The devastation caused by World War I was of such magnitude that it was referred to as The Great War or The War to End all Wars. The belligerent Nations, especially the Allies, had no desire for a second prolonged conflict and this was the main driving force behind their actions after the end of World War I. The immediate and the primary cause of World War II was the aggressive military offensive undertaken by a resurgent Germany and a fast developing Japan.
Germany and Treaty of Versailles, 1919
The treaty of Versailles ending World War I was signed in June 1919. Among the many clauses of the Treaty, three in particular caused great resentment among the Germans.
(i) Germany was forced to give up territories to the west, north and east of the German border; (ii) Germany had to disarm and was allowed to retain only a very restricted armed forces; (iii) as reparations for the war, Germany was expected to pay for the military and civilian cost of the War to the Allied Nations.
Failure of League of Nations
The Treaty also set up the League of Nations, on the initiative of President Woodrow Wilson of the United States. The League was expected to mediate between countries and take action against the countries which indulged in military aggression. The popular mood favoured the traditional in isolationist approach, and therefore the United States did not become a member of the League. The other Allied nations were also determined to maintain a non interventionist attitude and, in consequence, the League remained an in effectual international body.
Post War Crisis and Germany
As mentioned above the three main clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, especially the imposition of penal reparations caused great discontent in Germany. The problems which many countries faced in the post World War I decades led to the rise of extreme right wing dictatorships in Italy, Germany and Spain.
Germany experienced both high unemployment and severe inflation after the War, and its currency became practically worthless. There are several pictures of the 1920s when ordinary people had to carry money in wheelbarrows to buy bread. This was blamed on the war reparations which Germany was forced to pay, though in the final analysis, the demands for war reparations were moderated over several rounds of negotiations.
The rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was able to exploit the general discontent among the Germans. Gifted with great oratorical skills, he was able to sway the people by his impassioned speeches, promising a return to the glorious military past of Germany. He founded the National Socialist party, generally know as "the Nazis". The fundamental platform on which Hitler built his support was the nation of the racial superiority of the Germans as a pure, 'Aryan' race and a deep seated hatred of the Jews. Hitler came to power in 1933 and ruled Germany till 1945.
In direct contravention of the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler began to rearm Germany. The recruitment for the armed forces and the manufacture of armaments and machinery for the army, navy and air force with large amounts of government spending resulted in an economic revival and solved the problem of unemployment in Germany.
Italy's break with Britain and France in the wake of Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia resulted in better relationship between Italy and Germany. In 1936, before Germany invaded the Rhineland, which was supposed to be a demilitarized zone, Rome - Berlin Axis had come into being. Later, with Japan joining this alliance, it became Rome- Berlin-Tokyo Axis. In 1938, Hitler invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia. Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia was German speaking, and Hitler's claim was that the German speaking people should be united in to one nation.
Allies and Non- Intervention
There were also acts of aggression by Italy and Japan. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and Albania in 1939. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations, but got no help. In the East, Japan was pursuing its policy of military expansion. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, and in 1937 it invaded China and seized Beijing. All these were ignored by the Allies and the League of Nations was unable to take any action.
In spite of all these manifestations of military activity by Germany, Italy and Japan, Britain and France continued to be non interventionist. The mood in Britain was not in favour of starting another war. Prime Ministers Baldwin and Chamberlain did not feel justified in intervening in a region which was not officially in their sphere of interest. The United States was totally indifferent to the outside world, and was concerned with the revival of the economy after the Great Depression.
Munich Pact:
A further factor was that the western powers and the Soviet Union distrusted each other. In 1938, Prime Minister Chamberlain concluded the Munich pact with Germany, which was a shameful acceptance of Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia to annex German-speaking Sudetenland. In 1939 the Soviet Union independently concluded a non-aggression pact with Germany. The continued passivity of the Allies and the reluctance to start building up their armies were also contributory causes of the extended scale of World War II.
Though Hitler gave an assurance in the Munich Pact that Germany would not attack any other country, this was broken immediately. In 1939 he invaded Czechoslovakia. Poland was attacked the next, and this was the final act which resulted in the declaration of war by Britain and France against Germany. In Britain, Prime Minister Chamberlain resigned in 1940 and Winston Churchill, who had always warned about Hitler and his military ambitions, became Prime Minister.
(b) Effects of the war
New geo political power alignment:
World War II changed the world in fundamental ways. The world was polarized into two main blocs led by superpowers, one led by United States with a pronounced anti- Communist ideology, and the other by Soviet Russia. Europe was divided into two: Communist and non- Communist.
Nuclear proliferation:
The United States and the Soviet Union entered into a race to have more nuclear-powered weapons. They built a large stockpile of such weapons. Defence spending sky rocketed in many countries.
International agencies:
Many international agencies, in particular the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund came into existence providing a forum for countries large and small.
Colonial powers were forced to give independence to former colonies in a process of decolonization. India was the first to achieve independence.
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