World War II – Cause & Effect
Treaty of Versailles
In 1919 the “Big 4” met to discuss how Germany would pay for the damages that were caused
by World War 1. This meeting was called the Paris Peace Conference. The desired outcomes differed
between the attendees, and led to some tension. President Wilson of the U.S. wanted a treaty based on
the 14 Points because he thought it would bring a lasting peace to Europe. Georges Clemenceau of
France wanted revenge against Germany, and assurances that they would never be able to start another
war. David Lloyd George of Britain personally agreed with Wilson, but knew that the people of his
country wanted the same things as the French. He tried to find a compromise between the competing
viewpoints. Eventually the Treaty of Versailles was created, but did not reflect the ideas in the 14 Points.
Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles even though they were unhappy that it did not
follow the 14 Points the way they had expected. There were four main terms of the Treaty of
Versailles, and they are listed below:
1. War Guilt Clause – Germany should accept blame for starting World War 1.
2. Reparations – Germany had to pay $64 Billion for damages caused by World War 1.
3. Disarmament – Germany was only allowed to have a small army and 6 naval ships. The
area known as the Rhineland also had to remain de-militarized.
4. Territorial Clauses – Land was taken away from Germany & given to other countries.
Germans were unhappy with the treaty, and could not afford to pay the reparations due to the
hyperinflation that their country was experiencing. The people voted into power a man who promised
to rip up the Treaty of Versailles name Adolf Hitler.
Hitler’s Actions
After becoming Chancellor of Germany in January of 1933, Hitler began secretly building up
Germany’s army and weapons. Countries in Europe, such as Britain and France, were aware of Hitler’s
actions, but did nothing about it. They believed that a strong German military would help prevent
Communism from spreading into Western Europe. In 1936 Hitler ordered German troops into the
Rhineland. Even though Germany’s Army was still weak, Britain and France continued to ignore the
Germans because they were not prepared to fight another war. In 1936 Hitler also made two important
alliances. He signed the Rome-Berlin Axis with Italy and their leader Benito Mussolini, and the AntiComitern Pact with Japan. Hitler’s next step was to retake land that had been taken from Germany at
the end of World War 1. In March of 1938 Hitler sent troops to invade Austria. The Austrian leader
requested help from Britain, France, and Italy even though the citizens of his country voted to become
part of Germany. These countries did not offer assistance, and Hitler claimed that Austria was the end
of his expansionist aims. Hitler went back on his word, and demanded that a part of Czechoslovakia
be turned over to Germany. The Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlin, decided to meet with
Hitler so that they could reach an agreement that would not lead to war. Both parties agreed to the
Munich Agreement, which gave Germany a small part of Czechoslovakia as long as Germany left the
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rest of the country alone. Once again, Hitler went back on his word. In March of 1939 Germany invaded
the remaining portion of Czechoslovakia. Again France and Britain did nothing because they were not
prepared to take military action, but did promise that they would if Hitler invaded Poland, which is
what it appeared he would do. On September 1, 1939 Hitler sent German troops into Poland.
Failure of Appeasement
Appeasement means to give in to someone’s demands as long as those demands are seen as
reasonable. Politicians in Britain & France saw that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany, and
saw Hitler’s actions as justified. When Germany began re-arming itself, many agreed that Germany had
the right to defend itself, and also thought that a stronger Germany would help prevent the spread of
Communism. In 1936 France signed a new treaty with Russia, and this worried Hitler. He claimed that
Germany now faced a threat from both sides, so his troops were needed in the Rhineland. At this
point France could not fight Germany without Britain’s help, and Britain was not prepared for another
war. Neville Chamberlin believed the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to the Germans, and felt that
giving in to Hitler’s demand would prevent another war. This policy became known as the policy of
Appeasement. The next big example of appeasement came in the form of the Munich Agreement.
Germany was given part of Czechoslovakia. Germany, France, Britain, and Italy agreed to this, but did
not include Czechoslovakia in the meetings. Czechoslovakia protested the loss of the land, and felt
betrayed by Britain and France, with whom they had made alliances. Later, when Hitler invaded the
rest of Czechoslovakia he helped to prove that the policy of appeasement had failed. Chamberlin was
not prepared to go to war at this point, but promised to come to Poland’s aid if Germany invaded.
