What happened in between the wars?

Key events
On the 30th of January 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. His Nazi Party, or the Third
Reich, takes power and Hitler is essentially the dictator of Germany. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy form
the Rome-Berlin Axis treaty, and Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact on
October 25 1936. This was a pact against communism and Russia. Japan later invaded China the 7th of
July 1937. On the 12th of March 1938, Hitler annexed the country of Austria into Germany. This is also
called the Anschluss.

Similarities and Differences

Both the causes of WWI and WWII are similar: both were blamed on German aggression by orthodox
historians, stemmed from radical ideologies in nationalism and imperialism, and were caused by the
unorganised and chaotic condition of Europe at the time.

Unlike WWI, which was fought in trenches with machine guns and poison gas, WWII was fought with
modern weapons and equipment, with more planes, ships, tanks, and submarines due to the advancement
of technology.

How WW2 Started

The Treaty of Versailles was signed in the aftermath of World War One, under the shadow of the Russian
Revolution and other events in Russia, in 1918. Germany was penalised for their conduct, and it left a
deep resentment that prepared the stage for World War II.

The Great Depression was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialised areas
of the world that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression
ever experienced by the industrialised Western world. After the Great Depression Governments were
more involved in the economic stability of the market.

On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, starting World War II in Europe. On September 3, the
United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. The German invasion of the Soviet Union,
Operation Barbarossa, launched the war between the USSR and Germany on June 22, 1941.
Motivation

As stated before, war stems majorly from beliefs regarding nationalism and imperialism. Hence, a major
incentive in war is the desire to acquire territorial, economic and religious gain, which is supported by the
belief that the people of a land are ‘more deserving as a nation’ of such gain. These beliefs of imperialism
stem from historical evidence of past transformations in land distribution or economic manipulation, and
result in a nation’s need to gain revenge. Otherwise, nationalism may result in a growing sense of pride in
one’s country, and the belief that a nation is superior to all others, which results in the need to
demonstrate superiority.

Additionally, religion plays a significant factor in the initiation of war. Due to contrast in belief, humans
tend to establish war to displace supremacy of one religion over another. This results in a sense of
imperialism, and possibly nationalism. Such examples of imperialistic behaviour are exhibited in the
Israeli-Palestinaian conflict. A land, which once belonged solely to the Palestinians, was annexed by
Israel as a result of a growing sense of nationalism and belief that the Jews deserve a land on Earth.
Similarly, the Palestinians continue to defend themselves as a result of religious beliefs. Hence, religion is
an influencing factor in establishing war.

Impact

War has a variety of common impacts that are imposed by other nations, or are a result of
bankruptcy and territorial damage. Laws imposed by other nations, which limit diplomacy and
trade are referred to as sanctions, and are the most common form of damage a country can
receive. These sanctions, depending on the country by which they were applied, can be
devastating to a country’s economy following a war, since trade was limited and other
relationships to nations severed. Similarly, a common impact following a war is physical damage
of land. This is extremely common, especially in hot wars, which results in loss of money due to
reconstruction. Based on the scale of the war, land may take decades to be rebuilt.