Results+of+World+War+I+That+Led+to+World+War+II

Logan Valtz 7 December 7, 2009 History Paper/Mr.Hinze

Contributing factors to World War II

After World War I there were many economic, social, and physiological impacts that lead to World War II. Some of these being; casualties, war debt, confidence and hatred towards another country/ countrymen. These outcomes were well understood affects of World War I, however what was intended to be a preventative measure of future World Wars, the League of Nations, actually was one reason World War II began. The collapse of the League of Nations was a contributing factor of World War II, but not the primary cause.

A major contributor to the end of World War I, and a cause of World War II, was the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany must pay reparations back to the Allies for the cost of the war. It also stated that Germany had to accept the blame for creating this World War. Although they were forced to sign it, Germany did not believe they were accountable for the war. Paying reparations to other countries caused Germany to get further in debt. Eventually the Dawes Plan was formed to improve Germany’s economy. The Dawes Plan stated that Germany had to take care of their needs for the country first, and then after a certain time period was up, the remaining money would be given to the other countries for reparations. Under this plan Germany actually received more financial assistance than the country paid in reparations. Although the repayments might have been less per payment, the total amount of reparations that Germany owed did not change. Even though “Germany was forced to sign the War Guilt clause (Article 231) accepting blame for causing the war and therefore responsibility for all loses and damage.” Germany was not in agreement that they were to blame for the war, and did not think it was reasonable that they were paying reparations.

Another key contributor to the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II was the collapse of the League of Nations. The collapse of the League of Nations was caused by one main thing, and this was the faliure of collective security. The Manchurian crisis demonstrated the failure of the League of Nations as Japan infiltrated China, and took over their country. Japan was able to do so partially because of the poor economy and half because of the weak military power in China at that time. From a militarily perspective the Japanese invasion posted minimal risk. The idea of Collective Security was that others would help any country who was a member of the League of Nations who had been unrightfully infiltrated. There was also another case where the League of Nations failed in providing collective security and that was the Abyssinia Crisis. The Abyssinia Crisis is “widely regarded as the ultimate example of the failure of the collective security principle.” Essentially Italy infiltrated Ethiopia and the other countries did not assist Ethiopia. The collapse of the League of Nations, due to the faliure of collective security, led to World War II by the world not unifying to protect other countries.

Thirdly, a contributor of World War II that followed the end of World War I was Th Great Depression. The Great Depression was triggered by the loss of optimistic spirit due to the major loses from World War I, basically, “nations were no longer willing to co-operate through trade and exchange but adopted an exclusionary, bomb-shelter mentality,” and focused on their own countries needs not others. The tempers of the German people were flared because of heavy spending and bad living conditions after World War I. The Great Depression was another factor that led to World War II with people needing financial support. It is known that war can stimulate an economy by providing jobs; consequently the countries went to war to become more economically stable.

Finally, the last contributor to the beginning of World War II that was a result of World War I was the Extremism, and the end of monarchy in Germany. The failure of democracy was a major reason there was a lot of extremism in Germany. After World War I when democracy was successful for most countries, Germany tried it for ten years, but unfortunately it didn’t work. It just brought worse economic problems, and added to the debt of the country. Germany started exemplifying extremism acts such as the Nazi movements to secure power. Hitler was very opportunistic when he saw the country was in need of a leader; Hitler emerged to help save the country. Technically, he gained power legally, but he wasn’t the same person as he presented to the people and he didn’t follow through with the same political views he said he would. When others wanted to hold back at the Munich beer hall putsch Hitler pressed on rather than lose the opportunity to gain power for the Nazi party. From that point on he continued to look for opportunities to strengthen his power and weaken democratic policy. In 1933 he proposed an enabling bill that would give full powers to the Chancellor and his government for four years. This is how he gained power. The extremism and the end of monarchy in Germany helped contribute to the beginning of World War II.

In essence, there were a number of contributing factors that led to the economic, social and physiological conditions and challenges within each country that provided the environment for another World War. Based upon evaluation, the Great Depression presented the greatest setback to powerful countries and lead to the demise of support for one country to another. The success of the League of Nations was dependent on various factors and the collapse of the League of Nations provided the opportunity for Hitler to advance his initiatives.

Layton, Geoff. Two Key Documents. 3rd Edition, London. Hodder, 2005. P. 35 Ibid. P. 31 The League of Nations. Oxford U. Press. Oxford, 2009. P. 68 Ibid. P.71 Ibid. P. 66 Layton, Geoff. The Early Years of the Nazis 1919-29. 3rd Edition, London. Hodder, 2005. P.107 Layton, Geoff. The Third Reich 1933-45. 3rd Edition, London. Hodder, 2005. P. 11