An estimated 80,000,000 died in WWII. Some consider WWII to be a continuation of WWI, with a 30-year break in between. Some Germans deny that WWII ever happened. Whatever people may believe, WWII was devastating, and could have been avoided, had Human Nature not gotten in the way. People have an inherent desire to crush their enemies. War is a function of the Human Race. War is necessary, but the main flaw in our war strategy is the inability to learn from the past. Why not have a war between a few political figures, rather than round up hundreds of thousands of young men to kill each other? Though WWII was caused by many things, the most important were the peace treaties after WWI, Hitler’s ambitions, and the worldwide depression.
The peace
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Hitler had three foreign policy goals- the first being to rearm Germany. Rearmament was justified- before Hitler, Germany was defenseless, and could have been bombarded by a better-armed country. Once the nation was rearmed, the people felt secure- able to protect themselves, should they be attacked. The second goal was to unite all Germans- taking over weaker countries full of Germans. This goal, like the first, was not entirely unjustified- Hitler believed that all people of the same nationality should live together. This was not an unreasonable request, but rather, should have been granted by larger countries, sparing Austria and Czechoslovakia the violence that came with union. Hitler’s final goal was to take over foreign countries- thus providing more Lebensraum, or living space. Though Hitler made his plan seem more humane than it actually was, this was the only goal that was not fair and reasonable to all parties involved. For example, in the case of rearmament, Germany wasn’t necessarily using the weapons on other countries, and in the cases of Austria and Poland, all of the Germans were once again part of their homeland. In general, Hitler’s foreign policy goals seemed to have been designed for the people- the Germans would be protected, united, and …show more content…
In 1929, the American economy crashed- and the Europeans, (especially the Germans) who were very financially dependent on the Americans, plummeted into the same state of homelessness and starvation. The air was already filled with anticipation- anticipation for war. Everybody was tense and bitter- the last thing that the Europeans needed was grumbling stomachs. The Germans were already in an economical predicament- and the American crash didn’t help in any way; the Americans had been helping Germany with the Dawes plan, which spread the reparations out over a longer period of time, and funded 8,000,000 gold marks. But even this small sliver of hope was faltering. The American economy had fallen- the help that Germany was receiving was beginning to fail. The Allies were still in debt to America after WWI, but had no money to pay off the debt. This money that America was owed (over $10,000,000,000) could have been used to stop the depression. This creates a very vicious, hypothetical circle: If the Europeans had been able to pay back America, America's economy would have been saved- thus uplifting the world economy; however, the American economy crash was the reason that Europe wasn’t able to pay America back in the first place! The fear, confusion, and stress of
In the words of John Green, “The truth resists simplicity”. Assigning the blame of WWII to the Treaty of Versailles is far too simple of an explanation. The Treaty of Versailles, which ended WWI while sanctioning and punishing Germany, forced Germany to pay reparations. These reparations are said to have caused economic challenges in Germany, which allowed Hitler to take control on nationalist fervor. Thus, the story goes, that the Treaty of Versailles made Hitler’s rise to power, and his starting of WWII, inevitable. However, this mode of explanation is a deeply flawed oversimplification. The Treaty of Versailles did not make WWII inevitable because the independent forces of the Great Depression and Japanese expansion also played key roles, and because nationalism was most likely to arise in Germany even if there were less harsh terms to the treaty.
It is in this light that we can clearly see Hitler as a man motivated by more than a few limited objectives for Germany’s future. It is unlikely that he would have settled on the submission of France and Britain and the conquest of Eastern Europe and Russia. It is far more likely that he would have continued to pursue wars of conquest throughout Africa, and eventually the Western hemisphere given the proper opportunities.
Hitler wanted a pure nation and he thought he could get that by having only the Aryan race in Germany (“Background”). The people of Germany, seeing their economic problems start to get better, ignored the discrimination and let the Nazis put their plan into action. Hitler had one goal and that was to kill every single Jew in Europe (Haugen and Musser). After capturing towns, cities, and countries, Hitler would take all the Jews and put them into concentration camps (Haugen and Musser). Some camps were designed purely to kill every single Jew that was sent there, while some were labor camps.
World War Two was the most devastating conflict in the history of humanity. It crippled many nations and caused millions of people to die. One of the major causes of this disastrous war was the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War. This treaty was destructive towards the Germans. Germany had to pay large amounts of reparations to the Allied nations at the end of World War One resulting in a Great Depression in Germany. Additionally, the Treaty of Versailles’ war guilt clause forced Germans to admit full responsibility for starting the war. Furthermore, to gain the support of the German populace, Adolf Hitler adopted an effective propaganda campaign. Adolf Hitler employed a successful propaganda campaign to gain the support of the German people combined with the Treaty of Versailles harsh economic and political sanctions ignited World War Two.
