After World War I, countries were economically poor. Two decades later Germany invaded Poland, causing World War II. World War II was a long and tiresome war that lasted for six years. Along with the war, a horrific event also took place called the Holocaust. In all, the war was horrible, but to understand why the war happened, one must start from the beginning. There are many reasons why World War II started. To put into a big category, the main cause of the war is the first world war. The countries reluctantly signed the Treaty of Versailles, also known as the Peace of Paris, because it did not satisfy any country (History.com, 2009). After World War I, many countries were indebted and economically poor; this is known as the Great Depression. …show more content…
For example, Poland was defeated on April 9, 1940, and they started invading neutral countries; along with other countries like Italy creating an alliance called the Axis. As time passed, more invasions happened like the Battle of Britain. Along with violating the Treaty of Versailles, Germany also violated the German-Soviet Pact by invading the Union, but they drove the Germans out (Holocaust Museum, n.d.). In June 1941, mass murder began. While on July 3, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, called for a scorched earth policy. During this time, Britain had an agreement with the Soviet Union and the United States and occupied other countries. While in the United States, President Roosevelt froze Japanese assets, suspended relations, and had an oil embargo. Back in Germany, they experimented with the gas chambers, advanced towards Moscow, created the Night and Fog Decree, and forced Jews to wear the Star of David. By this time, more than 33,771 Jews were killed. The Soviets started taking and retaking cities, launching a major counter-attack and caused Germany to abandon Moscow (The History Place, n.d.). Then one of the largest attacks on US soil was launched. The bombing of Pearl Harbor killed at least 2,000 people ( ). This event caused Britain and the United States to declare war on Japan, and Germany and Italy declared war on America. At this time, Hitler took total control of the German army, …show more content…
On D-Day, over 150,000 Allied soldiers landed in France, and the country was liberated at the end of August. On September 11, 1944, US troops crossed into Germany; while the Soviet Union crossed the eastern border a month before. Also at this time, Allied air forces attacked plants like Auschwitz, but chambers were not targeted. As the United States got even closer to their target, many allies of Germany started to surrender, Poland was liberated, and the Soviets encircled Berlin. Knowing they have lost, Hitler and many of his high ranking officers committed suicide, and Germany surrendered (The History Place, n.d.). At the end of the war, part of Asia and much of Europe laid in ruins. There was an uneasy peace; the United States and the Soviet Union became the most powerful, and the majority of the people was starving and homeless (Stokesbury, 2017). In conclusion, the end of the war was not a thing to rejoice