Failure of the League of Nations
The purpose of the League of Nations was to settle disputes between nations using peaceful
negotiations and possibly economic sanctions, with war being only the final resort. By 1931 the Great
Depression had reached Japan. This caused the Japanese people to lose faith in their government. This
forced the people to turn to the military for possible solutions. Japan’s military invaded Manchuria,
part of China, which was rich with natural resources. China made an appeal to the League of Nations,
who told Japan to order their military to return home. Japan’s military ignored the order, and
continued to collect resources from Manchuria. The League next asked countries to cease trade with
Japan, but many denied the request. They did not want to risk losing even more foreign trade during
the Great Depression. The League requested the withdrawal of the Japanese military a second time,
but this time Japan decided to leave the League of Nations.
In October of 1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia. This small African country requested help from the
League because they could not withstand the Italian attacks. The League called on member nations to
restrict trade with Italy, but again this request was denied. Many felt that the trade restrictions would
have no effect because Italy would be able to trade with non-member nations. Britain and France
agreed to let Italy have a small portion of Abyssinia provided there would be no further attacks.
Mussolini agreed to this, but the plan was later dropped by Britain when their citizens spoke out
against the Italians. The League of Nations had many flaws, but the main four are listed below:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Not all Countries Joined the League of Nations
The League had no real power
The League had no Army
The League was unable to React Quickly
The Atomic Bomb
In 1905 a Jewish German scientist named Albert Einstein published a set of papers that
explained that a large amount of energy could be released in an extremely small amount of time. This
amount of energy was larger than any that had been used before, would be released in a shorter
amount of time than ever before. When the Nazi Party took power in Germany, Einstein fled to the
United States. One of the reasons for his departure from Nazi Germany was he feared that the Nazis
were in the process of developing an atomic weapon that could accomplish the feat that he described
in his papers. After arriving in the U.S. he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt urging him to support
research into an “extremely powerful bomb of a new type.” President Roosevelt then established the
Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was America’s research and development project that was
attempting to create the first Atomic Bombs. Leading scientists from America, Great Britain, and
Canada met in the deserts of New Mexico in an attempt to accomplish this task. On July 14, 1945 the
leaders of the Manhattan Project announced that the Project was a success. After President
Roosevelt’s sudden death, President Truman took power. He approved the use of the atomic bomb
against Japan in order to prevent the high number of casualties that would result from America
attacking Japan by sea. On August 6, 1945 pilots from the United States dropped the first atomic bomb
on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later on August 9 another bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki. Japan, fearful of further attacks, surrendered on September 2, 1945. This officially ended
World War II.
American Occupation of Japan
Japan suffered a massive amount of destruction due to the use of the American atomic bombs.
Once the war was over a large portion of Japan needed to be rebuilt so that people had places to live
and work. America sent in troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur to facilitate the
rebuilding of Japan. Besides physically rebuilding, MacArthur was also tasked with setting up a new
system of government. A democratic constitution was written which gave the people of Japan a more
stable government than the one they had before the war. The power of the Emperor was also greatly
reduced. MacArthur also implemented several important reforms that made Japan less imperialistic
and less aggressive. Due to these reforms, Japan lost its entire overseas empire, army, and navy.
The United Nations
The League of Nations proved to be a failure at the beginning of World War II. The Allied Powers
quickly realized after the war that a new international peacekeeping organization was needed. This
organization needed to be strong, and needed a more efficient way of enforcing its policies in times of
turmoil. Together British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D.
Roosevelt created an organization called the United Nations, or U.N. The U.N. Charter established the
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purpose of the organization, which was to maintain world peace, while encouraging international
friendship and cooperation. Member nations of the U.N. agreed to use force only in self-defense. The
U.N. also sought to eliminate world hunger, disease, and ignorance. The U.N. established an internal
organization that was in charge of enforcing its policies called the U.N. Security Council. The U.N.
Security Council has the ability to apply economic sanctions or use military power to resolve disputes.
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