World War II was officially declared on September 1st, 1939, between the six major countries of power in that era, the Allied forces, (United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union) against the Axis Powers, (Germany, Italy, and Japan). The bloodshed caused by this unprecedented event gave the war the title “The most destructive war in human history.” (HistoryNet). No one historic event can be said to have been the origin of World War II.
Despite the minor conflicts between both sides before the war, World War II was primarily caused by the means of the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles, the failure of the league of nations and Hitler’s dishonesty among treaties. These factors are primarily responsible for the declaration of WWII on September 1st, 1939, concluding with an impact on Canada as a nation. The Treaty of Versailles, an official document signed to prevent all wars from occurring within Europe and to end WWI between Germany and the Allied forces, resulted in desperate and angered Germans due to its harsh repercussions, consequently resulting in the second world war. The Treaty of Versailles provoked Germans and generated a great amount of heat towards the allied forces. The war guilt clause, stated within the Treaty of Versailles, declares that Germany is to take the blame for starting World War One.
The Treaty of Versailles also demands that Germany pays 6.6 billion dollars, the total cost of repairs based on the damages caused in the first world war (HistoryOnTheNet). The humiliation caused by the war guilt clause and massive payment repercussions angered many of the Germans towards the Triple Entente (Allied Forces). This made it effortless for Nazi Germany to get approval from its country and military to initiate war/conflict.
In addition, the Treaty of Versailles economically impaired Germany, further increasing the number of desperate Germans in the country. Territorial clauses, stated within the Treaty of Versailles, required Germany to be remapped, losing valuable industrial environments thus lowering domestic and export rates, lowering the economy. The Great Depression, the financial and industrial slump of 1929, resulted in economic recession worldwide. To coincide with the loss of industrial land, Germany was greatly affected by the Great Depression this resulted in an economic crisis in the country.
Many citizens of Germany, desperate, demanded a change in the country, allowing a man such as Adolf Hitler to rise to power, therefore, resulting in World War Two as the outcome. In conclusion, the Treaty of Versailles socially and economically affected many Germans in 1919, furthermore factoring as a cause of World War Two. The League of Nations is an international organization formed to enforce the Treaty of Versailles and negotiate international disputes through passive means. The league is a major cause of WWII as it has failed to prevent and recognize Hitler’s objectives, obligating the allied forces to declare war on Germany.With full awareness of Hitler’s goals, Britain and France allowed for Germany to gain power as they assumed it would prevent the spreading of communistic beliefs.
The government leaders apart from the league of nations had all read the Mein Kampf, an autobiography written by Hitler stating his political ambition for Germany in the future (HistoryOnTheNet). If the League of Nation had initiated conflict prior to this knowledge, World War Two would not have begun as fewer countries would be involved and the duration of the battle would be significantly shorter. The League of Nations also fails to prevent Germany from inducing infringement. Hitler remilitarized a suburb of Germany near the border, called Rhineland in 1936. In this age Germany’s army had not been fully developed yet allowing for Britain and France, the significant leaders in the League of Nations, to have defeated Germany at ease (HistoryOnTheNet).
Britain and France being fully aware did not battle as they felt they were not prepared. This lead to involving more countries on both sides of the conflict and escalate the severity of the issue. If the infringement had been dealt with immediately, a huge conflict wouldn’t have been created as Germany would be once again defeated, regulated and finally lose its rising power. To compile, World War Two was caused by the means of the League of Nations and its failure in recognizing and preventing Hitlers from achieving his political ambitions. Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany, was a major factor to cause WWII due to the many broken treaties and pacts with the allied forces. Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles agreement by opposing the military clause.
In 1935, Hitler made the Luftwaffe, an aerial warfare military group which was a direct violation of the treaty. Furthermore, he remilitarized a region of Germany near the border known as Rhineland (HistoryNet). The military clause restricted Germany’s army to having no naval or air force and a minimized troop force (HistoryOnTheNet). The breaking of the Treaty of Versailles agreement displays the Nazi government’s depravity and also presents the lack of awareness on treaties and pacts which leads to further infringement, therefore, proving Hitler’s influence on WWII. Coming to power in 1993 following the great depression, Hitler used Germany’s economic decline and the worldwide economic recession to his advantage to test the legitimacy of the Treaty of Versailles and Munich Pact. During this dark era for Germany, Hitler manipulated the Germans, convincing them that they would be benefited with more living space, in doing so he retrieved Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia and invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939 (HistoryNet). The Treaty of Versailles demanded that Germany would lose a vital portion of its land and resources. In consequence of reacquiring Sudetenland Hitler explicitly disobeys the terms set by the Allied Forces (HistoryOnTheNet).
The Munich Pact was signed on September 30th, 1938, as a result of Hitler’s disobedience, he was asked to keep the land he had taken in return for immobilizing his military (History). In dishonesty, Hitler agreed but invaded Poland anyway, obligating Britain and France to declare war on Hitler’s Nazi state in retaliation thus factoring as a cause to WWII (HistoryNet). In summary, the breaking of official treaties and pacts through Adolf Hitler resulted in the declaration of World War II. WWII officially ended September 2nd, 1945, following the defeat of Germany and the second nuclear bombing of Japan resulting in the victory of the Allied forces. World War Two was particularly caused by three major factors. The Treaty of Versailles mainly caused WWII as it resulted in the increased desperation of the Germans due to its harsh clauses.
WWII was also caused by the failure of the League of Nations as they failed to prevent and recognize Hitler’s objectives, consequently forcing the allied forces to declare war on Germany. Lastly, Hitler’s dishonesty among treaties caused WWII as he infringed the Treaty of Versailles and the Munich agreement many times. The declaration of World War Two had a very significant effect on French and English societies in Canada and Canada as a nation. In contrast to World War One, where Canada was obligated to assist Great Britain and contribute to the war effort, Canada now entirely independent, had a decision to either contribute to the war effort or to not. This became a difficult debate for Canada as it rose tension and again revealed a chasm between the French and English societies.
Most French Canadians were still not pleased with Canada as they loathed at the British imperialism in WWI and was then forced to fight for them with no exceptions. As a result, French Canadians demanded that the government will not enforce conscription. Five days after the British’s official proclamation, Canada officially declared that it would take part in the Second World War. Canada grew as a nation, as their nationalism increased from defending their country independently.
Considering Canada felt threatened by Hitler’s superiority in WWII, Canada, as a nation, felt the need to defend their country, thus inducing the decision to contribute to the war effort. As a great deal of the world’s population, natural resources, and money were lost after the Second World War, the Axis Powers and the Allies stopped their feud, and ended their continuous battle in obtaining power, and land.
