Causes of World War II in General and Specific, as well as Alliances of Countries in the World

Kapanlagi.com - World War II is recorded as the largest and deadliest war in history. The cause of World War II was triggered by the Nazis invading Poland in 1939. This prompted Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, as well as alliances of countries around the world in the war.

The cause of World War II originated from Germany's aggressive actions that violated various Versailles Treaties in 1918. Lebensraum (Living Space) was the principle of the Nazi expansionist ideology that sought more resources, such as land and raw materials for the German people.

The annexation of neighboring countries, such as Poland and Ukraine, was seen as a path for that ideology. Since then, a bloody war involving more than 30 countries has taken place. Six years later, in 1945, the Allies defeated Nazi Germany and Japan.

To find out more about the causes of World War II, which is estimated to have claimed up to 60 million lives, please refer to the information compiled from various sources below.

1. Causes of World War II in General

Illustration (Credit: Pixabay/Janeb13)

Fascism

Adolf Hitler can be said to be the mastermind behind this extreme nationalism or fascism. When Germany was frustrated by losing the war and angry at the rising unemployment rate, Hitler saw an opportunity to persuade the German people by promising an easy solution to the problems they were facing. Germany demanded revenge for the Versailles Treaty (Treaty Without Victory) signed in 1918.

In this climate of anger, the political atmosphere was ready to forge cooperation between radical parties, one of which was the Nazi Party. Between 1933 and 1934, Hitler began to take control of the party. It was at this time that extreme nationalism supporting dictatorship became the principle of governance.

Hitler used the strategy of making demands that tended to be unreasonable as one of his diplomatic strategies. If these demands were not met, he threatened war. This step violated the Versailles Treaty as Germany then exceeded the stipulated number of troops.

The Great Depression

From 1929 to 1939, the world economy experienced a major decline that triggered the Great Depression. The economic downturn is one of the causes of World War II. Anger among the people arose due to mass unemployment in Germany and poverty in Japan under the dictatorship government.

The great depression of the people's anger was used as a weapon by most leaders, including Hitler, to create hatred towards other countries in order to seize power. The society was swayed by anger and promises from the leaders. With that, they could be easily controlled through promises of getting jobs and a better quality of life.

2. Axis and Allied Bloc Alliances

Illustration (Credit: Pixabay)

The emergence of alliances also became a cause of World War II in general. The ongoing chaos triggered concerns about a major war. This led various countries to form their own alliances. There were two major alliances that caused World War II, namely the Axis bloc and the Allied bloc. The Axis bloc (Germany, Italy, and Japan) allied with Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia.

The Allied bloc consisted of the democratic and communist blocs. The democratic bloc consisted of France, England, the United States, and the Republic of China (also allied with Australia, South Africa, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, India, Canada, Cuba, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Poland, New Zealand, Yugoslavia, and Greece), while the communist bloc included the Soviet Union and Mongolia.

3. Causes of World War II Specifically

Illustration (Credit: Pixabay)

Japan Invades Manchuria (China)

Japan invaded Manchuria in eastern China in 1931. Worried about international reaction, Japan used the Mukden Incident as a reason for the invasion. However, the Mukden Incident was actually an incident that occurred because the Japanese railway near Mukden was bombed by junior Japanese officers, but the military accused China of doing so.

The railway guards assigned to provide security often took steps beyond their duties. There were many reports of Japanese soldiers raiding villages in China, but all complaints about it were ignored.

Japan's desire to seize Chinese territory was actually a project that had begun in the late 1800s during the First Sino-Japanese War. The annexation efforts began with the bombing of several cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Nanjing, where the Imperial Japanese Army committed horrific war crimes.

Italian Invasion of Ethiopia

The Italian invasion of Ethiopia is often seen as evidence of the weakness of the League of Nations (LON), an international organization formed after the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Its main functions, such as disarmament, preventing war, and resolving conflicts through negotiation and diplomacy, failed to be carried out in this annexation effort.

The war between Italy and Ethiopia between 1935 and 1939, triggered by the Italian invasion, was an attempt to provide more land and resources for the starving and impoverished Italian people.

German Invasion of Poland

The German invasion of Poland in 1939 was the cause of the outbreak of war between several countries, which later became the cause of World War II. Actually, Hitler had long planned to invade Poland, a country guaranteed by Great Britain and France with military support if attacked by Germany.

Therefore, when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany. This marked the beginning of World War II.

Pearl Harbor Attack

The Pearl Harbor attack cannot be considered as the cause of World War II from the beginning. This event occurred in 1941 when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Although not an attack that happened at the beginning of the war, this event triggered the involvement of the United States in World War II.

Fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes from the Japanese Navy attacked the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor in two waves launched from 6 Japanese aircraft carriers. In response, the United States declared war on Japan. This was followed by Italy and Germany declaring war on the United States.

(kpl/ans)