Causes and Consequences of the Second World War for New Zealand

1265 Words6 Pages
The causes of the Second World War were significant. Some of the many reasons were the German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles, the impact of the Great Depression, the ideas and goals of Adolf Hitler and finally Britain and France’s failed policy of appeasement. The consequences of the war were numerous, some of which were the rapid transition of the war into a global war, the changing relationship between Britain and New Zealand. And finally the beginning of the Nuclear Age. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty drawn up mainly by England, the United States of America and France. Germany was forced to sign the treaty in 1919 in the Versailles palace just outside of Paris. The Germans particularly despised the loss of 13 percent of their territory to various nations and the 6,600 million dollars to be payed in reparations. And the clause that unfairly states, that Germany alone was responsible for World War One. The German reaction to this Treaty was an outcry of anger and contributed to the beginning of the Second World War. A huge contributor to the start of World War Two was the Great Depression. It began with the Wall St. market crash in New York 1929. The collapse of the American economy was devastating and caused a ripple effect across the world. In Germany millions were unemployed and similar figures were apparent all around the world. People panicked and sought a strong, powerful and assertive leader. With radical revolutionary ideas that normally they would not vote for. They wanted jobs and actions not empty promises, which is how Hitler got voted in. Adolf Hitler became the leader of the NAZI party in 1921. In 1923 he attempted and failed to overthrow the government by force, this lead to his imprisonment of two years where he plotted his return. From 1925 to 1929 Hitler attempted to take over by gaining the votes of the public. In 1933 due
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