World War Two Essay
World War I couldn’t have ended any worse. The way it was handled was wrong and as a result of that, a war even worse than before broke out. The three main causes of World War II were the ways France, Britain, and Germany handled it diplomatically, socially, and financially. There are sources that show the actions taken by the countries.
After World War I France had made a treaty with the country of Poland that states if either country is attacked, the other will send aid and assistance via money and manpower, “to lend each other immediate aid and assistance, if such a failure is accompanied by an unprovoked recourse to arms…” (Doc 5) This was a key factor in why France went to war against Germany after Poland was invaded by Germany. In an excerpt of Benito Mussolini, What is Fascism, he mentioned that Fascism is “a force limited to the function of recording results. (Doc 7)
Germany was on a conquest to eliminate all of the inferior races, because they weren’t fascist. In a document by British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden it was said that Hitler would go against any treaty even if he wanted to sign it in the first place, “We must be prepared for him to repudiate any treaty even if freely negotiated…” (Doc 9) This would prove to be true when Hitler went against the Non-aggression pact he signed with Russia. As a result of World War I, many countries were looking for someone to blame for the destruction caused.
The allies, led by France and Britain, put all the blame on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles, “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage…” (Doc 1) While Hitler was in prison, he wrote a book called Mein Kampf; in the book he wrote how Jews were the absolute opposite of the Aryan, who was the ones who contributed the most to society, “The Jew forms the strongest contrast to the Aryan. Hardly in any people of the world is the instinct of self-preservation more strongly developed than in the so-called ‘chosen people’…? (Doc 4)
After Hitler became Chancellor all Germans started to buy in to beliefs similar to this. In a draft for a student composition on the advantages of war, it is said that War is great and to do anything for the Fatherland is the highest honor one could have. “It is sweet to die for the Fatherland. The dead of the enemy live in the memory of the victor. ” (Doc 6) Hitler used these kinds of beliefs to get his country into believing taking over the world was possible. In 1929 the Great Depression struck the United States, shortly after it spread all over the world.
This is widely known to also be a cause of World War II. As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to be broken up. West Prussia was separated and was soon on a downward spiral to collapse after economic decay. The German delegation had this to say on the move, “East Prussia is to be completely cut off from the rest of the empire and thereby condemned to economic and natural decay. ” (Doc 2) An author wrote about how the way life was like, was beyond anything ever imagined. “What we believed to be the limits of possibility have been so enormously exceeded. (Doc 3)
No one had taken a hit from the economy going down the drain then Germany. Their employment rate was at an all time low. Heinrich Hauser had this to say about the homeless situation. “An almost unbroken chain of homeless men extends the whole length of the great Hamburg-Berlin highway. ” (Doc 8) If they were to repeat the actions the Allies took after their victory in WWI, I’m sure they would have done it much different. They should have been more lenient on Germany and worked together. There is no doubt that their harsh actions only angered Germany even more and caused the Great War known as World War II.
