A.J.P Taylor on the Causes of World War II

This essay analyses the origins of the Second World War by briefly summarizing the events from 1919-1939. However, most emphasis is put on the amount of responsibility the Treaty of Versailles deserves for the outbreak of war. Other than analysing the Treaty of Versailles on its own, it also analyses the effects of the 1929 Wall Street Crash on the world, the rise of Fascism and Nazism, as well as the rise of Adolf Hitler, the failure of the League of Nations and the appeasement of the Fascist and Nazi regimes by Britain and France throughout the 1930s. Hence the Treaty of Versailles plays a

On June 28th 1919, in the Versailles Palace of France, the treaty of Versailles officially ended World war one. The signers of this treaty implemented certain restrictions on Germany that were to guarantee Germany would never start another world war. This begs the question, “what did the end of one war have to do with the start of World War Two?”. The evidence shows that it was this treaty’s influence on Adolf Hitler that led to the Versailles Treaty’s ultimate failure and provoked the start of the next world war. Because of this treaty Adolf Hitler’s economic plan, proposed while he was seeking political election, was focused on rebuilding and reclaiming Germany. This went hand in hand with the nationalist ideas of the Nazi party.

The second World War can be considered “Hitler`s war” due to Adolf Hitlers responsibility and actions that caused the war. He had an enormous impact and role on many events such as secretly increasing the size fo the army,which made World War 2 possible. On the other hand, the failure of the League of Nations and defects in the Treaty of Versailles also triggered the outbreak of the war. It gave Hitler many oppurtunities to support his ambitions and policies. Hitlers Plan that could only be followed through with the help of mistakes such as the appeasement. It can also be argued that it was rather Germany than Hitler`s war as their reaction to World War 1.Many factors affected the outbreak

As I’m sure most people know Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Germans from August 2 1934 to April 30 1945, but do you know that as Fuhrer of Germany he was the driving force behind the start of WWII. During his reign he tried to bring Germany back to the powerful country it had been before the First World War. In this paper I will prove that Hitler’s actions lead to start of WWII, and I plan to prove how his direct disregard of the Treaty of Versailles pushed the world into WWII.

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.

Many historians argue that the reason for Germany going to war was due to the aggressive behaviour of Germany in the build up to the war. Throughout this essay I will be addressing this issue looking at whether Germany was responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914. There are many factors which contribute to the outbreak of the war from a short-term trigger such as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to the long-term annexation aims Germany implemented in the years building up to the war, the most important reason was Germany’s aggressive foreign policy, they had provided

The Treaty of Versailles was a formal peace treaty between the Word War I Allies and Germany. The leaders of Britain, France, Italy and the United States met in Paris in early 1919 to draft the treaty. President Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points, a series of measures intended to ensure future peace. The points included the formation of an international organization known as the League of Nation, which was adopted in the treaty. Representatives of each country signed the treaty in June 1919.

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.

On June, 28 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This treaty coupled with other factors, such as the Nazis rise to power in Germany, Europe’s policy of appeasement, and Germany’s invasion of Poland would lead to - and be direct causes of - World War II. In fact, when French military commander Marshal Foch heard of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, her observed with extreme accuracy - “This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for 20 years.” (Churchill, 7)

The Fourteen Points were distributed all over the world. On November 5, Wilson delivered the peace plan to the German government (http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1234.html). The Germans surrender November 11,1918 and expect a peace treaty under Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The war was now over. Many lives were loss because of the war. There was disease and starvation that killed ten million civilians. In addition, ten million soldiers were killed (http://www.polytechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/chart.ww1.html).

For quite a number of reasons, World War II was largely inevitable. In this text, I will take into consideration some arguments that have been presented in the past in an attempt to demonstrate the inevitability of the Second World War. These arguments range from the creation of the Treaty of Versailles to the conditions imposed on Germany to nationalistic issues. Many historians consider German's invasion into Poland the official commencement date of the Second World War.

In the early months of 1918, the dynamics of The Great War ravaging Europe changed dramatically. On March 3rd, Germany and the Russian Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, officially ending Russia’s involvement in the war and freeing Germany’s forces previously occupied on the Eastern Front . That same month, Germany launched an extensive attack in France along the Somme River, knocking a devastating blow to the Allies. By the summer of 1918, the United States had escalated it’s involvement in the war, sending over mass amounts of troops and coordinating with European powers to essentially back the German offensive into a position of little advancement. As Germany recognized its failing position in the war, the officials in the German High Command began quietly pursuing negotiations of peace and cease fire, not from their European counterparts, but from American President Woodrow Wilson . Germany was hoping to benefit from President Wilson’s ideals of peace and justice for all, ideals he had laid out publicly that year in a January speech outlining his “blueprint for a new democratic world order.” These Fourteen Points became the cornerstone of Wilson’s contribution to the peace negotiations following the armistice that ended the war in November of 1918. Focusing on the belief that an established system of democracy, communication and peace would prevent further atrocities like World War I, the Fourteen Points centered on equal representation and opportunity

The Treaty of Versailles was effective because it made territorial changes and had strict military terms for Germany. The Treaty of Versailles was between Germany and the allied powers, however Germany had no control of it. It assigned the War Guilt Clause to Germany stating they were the ones who caused the damage in World War 1. It also caused Germany to lose all its colonies and weapons. Germany had reparations, to pay the allied powers’ losses.

backed out without much question! It was far too casual for it to be a

After the First World War (1914-1919), the world was faced with the questions - who was responsible and what was reason for the outbreak of the war. Ultimately it was agreed on the 28 June 1919 that “the Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage” from the First World War. However, there have been many other interpretations on whom and what was responsible for the war. On the one hand, some historians would agree with David Lloyd George’s notion of all “the nations slithered over the brink into the boiling cauldron of war”, however, on the contrary, others would agree with Fischer in arguing that Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was responsible for the First World War. Whether you agree with Lloyd George or Fischer, it is important to understand some of the other possible reasons for the outbreak of the First World War – including the growth of nationalism and imperialism, the alliances within Europe and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Although this essay will argue that Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War, it will also illustrate why other historians have argued against that notion.