There are numerous causes and sequences of events that led to the outbreak of war. The first is the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1920. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were deemed “unfair” and “harsh” by the Germans as they claimed that it was set out to destroy Germany. The treaty was called a ‘diktat’ as Germans were not allowed to discuss the terms and were just told to sign it. The German pride was hurt as the large German army was reduced to a puny 100,000 men, conscription was banned as all men had to be volunteers.
The next cause is the failure of the League. Written into the Treaty of Versailles, the League was set up to solve arguments and disputes between countries in a peaceful way as its aims were to maintain world peace after the devastation of World War One. A League Council consisting of Britain, France, Italy and Japan was set up to make decisions that were to be carried out by all the member states.
Besides, Hitler’s action had also made a big impact on the World War Two. Hitler was elected to solve Germany’s problems. The Weimar Republic was set up after World War One. They were not accepted by the people as Germany continued to live in poor conditions after the war. Adolf Hitler rose to power and was determined to restore Germany. Hitler started off by withdrawing Germany from the League of Nations and the Disarmament Conference and focused on strengthening his position and rearming Germany.
The Nazi Soviet Pact was was a , signed between German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov in in the late hours of 23 August 1939. This agreement stated that both countries would not attack each other, specifically if Germany were to attack Poland, the Soviet Union would not help Poland and when Germany went to war against the Western Powers, the Soviets would not need to enter the war.
Another thing is that the Treaty of Versailles caused the Great Depression in Germany. Many have lost their jobs and businesses have failed in this period of time. The unemployed joined the Communist and National Socialist parties. The Weimar Republic was the government of Germany after World War One. Many have been unpleased by them and opposed them. As their faith in democracy was lost, many turned to those that wished to destroy parliament. The National Socialist party’s leader, Adolf Hitler gained power as the government did little to help them improve their poor living conditions. As America called in her loans to Germany, Germany industry collapsed and this led to the rise of Adolf Hitler. It also promoted self-interest that destroyed the international co-operation ideal of League of Nations. I strongly believe that the Treaty of Versailles is the most significant cause of the World War Two.
