CASUSES OF WW2 ESSAY 11 MARCH 2023

INTRODUCTION
WW2 was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 – 1945 and involved several countries
and nations ready to fight alongside their allies. The time period between WW1 and WW2
was known as the interwar period and lasted for about 20 years. It was filled with many
different events that all had the purpose to either prevent another war or cause another war.
WW2 was caused by a numerous number of events that took place during the interwar period
such as, the treaty of Versailles, fascism, Nazi party and the failure of appeasement. The
treaty of Versailles was far too harsh on Germany and was built on rules designed to prevent
another war but did just the opposite. Fascism, the rise of the Nazi party and the failure of
appeasement also played large roles in causing another world war.

BODY PARAGRAPH ONE

The treaty of Versailles was a document created by the British Empire and its allies after
WW1, filled with several new rules and laws with the intentions to prevent another war. No
German leader was allowed at the conferences to input their thoughts and opinions of what
the treaty should have included. As a result, the treaty was extremely harsh against Germany
and its allies. It consisted of rules that prevented Germany expanding their military forces
past 100 000 men, no air force, no tanks, no submarines and banned conscriptions. Germany
also had to pay $33 billion US dollars in reparations and had all over seas nations and much
of their land taken away. Anger raged among the Germans as they sought revenge and a way
to overthrow their government, the Weimer Republic, that signed the treaty on behalf of
Germany. Their government and society were thrown into a state of disarray, leaving the
streets in complete chaos and fear among the citizens.

BODY PARAGRAPH TWO

Fascism is a form of government that leads a country by prioritizing the nation over
the people. After WW1, many countries had been taken over by new governments, some of
which presented a dictatorship. Most of these had failed but few had succeeded such as
Germany, Italy and Spain. Fascism emerged in Germany after the Weimer Republic had
accepted the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, angering the revenge seeking Germans. One
group that emerged from this chaos was the Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler. Hitler promised
Germany many things such as revenge on the French and British, and so when the Nazi party
applied for leadership, they were accepted. Germany soon fell into the hands of a fascist
government, led by their dictator, Adolf Hitler.

BODY PARAGRAPH THREE

One German political party that rapidly gained power between the two world wars was
known as the Nazi party. Nazi ideology was shaped by Hitler’s beliefs in German racial
superiority and anti-Semitism, creating hatred to all other races, especially Jews. The Nazi
party was founded on February 20, 1920 and was led by Adolf Hitler until 1945. They
officially came into power after Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933. The
Germans resented all of the restrictions placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and
were desperate for someone to turn around their economy and restore their national pride.
And so when Hitler began to offer them hope and revenge, the Nazi party was appointed into
government. Whilst talking about peace, Hitler began to rearm Germany and prepare for
another war. Germany, Italy and Japan came together to form the Axis Alliance in 1940 as
they were all three the major targets of the treaty and each wanted their own revenge.

BODY PARAGRAPH FOUR

Shortly after the Nazi party came into power, Hitler set his plan into action to restore
Germany’s economy and rebuild their military forces. France and Brittan soon
became aware of Germanys actions but did nothing to stop them as neither of them
were prepared to go into war again this soon after WW1, and so they decided Hitler’s
actions were justifiable as the treaty had been extremely harsh against Germany.
This policy was known as the policy of appeasement. Hitler began to take back
German territories that they had lost due to the Treaty of Versailles, conscription was
reintroduced and the German army expanded from 100 000 to over 500 000. Once
Germany had taken over Rhineland in March 1936, France and Brittan decided they
had to put some order back into this mess. Germany agreed with them and said they
would not invade any other countries. But in March 1939 Germany broke its promise
and invaded Czechoslovakia. Then again on September 1, 1939 when Germany saw
that France and Brittan had done nothing to stop them, Germany invaded Poland.
War was immediately declared on Germany and WW2 had officially begun in
Europe.

CONCLUSION
WW2 was a global conflict that had many events in the lead up to the war. The
interwar period was meant to be a time of celebration for the end of WW1 but turned
out to be the perfect opportunity for Germany to prepare for another war as France
and Brittan were not yet stable and unprepared for war. The treaty of Versailles,
failure of appeasement, rise of the Nazi party and fascism were some of the key
causes of WW2