World War II is considered one of the bloodiest and largest wars in history. The principal countries involved were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan. And the Allies—France, Great Britain, the USA, the Soviet Union, and China. World war 1 created instability in Europe, which set the stage for another conflict – World War 2. The war broke two years later and proved to be even more devastating. With the rising power in the unstable economy of Germany, Adolf Hitler reared the nation. He started signing treaties with Japan and Italy to further his ambitions of World domination.
Causes of World War 2
There are various causes of the advent of World War 2. Some of them are:
- Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty was very harsh against Germany. The Versailles Treaty ended World War 1 between Germany and the Allied powers. Germany lost the war and was pressured to accept the responsibility for the war damages. The country’s economy was left in ruins, which led to people starving.
- Expansion of Japanese
Japan was growing rapidly before World War 2. It was an island nation and did not have land or resources to sustain its growth. Japan began to look for ways to gain new resources. It invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937.
- Fascist government
After World War 1, some countries were taken over by the dictators who formed the Fascist government. The dictators wanted to expand their empire and were looking for new lands to conquer. The first Fascist government formed was Italy. Italy was ruled by the Fascist dictator Mussolini. Adolf Hitler took over Germany. Another Fascist government formed was in Spain ruled by the dictator Franco.
- Nazi party and Hitler
Hitler and the Nazi party became an authority in Germany. The Germans wanted someone to turn around their economy and restore their national pride. Hitler was proclaimed the leader (Fuhrer) of Germany. Later he became the dictator of Germany. He violated the Treaty of Versailles, which put restrictions on Germany. He began to rearm Germany while talking about peace. Hitler looked for ways to restore its power by expanding its empire. Firstly, he took over Austria in 1938. When the League of Nations didn’t stop him, he took over Czechoslovakia also in 1938.
- Great Depression
Before the advent of World War 2, the economy was suffering much throughout the world. It came to be known as the Great Depression. The worldwide turmoil led to world war 2.
World War 2 destroyed lives, land, and property around the globe. An estimate of 40-60 million people was killed, out of which 6 million were Jews. They were murdered in Nazi concentration camps as part of Hitler’s diabolical “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust.
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