concluded the World War II (Beevor, 2012). The atomic bombs were some of the notable weapons that were produced during the period. The World War II led to the emergency of the US and the USSR as the two world powers. The United Nations was late formed and given more powers to safeguard the world security.
