http://www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII7a.htm

World War II (1939- 1945) is considered to be the worst war in history, which killed more people than any other war before. After its start from Europe it spread to practically every part of the world. According to the statistics, nearly 17 million soldiers died during the period of the war. The number of civilians, men, women and children, who died from bomb attacks, illnesses or starvation, is even more. Millions of Jews died in German concentration camps because of genocide. Moreover, practically all the cities and industries of Europe and Asia were destroyed by bombs and burnt down to ashes.

On September 30, 1938 three countries - Great Britain, France and Germany – which were included in political union called Antanta, signed the Munich Agreement, which gave Germany the right to take over the Sudetenland, that was a part of Czechoslovakia. The two Allies hoped that it would satisfy Hitler and keep them out of the war. However, the agreement was broken and Hitler took over all of Czechoslovakia, but not only the Sudetenland. Moreover, the situation connected with the Sudetenland led Stalin to make the Nazi-Soviet Pact, as Britain was not a reliable ally. This document made the situation on the international area even more contradictive.

World War I resulted into World War II. The reason for the Second World War mainly can be considered the fact that Germany suffered from great humiliations. Some other reasons must also be mentioned.

The first and one of the most important reasons of the Second World War was the unjust Treaty of Versailles, which was signed at the end of the First World War in France. Germany and her allies (Austria, Hungary and Turkey) were resented by the Treaty as it was rather revengeful to them. This dissatisfaction was the main impact to the start of the World War II, as the loss of all the land to other founders of the Treaty made Hitler's aggression quite predictable.

At the same period of time the rise of Fascism in such countries as Germany, Italy and Japan was seen, which is also proved to be the reason for the war. Nazies in Germany and fascists in Italy believed in expansion of their empire, so the war seemed to be the best way for the achievement of their goals.

Additionally, Germany wanted to revenge France for the abasements it suffered after the First World War, so, from the point of view of Hitler, this war was also the way to change the relations on the international area.

Another reason is that the governments of western countries adopted a policy of appeasement towards fascist countries- Germany, Italy and Japan. Western governments encouraged them to adopt war-like tendencies. They did not check them in the beginning as it would have harmed their own interests.

Italian Invasion of Ethiopia also increased tension among countries of Europe. These actions of Italy became one more reason that lead to the Second World War.

One more important reason is the failure of the League of Nations. The League of Nations had the maintenance of peace in the world and the avoidance another World War after the First one as the main purpose, but with the stream of time it proved very weak and failed to achieve its main purpose of maintaining international peace. For instance, it didn’t manage to improve the situations in Manchuria and Abyssinia. The weakness of this political union resulted in an arms race and encouraged Germany to settle that difference through war. Countries, which understood the weakness of the League, left it and began to prepare to fight a war against Germany.

But it is evident that German’s invasion of Poland in September of 1939 was the very reason of the beginning World War II, as this fact encouraged France to humiliate Germany.

To sum up, it is quite evident that all reasons for the World War II depended on the situation on international area. To be more exact, the First World War laid the basics for the contradictions between the countries with different aims and governmental policies, such as the USSR and the countries of western part of the world. Moreover, such documents as the Treaty of Versailles, that hadn’t take the interests of specific countries into account, made the tension between countries even more noticeable, what finally leaded to the Second World War.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14