Causes of World War II

The Causes of World War II were the German invasion of Poland, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In addition to those immediate causes there were several factors involved.

Ideologies

Fascism

Italy in the 1920's and then Germany and Spain in the 1930's were transformed into fascist dictatorships. Fascism focused on the needs of the State and the collective over the rights of individuals.

German fascists were known as Nazis.

In France, once fascists took over following the Fall of France they changed the motto from "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" (Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood) to "Travail, famille, patrie" (Work, Family, Fatherland).

Communism

Communists favored World Revolution, but were hemmed in by a cordon of small, western-backed states along the western border of Russia. This led Stalin to conclude a non-aggression pact with Hitler, allowing the Soviet Union to take over the Baltic States and part of Poland.

Racism and Antisemitism

Hitler used scapegoating of the Jews as a way to gain and keep power in Germany. Domestically he used the power of the state to terrorize and dehumanize Jewish-German citizens. Internationally, he soured relations with Great Britain by alleging that Jews controlled the London banking industry and were seeking another world war.

To a lesser extent he also demonized the Slavic Czechs, Poles, Serbs, and Russians, as well as people with African ancestry and other minorities.

Political Strategies

Appeasement

Great Britain and France allowed Germany to disregard the Treaty of Versailles, and then to go even further in a series of aggressive acts. These included: Remilitarization of the Rhineland, rearmament, Anschluss (Annexation of Austria), taking the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, and finally, invading Prague and the rest of Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile Italy was allowed to invade Albania and both fascist countries supported the uprising of Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

With the invasion of Poland, it was clear to the Allies that the only way Hitler could be stopped was through force, and they declared war.

Isolationism

Isolationism was a mentality that whatever happened in far-away lands was irrelevant. It was popular in Great Britain and France, still war-weary from WWI. In the United States, isolationism held sway until 1941, when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shook the country out of its torpor.

Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain, famously said in 1938 as the Nazi's were invading Czechoslovakia, "How horrible, fantastic it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing. I am myself a man of peace from the depths of my soul." Within three years of his statement, London itself was bombed by German airplanes and tens of thousands of British civilians lost their lives.

Events Leading to War

Franco-Prussian War (1870)

The Franco-Prussian War took place as the relative power of France was waning in Europe. Napoleon III, emperor of France, started the war in response to the growth in population and military power among the German states led by Prussia.

Prussia launched a fast-moving invasion of France, resulting in a catastrophic French defeat at Sedan. Paris was surrounded, and briefly turned communist. After the French surrendered, the revolution in Paris was suppressed by loyal troops from the countryside.

The Unification of Germany took place immediately after the war. Germany annexed Alsace-Lorraine, a disputed border territory. Unable to contain the new German nation on their own, French leaders sought alliances with Russia and Great Britain.

World War I (1914-1918)

World War I ended in a Pyrrhic victory for France, and devastation for Germany. A large proportion of the men from both countries were killed or maimed in the war. Germany was forced to pay reparations, and lost Alsace-Lorraine as well as some peripheral territory in the east.

In the years after the war, German agitators would claim that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair, and that the German army could have somehow won the war if not for revolution at home. Germany was forced to pay reparations, and a strip of land near Danzig, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany, was given to Poland.

The Russian Empire disintegrated during the war, leading to the October Revolution, and the rise the communist Soviet Union.

Many new states arose in Eastern Europe based on self-determination. Great Britain and France made alliances with Czechoslovakia and Poland, in order to contain both Germany and the Soviet Union.

The League of Nations was set up to prevent future wars, but was ineffective.

Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was the democratic government in Germany after World War I. In 1923, Adolf Hitler and the WWI general Erich Ludendorff attempted to overthrow the government in the Beer Hall Putsch, but failed. Hitler was thrown into jail, where he wrote Mein Kampf, an autobiographical book describing his hatred of Jews and plans for the future expansion of Germany.

Great Depression

The Great Depression hit the United States, and spread worldwide. In Germany there was crippling inflation and shortages of some goods. This destabilized the government and helped to make it possible for the Nazis to win the elections.

Nazi Dictatorship

The Nazi's won an election, and quickly moved to eliminate democracy in Germany. In the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler's men murdered many of his political opponents and some of his rivals within the Nazi party, mainly in the SA.

