Causes of World War II

World War II Causes

Unlike WWI, where a variety of complex factors were at play, WWII (in Europe) was primarily the result of two nations (Germany and Italy) unsatisfied with the status quo imposed by WWI.

German Ambitions: Germany was on the losing side of the Central Powers during WWI. It lost significant portions of territory, including the Polish Corridor, border lands along the Polish border, and critical industrial sectors along the western French border. It was also forced to pay suffocating reparations to pay for the damage from WWI. It was natural for it to seek to regain its military might. Once this was achieved, it was prepared to avenge its loss in WWI, and reassert itself as the dominant power in Central Europe, and perhaps most or all of Europe.

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Italy Ambitions: Italy was on the victorious Allied side during WWI, paying a steep price in its contribution to victory. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives fighting the Austrians, in which Italy was ultimately victorious. Despite this, the Allies reneged on promises of land awards along the eastern banks of the Adriatic Sea, which was instead awarded to Yugoslavia. Italians were seriously disenchanted at the minimal gains they were ceded in light of the heavy cost they paid to fight the Austrians along their own border.

Appeasement: The Allied powers who enforced the status quo established after WWI, such as the UK, France and the USA, were unwilling to intercede when Germany began to once again assert itself as a militarized power. Although in violation of the peace treaty ending WWI, the Allies stood by as Germany rebuilt its military, annexed Austria, and invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939. They also refused to act when Italy invaded Albania in 1939. As a result, Germany was emboldened to continue its invasions into Poland in 1939, which did finally elicit a declarations of war from the Allies.

Racism: Germans viewed ethnic Slavs as an inferior race, and were therefore self-empowered and self-justified to invade and capture their lands without inhibition to the east in order to expand its territorial control.

Fascism: The social and economic turbulence that gripped Europe during the Global Depression gave rise to dictatorship-led governments, in order to establish order (although at the expense of individual liberties). When democracy and capitalism failed to pull nations out of the depression, fascist governments gained favor throughout much of Europe, including Germany and Italy. Hitler and Mussolini instituted tight social and economic controls, typical of fascist governments. Fervent nationalism and militarism are also typical of fascism, which drove both nations to build-up their militaries and seek to expand at the expense of neighboring nations.

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