World War Two was the deadliest conflict in human history, claiming over 70 million lives (most of whom were civilians). It is generally accepted that it officially started on September 1st 1939, after Germany disobeyed the Allies and invaded Poland, causing Britain and France to declare war on Germany. The war ended in 1945 after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Japan when it refused to cease fighting, prompting an immediate surrender by the Japanese and an official end to the fighting.

I believe that Adolf Hitler was, while not the sole cause of World War II, a key figure that ensured devastating conflict tore across the world on 1st September 1939. Having established himself as a strong leader and earned the support of the German citizens, he made several advancements on neighbouring countries that were illegal under the Treaty of Versailles, and completely disregarded Britain and France’s warning to declare war on his country if he invaded Poland. At this stage he knew the consequences of his actions, and yet still took over Poland – opposing the Allies and showing that he wanted war. However, I have come to the conclusion that a dictator such as Hitler was inevitable considering the events that took place before his rise to power and, as such, he is not entirely to blame.

The Treaty Of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles could be considered to be the initial trigger of World War II. Following the tragic losses suffered by WWI, Germany was forced to agree to the terms of the Treaty, which first and foremost made the country admit that it was to blame for the war. Following this was £6,600 million of economic reparations, the disarmament of the army and strips of land being taken away from Germany and given to other countries. Following hyperinflation the Germans must have felt cheated and angry with the other countries for the harsh Treaty. I feel that if even if Hitler had not stepped up and offered to steer the country out of chaos, another strong and convincing leader would have done so instead: Germany was desperate for hope and change. In order to satisfy the citizens, the next leader would need to be nothing short of extreme, or else would be too weak to circumvent the regulations imposed upon the economically ruined country. In this way I believe the Treaty was fairly significant in causing an outbreak of war.

It is easy to forget, however, why the Treaty was ever fashioned and signed in the first place – Germany’s involvement with WWI. Germany had played a large part in the war, which then led to the Treaty being directed at them. If Germany had been innocent to start with, there would have been no economic reparations and deprivation of land and militia – and thus hyperinflation and public anger would not have taken hold. If this was the case, then either Hitler would have felt no need to create his Nazi party and lead Germany out of a crisis, or he would have set his eyes on the chancellorship anyway and nobody would have voted for him – Hitler used the country’s despair to his advantage, and I believe that without it, such an extreme and fascist candidate would never have been elected. In other words, I feel that Germany itself was largely responsible for starting World War Two: following its own history of war, it was made to suffer the punishments imposed by the Treaty – except that the Germans did not accept it, and instead resorted to a drastic measure – Hitler.

Adolf Hitler

At the centre of the war was der Führer himself. Despite my belief that Germany’s dictator was nothing more than an irrevocable response to the public anger over the Treaty, there is no doubt that Hitler was a warmonger. He was not afraid to blatantly break the country’s Versailles restraints, marching into Austria and forming a forbidden alliance with Austria (Anschluss) by means of a rigged vote. After agreeing to appeasement – peace in return for the Sudetenland – Hitler broke his promise and invaded the whole of Czechoslovakia anyway. This tells us a fair amount about Hitler – he couldn’t have cared less about the other countries and their sanctions on Germany. The last straw was when the Nazi-Soviet pact was made between Germany and the USSR. It was made clear that invading Poland would result in the Allied Forces declaring war on Germany; nevertheless he went ahead with the offensive on 1st September 1939, and two days later Neville Chamberlain declared war.

“This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.” – Neville Chamberlain, 3rd September 1939

All these aggressive and rebellious moves may have stilled the public anger in Germany, but in its place cropped up fury around the world, as politicians began to realise that the only way to fight fire is with fire – Germany’s ever-growing empire could only be stopped by force. By giving the Axis’ enemies no other option but war, I believe that Hitler was the biggest fundamental cause of World War II.

The League Of Nations

Many people point a finger at the League of Nations, which was thought up by US president Woodrow Wilson. The entire aim of the League was to avert war, yet it did not manage to do so. Italy and Japan both betrayed the LoN, but Britain and France did not bat an eyelid. The League’s biggest issue was that it had no authority – America, an isolationist country, refused to join, as did Russia for its communist beliefs and hate of the Allies, while Germany was not allowed to join. Considering that three of the richest powers at the time were not in the League, there was very little that could be done in the event of a breach of the agreements, as the remaining powers had been hit hard by WWI. However, this was mainly the fault of America and Russia for not joining, so I do not believe it is fair to blame the League, except for the mistake of denying Germany entry. I think that the USA was at considerable for a fault for refusing to jump in and avert war – as the world’s most powerful country they had had the largest influence, and therefore should have done more to stop WWII from breaking out.

Other Countries

Aside from America, Italy and Japan were also partly to blame. Japan, once powerful, had been devastated by the economic downturn. Both countries showed signs of hostility – Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935 and Japan invaded China in 1931 for resources. These acts of violence angered the west, and to make matters worse, both made treaties with Hitler. Italy’s “Pact of Steel” with Germany guaranteed that the two countries helped each other should a war break out – but by signing in the first place, Italy was demonstrating that it expected war to break out. Japan was no better, spending lots of money on its army (that would have been more useful in sorting out the country’s state of economic ruin). The two friends that Hitler made gave him even more confidence, and so they are partly to blame for the war.

Another country that played a part in the outbreak was the USSR. In August 1939 it signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Germany, which not only ensured that the two powers would not fight each other, but also stated that Poland would be divided up between them. It was this invasion a month later that triggered WWII. The Soviet Union was powerful – like America, I condemn it for not trying to stop the war. However, while America stayed away because of its isolationism, the USSR was simply selfish and greedy – it was more concerned about its own country, and Poland was a healthy addition to its empire. As a result, Hitler had no need to worry about invading it, which was a major obstacle out of his way. As with Italy and Japan, I consider the USSR to have played quite a large part in the outbreak of war.

Neville Chamberlain

Chamberlain’s policy on appeasement has often been noted as a bad move. In order to try and prevent the impending war, the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia was given to Germany in return for peace, which was agreed in the Munich Agreement that was signed on 30th September 1938. It is argued that giving Hitler the Sudetenland only made him stronger, and encouraged him to go on to take the whole of Czechoslovakia. Also, when Britain and France did not stand up to Hitler, the Soviet Union became worried about Germany’s strength, and began thinking about making treaties with it. However, I think it extremely unfair to blame the appeasement for the outbreak. The Munich Agreement was signed specifically to satisfy Germany and avert the war – and whenever I consider the appeasement’s culpability, I remember that the only reason the Allies needed to conciliate Germany in the first place was because Hitler himself was threatening war – without such a danger the Agreement would never have needed to take place in the first place, and therefore the blame rests again with Hitler.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my analysis of the causes of World War Two leads perpetually back to Germany. The havoc it caused in World War One caused the Treaty of Versailles to be discussed and signed, which in turn angered the German citizens – in particular, fascist Adolf Hitler. The dictator, closely followed by the countries that were selfish, greedy or foolish enough to form alliances with him, led the world straight into war, ignoring sanctions, condemnations and warnings against the country that he wanted to be so pure and great. I believe that that he was ultimately responsible for causing the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, a war that damaged the world’s perception of Germany substantially. However, I doubt that if Hitler had not been there to take control of an irate and battered country, another great yet vicious leader would not have inexorably stepped up instead, to overthrow the unpopular Weimar government and satisfy the German people, who had no idea how much of an impact their anger was going to have over the next 5 years, 11 months and 15 days.

Sources:

• www.en.wikipedia.org
• www.historyonthenet.com
• www.timeanddate.com