World War II - Causes

The Versailles Treaty signed at the end of World War I not only lay the moral blame of the conflict on Germany but also forced the Germans to make huge payments to the victors of the war. France and Britain needed these reparations payments in order to pay down their own debts. But they were highly onerous, arguably unjustifiably so, and were deeply unpopular in Germany. Hitler seized on this growing resentment and promised to "undo this injustice and tear up this treaty and restore Germany to its old greatness". In fact, the payments demanded were so large that Germany was able to repay the final installment of interest on this debt only on October 3, 2010. The following causes of World War II are generally acknowledged:

Treaty of Versailles

Germany felt that the treaty unfairly punished Germany since other parties such as the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary were also involved. They could not afford the amount of reparations (money) to pay for the damaged caused the Allied countries. The treaty limited the strength their military could be in the future. It also took territories and colonies gained during the Age of Imperialism.

Worldwide Depression

The economic depression felt worldwide from 1929 forward throughout Europe was severe, Germany although was facing a severe depression almost as soon as World War I came to a close in 1919 caused Germany severe economic hardship. They could not make the payments necessary under the Treaty of Versailles. Inflation (increase in the amount of goods & services without an increase in income) occurred and caused prices of items such as bread and milk to skyrocket and become unaffordable for most Germans without severe hardship.

Bitterness Over Treaty

Due to economic hardship, political instability occurred throughout Europe. Germany Political and economic instability in Germany, combined with bitterness over its defeat in World War I and the harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles.

Rise of Fascism & Adolf Hitler

Fascism is a political system primarily consisting of dictatorship, extreme nationalism, extreme militarism, and totalitarianism. The major fascist leaders during the 1930s-40s included; Benito Mussolini (Italy), Adolf Hitler (Germany), Hideki Tōjō (Japan), and Francisco Franco (Spain), among others.

Rise of power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. In the mid-1930s Hitler began secretly to rearm Germany, in violation of the treaty. He used the treaty to show how unfair it was and to convince Germans that they were being treated too harsh. This coupled with the economic hardship made it easier for Hitler to gain power. He was voted into office democratically in a fair election. He then took more and more power and became a Fascist dictator. He eliminated all other political parties except the NAZI party (National Socialist German Workers Party abbreviated NSDAP or Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) He used a military buildup, as well as created extreme Nationalism, used secret police (Gestapo), and created a new empire called the "Third Reich" to hold onto power.

German Aggression

Germany continued to take over other territory, most notably; Austria (Anschluss), Sudetenland (parts of Czechoslovakia which has German speaking people in it), Alsace-Lorrain (taken from Germany after WWI), and eventually Poland which led directly to Britain declaring war on Germany.

Invasion of Poland

On September 1, 1939, Hitler and the German military invaded Poland. Hitler has signed a secret agreement with the Soviet Union for each of them to take 1/2 of Poland. Hitler had also signed agreements with Italy & Japan to go against the Soviet Union. He would fulfill the agreement by attacking the Soviet Union in 1941.

US Entry into World War II

Neutrality Acts

The Neutrality Acts were laws that were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s, in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in World War I, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts. Remember, this policy concept goes back to George Washington whom in his Farewell Address warned the American people and government about foreign entanglements.

The legacy of the Neutrality Acts in the 1930s was widely regarded as having been generally negative: they made no distinction between aggressor and victim, treating both equally as "belligerents"; and they limited the US government's ability to aid Britain against Nazi Germany. The acts were largely repealed in 1941, in the face of German submarine attacks on U.S. vessels and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939 but nine months before the U.S. entered the war in December 1941. Formally titled An Act to Further Promote the Defense of the United States, the Act effectively ended the United States' pretense of neutrality.

A total of $50.1 billion (equivalent to $647 billion today) worth of supplies were shipped: $31.4 billion to Britain, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France, and $1.6 billion to China. Reverse Lend-Lease comprised services such as rent on air bases that went to the U.S., and totaled $7.8 billion; of this, $6.8 billion came from the British and the Commonwealth. The terms of the agreement provided that the materiel were to be used until time for their return or destruction. Supplies after the termination date were sold to Britain at a discount for £1.075 billion using long-term loans from the United States. Canada operated a similar program that sent $4.7 billion in supplies to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. The United States did not charge for aid supplied under this legislation.

This program was a decisive step away from non-interventionist policy, which had dominated United States foreign relations since the end of World War I, towards international involvement.

Pearl Harbor

Just before 8 on the morning of December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. A total of 2,403 people died after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, according to the National WWII Museum and Census Bureau. The Navy made up the largest number of casualties with 2,008 lives lost. The rest of the total comes from the Army and Marines, as well as the 68 civilians killed. Another 1,178 people were wounded in the attack. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan; Congress approved his declaration with just one dissenting vote. Three days later, Japanese allies Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States, and again Congress reciprocated. More than two years into the conflict, America had finally joined World War II.

The USS Arizona Memorial is built over the remains of the sunken battleship USS Arizona, the final resting place for many of the 1,177 crewmen killed on December 7, 1941 when their ship was bombed by Japanese Naval Forces. This loss of life represents over half of the Americans killed during the worst naval disaster in American history.