Aftermath of WWI Leads to WWII
Prior to the First World War, Europe was the world center of industry and capital. Massive death, destruction, and resentment after World War I left most countries unable to recover to a normal existence and damaged the world economy. The economic collapse and the political instability caused by World War I eventually led to the rise of fascism in Europe. Forceful dictators in Italy, Germany, and Japan took advantage of these problems to seize power by territorial expansion. These events caused a major repositioning of world power and influence. This paper traces a variety of significant factors and forces that contributed to the outbreak of World War II. The Treaty of Versailles aided in the outbreak of
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This was the longest and most severe slump ever to hit the industrialized world, which lasted through most of the 1930s. The Great Depression caused mass unemployment, wide spread poverty and despair. The German economy was especially vulnerable since it was built out of foreign capital, owing mostly to debts to the United States and was very dependent on foreign trade. Adolf Hitler knew his opportunity had arrived to strengthen extreme political movements that promised to end the economic problems. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party used nationalism to great effect in Germany that spured the Second World World. After WWI, many Germans blamed the new government for accepting the unfair treaty as conditions became miserable. People who could not find jobs began to drift into the Communist and National Socialist parties established by Hitler. They decided that it was the necessary solution. In 1933, Hitler came to power as dictator of Germany and preached a racist brand of fascism. He promised to end the humiliating conditions caused by the German defeat in WWI. He knew how to win people's obedience and trust, through their fears and insecurities. He almost immediately got Germany back into the factories and began secretly building up army and weapons. His real motives were to expand German territory and dominate Europe and the whole world that became the prelude to another war. After the WWI,
Once in power Hitler quickly established himself as dictator. He started hauling off thousands of anti-Nazis to concentration camps. The economy, the media, and all cultural activities were brought under Nazi authority by making an individual’s livelihood dependent on their political loyalty. His desire was to establish German rule over Europe and other parts of the world. He realized that this would lead to a European conflict and so he started his plan to conquer Europe by invading Poland in 1939 and started World War ll . The war started off good for the Germans but once the United States entered the war they started to lose. As time passed, defeat became more certain, but Hitler refused to give up. Finally with all of Germany overrun by Allied
From the Treaty of Versailles, to the rise of Hitler, and the failure of the League of Nations, there were many causes that lead up to World War II. World War I left Germany with many shortfalls, thus leaving them in the hands of the Treaty of Versailles. Rather unfair of a Treaty, this left Germany once again looking for another way out. A country resented by many had no other choice but to feel optimistic toward Adolph Hitlers empty promises… making it substantially simple for him to gain power so quick. Throw in the Great Depression, and you have a vastly unstable world, which the Germans believed Hitler would lead them out of.
World War II was a devastating war where millions of soldiers and civilians died. Adolf Hitler played a huge part in World War II and was one of the major reasons the war happened. Hitler started to take over countries like Austria with little or no resistance. When he later tried to invade Poland, Britain declared war. Even though there was very little fighting at the time Britain declared war. Hitler’s ideas and goals for Germany were what initially caused World War II and later led to the holocaust. His need for more space for Germany led him to start taking over countries and initially started the war with Britain and he wanted a superior Aryan race which is the reason for the Holocaust. Hitler stated the three reasons for starting this war in his Journal Mein Kampf. His goals were to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles, make a Greater Germany, and he wanted more living space for his people.
In 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power he set out to have world domination and to have the whole world fall under his control. He thought that he would be creating the Third Reich that would last a thousand years. And on September 1, 1939 he invaded Poland and was about to conquer the rest of Europe and have them fall to his feet and he made sure Germans had enough living space and make sure that the entire German race was taken care of. But Hitler couldn 't do it alone, he needed the help of the SS and Gestapo. Which had more power than modern military forces.
After World War I, Adolf Hitler was one of the dictators that arose; which then gained power in Germany in its Great Depression. Hitler rose to power using techniques such as propaganda, censorship, charisma and terror, but that was not all he did. Hitler started his own fascist party in Germany and called it the Nazi Party. Later, Hitler developed anti-semitism, or prejudice against Jews and dehumanized them. He viewed Jews as a separate race not a religion. This caused many changes particularly to the Jews. During World War I the Nazi’s treatment of the Jews caused political, economic, and social changes.
