The nature of fascism itself was very aggressive and linked to the rise of dictatorships also increased the idea of revenge and violence. Germany and Italy also dealt with the economic crisis in 1929 in an aggressive way. And the fact that the League of Nations should ensure peace in the world and it was weak and failed facing Germany and Italy aggression let both countries became even more powerful and aggressive. One of the reasons for the German and Italian aggressive foreign policy was The Paris Peace Settlement, which was created to punish Germany. Nobody was happy with it and Italy and Germany wanted revenge.
When the Treaty of Versailles was written up, Clause 231 stated: “The Allied governments affirm, and Germany accepts, the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied governments and their peoples have been subjected as a result of the war.” Germany was guilty for causing the war. But although Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, it refused to accept the blame. Historians have argued about this issue ever since. Was Germany really guilty for causing WWI? Would the war have happened without Kaiser Wilhelm II’s aggressive foreign policy?
Why war broke out in 1939 In 1939, Germany, after signing the German-Soviet Pact, attacked Poland. Much to Hitler’s surprise, Britain and France, who had both seemed unwilling to go to war responded to his actions by declaring war against Germany on the 3rd of September. The events leading to this war can be traced back to the end of World War I, or more specifically, the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was famous for it’s harshness and cruelty against Germany, forcing them to pay huge amounts of reparations and took away some of Germany lands, while demilitarizing some. It also severely restricted Germany’s military power.
In this essay I will discuss the title question and come to a conclusion on whether or not I agree. For me, one of the main causes of ww2 was the fact that The Treaty of Versailles was extremely harsh on Germany; this created a build up of anger and resentment from Germans, and also put them in a financial depression. Although Hitler had no control over this, he played on their poverty to receive votes and gain power. He also built up Germany’s resentment against the United Nations, which made his people pro war. Many people believe another fault of the League of Nations that contributed to war was; how they appeased Hitler by letting him have Czechoslovakia.
As one of the most notorious dictators of all time, Hitler lied and manipulated his way to become Fuhrer of Germany. Using the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic to gain support, creating armies to cause fear and using his own public speaking skills and propaganda to gain trust and devotion, he created a false sense of security for the German people which began the rise of Hitler. The weaknesses of the Weimar Republic are what enabled Hitler’s rise to power. “The Treaty of Versailles” was a peace treaty written after World War I by the leaders of the nations who fought in the war; this was later named “the League of Nations”. Germany however was initially excluded from the league as they were blamed for being the cause of the war.
His self-belief persuaded people to believe in him. However, I do not think it was solely the brilliance of Hitler's leadership which brought the Nazis to Power. The Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace settlement in which the Germans had no choice and were forced to sign after WW1, was an important reason why the Nazis came to power. The German general public were so angry over the Treaty and found it hard to accept the terms of it because it became a symbol of Germany's humiliation and defeat. This made the new Weimar government, who signed the Treaty, extremely unpopular and there was a lot of opposition to the government.
Hitler and Mussolini were both responsible for the outbreak of war in 1939, though mainly due to both Nazi and fascist ideologies; two ideologies that both dictators allied together to spread the fascist ideologies internationally. Hitler is more responsible for the outbreak of war in 1939 as he demonstrates his aggressive behaviour and intelligence in the belief of building a Lebensraum (fixing the economic problem from WW1 and expanding to attain more land with a growing population), revising the Treaty of Versailles and creating an Aryan race in which he believed Jews and Slav’s were an inferior race; in which were considered as mere slaves. Throughout the 1930s, from Hitler’s first moment of being appointed chancellor the League of Nations is foreshadowed as very weak as it will not possess potential power to appease peace or intervention upon the actions of both dictators. The League of Nations had one purpose; to preserve world peace. But throughout the 1930s towards WW2, the League of Nations is shown to be very weak; hence it couldn’t prevent the Abyssinia Crisis.
How far do you agree with the view that the origins of the cold war in 1945 and 1946 owed much to ideological differences and little to personalities and conflicting national interests? Source 7 shows an ‘ideological crusade’ suggesting the west looked upon the USSR as expanding communism. Despite the agreement at Yalta, allowing Stalin a sphere of influence, the west’s view ‘changed’ to seeing them ‘dominating Eastern Europe’. There are many differences which caused tensions in the cold war however it cannot be denied that personalities of the leaders running these countries were a contributing reason for the uncertainty between them. The personalities influenced the cold war, despite not being as significant as the other factors.
Economically, Germany’s desire to build a central European customs association was at odds with France, Russia and Britain’s economic aspirations. The rise of Hindenburg and Ludendorff as leaders of the third Supreme Command placed huge power with the military in Germany and further prevented diplomatic negotiation. Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg’s programme of 9 September 1914 defined Germany’s general aim of the war as ‘security for the German Reich in west and east for all imaginable time.’[2] Essential to this aim was the weakening of France so ‘as to make her revival as a Great Power impossible for all time.’[3] Bethmann’s programme had unpalatable territorial, economic and political implications for France. Such a direct, provocative aim forced France’s hand. Prolonged warfare with Germany was more appealing than surrender and facing being controlled by a German state.
Hitler even being allowed to come into power is a scary thought itself. The situations that facilitated Hitler's rise to power were the Germans' unhappiness with the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Totalitarian leadership, and the inaction of the League of Nations. The Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace settlement in which the Germans had no choice and were forced to sign after WWI, was an important reason why the Nazis came to power. The German general public were so angry over the Treaty and found it hard to accept the terms of it because it became a symbol of Germany's humiliation and defeat. This made the new Weimar government, who signed the treaty, extremely unpopular and there was a lot of opposition to the government.