Italian Invasion of Abyssinia

Mussolini had visions of a renewed Roman Empire, and he led Italy on an invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Ethiopia had been one of only two African countries to successfully resist European colonization. The Italian invasion was initially slow, but within several months Ethiopia was subdued.

With the consent of Great Britain, the League of Nations condemned Italy for this action. Churchill at the time thought that this was a mistake, that Great Britain and France could little afford to alienate Italy at a time when Germany was becoming dangerous once again.

Spanish Civil War

The Fascists, led by Franco, defeated the Republicans. The fascists were backed by Germany and Italy. The Republicans were backed by the Soviet Union. German bombers attacked the town of Guernica, causing so much destruction as to inspire Picasso to paint Guernica in response.

Sino-Japanese War

Japan attacked out of its foothold in Manchuria, taking the Chinese capital of Nanking and slaughtering thousands of civilians in the Rape of Nanking. Chinese resistance was divided between the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists under Mao Zedong.

Anschluss

Following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Austrians, who all spoke German, established an independent state. Hitler wanted them to become part of Germany, so he sent spies, infiltrators, and assassins and had their leader, Engelbert Dolfuss, killed. Following that he invited Kurt Schuschnigg, the new chancellor, to Germany where he was bullied and threatened. Nazi's within Austria eventually deposed him and allowed German troops to march in unopposed.

Munich Agreement

The Munich Agreement or Munich Pact was a treaty signed in September 1938 between Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. The treaty allowed Germany to invade and occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, in return for Adolf Hitler's promise that it would be the last of his territorial claims in Europe. The Sudetenland was a mountainous region with an ethnic German majority, and prior to 1918 it had been part of Austria-Hungary. It contained most of the Czechoslovakian defensive fortifications and its loss meant that the rest of Czechoslovakia became indefensible against the German invaders.

The signing of the agreement also strengthened Hitler against dissident elements within the army in Germany, who could not act so long as his reckless foreign policy continued to succeed.

In March 1939, Hitler broke the agreement and occupied Prague and the remainder of Czechoslovakia. Soon after, he attacked Poland, igniting World War II. Since then, the Munich Agreement has been noted as the most famous example of appeasement in history.

Soviet-Japanese Border War

The Japanese attacked north from Manchuria into Mongolia, and were decisively beaten by Soviet armored units under General Georgy Zhukov. Japan looked south to expand its empire, leaving the Soviet Union free to focus on the west.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

The Soviet and German representatives signed an agreement dividing Eastern Europe between the two powers. The Soviets also agreed to sell food and raw materials to the Germans, preventing them from being isolated as in World War I.

Invasion of Poland

Hitler demanded the cession of Danzig and the Polish Corridor. Despite his threats and the presence of German armies massing on the border, the Poles stood firm. Great Britain and France guaranteed Poland's safety. The Germans attacked on September 1, 1939, sending armored columns through the Polish lines and deep into Poland. The blitzkrieg of tanks in association with ground attack Stuka dive bombers devastated the Polish defenses. Weeks later, the Soviet Union attacked from the East, and the Polish government fled into exile along with the Navy and hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

In the summer of 1941, Germany launched the largest invasion in history, against the Soviet Union. Named Operation Barbarossa, it caught the Soviets by suprise, and much of their air force was destroyed on the ground. Large Soviet army groups were surrounded and annihilated. In the south, the Soviets were able to inflict heavy losses on the Germans as they retreated.

The German attack slowed as it approached Moscow, and Hitler diverted groups to the south to clear the Ukraine, and north to surround Leningrad. The delay allowed the Soviets to bring in units from Siberia under General Zhukov. The Soviets repulsed the German offensive within miles of Moscow, while the weather turned bitter cold and further attacks were made impossible.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese Navy attacked the United States Navy, in the anchorage at Pearl Harbor, HI, in a dawn surprise attack launched from aircraft carriers. The devastating attack sank several battleships and killed over 2000 sailors, but it failed to catch any of the American aircraft carriers because they were out at sea. Several days later, Germany declared war on the United States, bringing the U.S. into the war.

See also

• Causes of World War I