Hitler from the start of his chancellorship, on the 31st of January 1933, knew that if he wanted to make Germany strong again he would have to be prepared to go to war. In 1933 he began the secret equipment of the German army, so he came public with this plan in 1935. Also the economic distress in Weimar Germany and by having their ‘brown shirts’, the Nazis became a governmental force. On January 30 1933, Hitler was placed in a position take power when he was appointed Reich president by President Paul von Hindenburg. Although Britain and France were aware of Hitler’s plans, they were probably more concerned about the rise of socialism and believed that a stronger Germany might help to prevent the spread the socialism to the western side. In this paragraph I have explained how evil Hitler was involved in causing World War 2, the plans he had and the fear of socialism was going to be stop by a strong Germany.
The Great Depression caused many small businessmen, office workers, artisans, and peasants to vote Nazi. Hitler promised to use government programs to end the economic crisis.
Before the Great Depression, the Nazis gained 12 seats and 2.6% of the vote in the May election of 1928. Despite this, by July 1932, Hitler gained 230 seats and 37.3% of the vote in the Reichstag. This is a dramatic increase in popularity and support with much of this success due to the Great Depression. In October 1929, the American stock market crashed, plummeting the US into a disastrous economic depression known as the Wall Street Crash. US banks recalled their loans in order to pay off their debts, but German companies were unable to pay. German business began to close and millions lost their jobs, as Germany was so dependant on US loans in order to pay their reparations. The reality of the situation made a mockery of the weak, short-lived coalition governments in the Weimar constitution as it highlighted that Germany economic recovery was dependant on US loans and hence Germany was not independent. This enabled the extremist parties to claim they knew exactly how to solve this crisis and Hitler promised the public an authoritarian government in which he could achieve Autarky as well as jobs for the thirteen million people now unemployed. This aspect of unemployment gained Hitler
“Hitler soon emerged as a charismatic public speaker and began attracting new members with speeches blaming Jews and Marxists for Germany’s problems and espousing extreme nationalism and the concept of an Aryan ‘master race’.” (History.com Staff, 2009). Since Germany was in such a grave state many people backed him and his views up because it was their way out of their tough times. “In July 1921, he assumed leadership of the organization, which by then had been renamed the Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party” (History.com Staff, 2009). His fiery, compelling speeches were key elements for his gain of power.
In Germany the economy was especially vulnerable since it was built out of foreign capital, mostly loans from America and was very dependent on foreign trade. When those loans suddenly came due and when the world market for German exports dried up, the well-oiled German industrial machine quickly ground to a halt. As production levels fell, German workers were laid off. Along with this, banks failed throughout Germany. Savings accounts, the result of years of hard work, were instantly wiped out. Inflation soon followed making it hard for families to purchase expensive necessities with devalued money. Overnight, the middle class standard of living so many German families enjoyed was ruined by events outside of Germany, beyond their control. The Great Depression began and they were cast into poverty and deep misery and began looking for a solution, any solution. By mid-1930, amid the economic pressures of the Great Depression, the German democratic government was beginning to unravel. The crisis of the Great Depression
Germany had very low employment rates in this time and it made it even harder to get back to a stable economy. In this time a lot of people had no jobs so this also did not help Germany because companies were going out of business. This directly led to the decline of Germany's economy. When having no business’s running the country as no money coming in and can not send anything out.
“Hitler began building weapons, training pilots for war, and allied with Austria. He also left an International Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations.” (Chomsky, 2009) Racial theories and goals were at the center of Hitler’s thoughts. He wanted to make Germany a formidable military power.
Before in 1923 Hitler and others of Kampfbund tried to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany. This was known as the Beer Hall Putsch. Ruler of Germany from 1934 to1945 and leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, known as the Nazi Party were trying to take control. Hitler took advantage of Germanys economic hardships and of the citizens after world war I to get followers, then finally just taking control of the country. Hitler had a very useful skill he was a persuasive speaker and his willingness to use violence to get what he wanted. (1)
Prior to the Great Depression, Germany was already in a poor economic and political state. More than 6 million Germans were out of work. Germany also had to pay massive reparations for supposedly being solely responsible for all the destruction that WWI caused, and the government was unstable, with several parties vying for power. The current government, the Weimar Republic, was losing support and there was no clear successor to be the new government of Germany. How did the Great Depression affect an already gloomy Germany? How did Hitler and the Nazis take advantage of the economic crisis?
The causes of WWII are too numerous and complex to be generalized. The following is said to be one of the main causes.