World War II was the deadliest war in history, resulting in over 50 million military and civilian deaths. The Second World War lasted from 1939 to 1945, and involved many countries from around the world. There were two opposing groups of countries, the Axis Powers- Germany, Italy and Japan- and the Allied Powers- the Soviet Union, France, Britain, Australia, the United States of America and China. Several significant causes are to blame for the horrific event that would forever change the history of the world. The Treaty of Versailles, the failure of the Weimar Republic, and Hitler’s rise to power are three key causes for World War II.
Firstly, the initial key cause of the Second World War was the Treaty of Versailles. After the end of World
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He became chancellor of Germany in 1933 and was proclaimed the “Fϋhrer” (leader) in 1934. Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power through their radical ideologies of German nationalism, ideas of racial purity, anti-communism and antisemitism. They gained a large following through effective propaganda, their promises to restore the country and the economy, and through the enforcement of fear. Hitler had his own secret police, the Gestapo, who ran the streets and hunted any opponents of Hitler. They kept files on everyone in the country and anyone who criticised the Nazis faced interrogation, torture, imprisonment in the concentration camps, or death. Hitler blamed the Communists in Russia for defeating Germany in World War I and wanted to take over their country. “The menace of Russia hangs over Germany. All our strength is needed to rescue our nation from this international snake.” Hitler wrote in his book, Mein Kamf in 1924. Hitler wanted to restore the country back to its former glory so he invaded neighbouring countries, claiming his motive was to rescue the German people in those countries. By doing this, he evidently broke the agreements of the Versailles Treaty, however through appeasement, Britain and France agreed to his demands and did nothing to stop him so to keep the peace and prevent another war. The appeasement policy only gave Hitler more encouragement and time to build up his army. The policy backfired when Germany ultimately invaded Poland and Britain declared war. The League of Nations was created in 1919 with the intentions of preventing another World War by peacefully negotiating disputes, but were a weak organisation due to not having an army or having the USA or Japan involved. The League of Nations contributed to the cause of WWII and their main goal, to prevent another war after World War I, disastrously