The Two World Wars were two huge worldwide events during the 20th century. These wars or years of violence contain facts and information that will forever go down into U.S. History. The great causes, new technology, and bittersweet outcomes is the information that will be explained throughout this essay. Let's take a few steps back into the 20th century as we learn all about the two World Wars.
World War II is cause for much debate over the morals and ethics of wartime attack strategies.
The first World War is recorded down as one of the “deadliest conflict in human history”. With over 16 million dead, it was one of the first wars with a high amount of casualties. However, the one that tops the list with around 60 million deaths was World War II. What caused such a large scale war to happen in the first place? Seven and a half months after World War I, a treaty was signed between the victorious countries, Great Britain, France, United States, and Germany (Overview). It was created with the intention to create peace Europe and ensure that another war like World War I doesn’t happen again. However, the peace was short lived before the second World War engulfed Europe and the rest of the world in a brutal bloodshed. Instead of lasting peace, the Treaty of Versailles contributed greatly to the cause of World War II as it caused humiliation and anger within Germany. The pent up emotions eventually led to the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler, who were angered by their loss in territory, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the war guilt clause.
Hitler's main idea was to, as he called it, 'cleanse' Europe of these non-deserving people. Hitler despite having gained anti-Semitic views on his own from things. he saw he was influenced a lot by Neil Darwin. He based a lot of his racial arguments and views on this. However, another point to consider was that the Jews were being used as scapegoats for German problems.
As early as 1934, Hitler began developing plans to make sure that the German military would be ready for a future war. He wanted to do this so his motherland Germany would expand. He wanted to expand Germany because first of all Germany was becoming overcrowded and also there was Germans living in Poland and Russia. So he wanted to connect all Germans with each other so they can live happier and a better life. By him wanting to do all of this he was very determined to do what he wanted to do at all costs. “Better yet, the United states had agreed to pump millions of dollars into the German economy to get it back on track.”
War is what keeps a nation from dying, it is the backbone of a country. This is the shown throughout the course of World War I, also known as “the war to end all wars.” World War I started in the summer of 1914. Archduke Francis Ferdinand, from the Austro – Hungarian Empire was visiting Bosnia. He was shot, along with his wife, Sofia, by a young man from the Black Hand, Gavrillo Princip. What were the three main factors that started World War I? There were three main underlying causes that started World War I: greed, nationalism, and militarism.
His future plans for the nation were set by his strategic, racial, economic and ideological motives: • One of Hitler’s long-term aims was live-in-a-room. He planned on creating an empire of 250 million Aryans. For this to be successful, he would need more living space. A powerful nation such as Russia would not only provide land, but also grain, oil and other assets, which would support the German empire. Kenneth Macksey – British Historian: Macksey believes the invasion of Russia was destined to fail at the beginning due to the unpreparedness of the German forces and their overconfidence in a swift victory.
World War 1 was a deadly battle with millions dead, but do you ever wonder what caused world war 2? There are many causes for world war 2, but the item that caused an impact on the war the Treaty of Versailles. World war 1 started on August 1914 and ended on November 1918 it lasted for 4 years and 3 months. World War 2 lasted for 6 years with even more people dead and injured. So how did the versailles treaty help cause world war 2. The treaty of versailles punished Germany too harshly in four key ways: Territorial losses, showing how Germany is weak, and vulnerable, making the Germans pay, and the germans also wanted to destroy the treaty.
He believed that the Germans were the 'master race'. Going around saying this will make people feel inferior and think the Germans have no authority over them, this caused conflicts. Hitler thought that the Treaty of Versailles should be cancelled and land taken from Germany must be returned. This led to problems as they were demanding land, which not only is against the Treaty's wishes, but will make then a lot stronger when or if future wars do happen. He said that all people of German blood, including many in Austria and Czechoslovakia, must be allowed to live in Greater Germany.
The Thirty Years War was a series of conflicts, not-knowingly involving most European countries from 1618 to 1648. The war, which was fought mainly in Germany, was started when Bohemian Protestants furiously attacked the Holy Roman Emperor in terms to impose a restriction on their religious and civil liberties. By understanding the Thirty Years War, you will notice the notable religious, political and social changes. The changes paved the religious and political maps of Europe. Not only did this war affect the religious and political demographic, it caused populations to perish and lose large amounts of their goods. What was known as a religious battle, turned out to be a political feud in competition of which state has the greater power affecting men, women, soldiers and civilians. “[The bohemians] had no idea that their violent deed would set off a chain reaction of armed conflict that would last thirty years and later be called Europe’s “first world war” of the modern era.” When the war ended, the lands were defiled and over 5 million people were killed.
World War II was one of the worst events in human history, but also one of the most influential. For those who dont know, World War II was started by the German Empire, and more specificaly, Adolf Hilter.