World war 2 (Part 1)

 World war 2 (1939 to 1945)

Introduction:

Historian John Keegan writes, “The Second World War was the continuation of the First” “and indeed [World War II] is inexplicable except in terms of the rancor and instabilities left by the earlier conflict.”1

The historians consider the First and Second World Wars part of the same struggle. First World War left all the European states desperate for security. Yet international conflicts persisted throughout early 1920s. After a compromise on reparation between France and Germany in 1924, the European states entered into a period of improved relations that lasted for a decade. France and the US proposed that the nations of the world swear not to start wars of aggression. More than twenty states signed such an agreement on September 1928. Eleven years after this treaty, Europe plunged into a war of much greater destruction known as the Greater War. The terrible war happened because of the failure of the system of collective security and the growth of international anarchy. Britain and France had gone to war to defend a threatened ally and to stop the spread of fascism. The Second World War was a war for democracy. 

Causes Of World War 2 :

1. Treaty of Versailles: An attempt was made at Paris Peace conference in 1919 to establish just world order. But the treaty was drafted by victors and Germany was told to sign it. Germany raised many objections. But France had taken its revenge, Germany was deprived of all its overseas colonies. The treaty of Versailles had imposed humiliating conditions on the Central powers and sowed the seeds of the Second World War. 

2. Rise of dictatorship in Italy and Germany: The dictatorship of the Facist party, under the leadership of Mussolini, was established in Italy in 1922. The dictatorship of the Nazi party was established in Germany after Hitler came to power in 1933.

3. Expansionist policy of the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy and Japan were the Axis Powers which had pursued the expansionist policy during the inter-war period. Germany brought about the unification of the all-German speaking provinces by the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Italy annexed Ethiopia in 1936 and Albania in 1939. Japan invaded China in 1937 and occupied three-fourths of its territory by the middle of 1939.

4. Failure of Disarmament: The task of preparing a plan for reduction of armaments was entrusted to the League of Nation. No success could be achieved in this area. The temporary Mixed Commission appointed by the League in 1920 could not do any substantial work. In 1925 Preparatory Commission was constituted. It could not do any substantial work. Finally, a Disarmament Conference met in Geneva in February 1932 but could not reach any agreement. In 1935, Germany declared that she was no more bound by the military clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. 

5. The Problem of National Minorities: The US President Wilson had advocated the concept of self-determination but his principle could not be implemented on various occasions. For instance, large German minorities were in company with non-Germans in Poland and Czechoslovakia. There were Russian minorities in Poland and Rumania. This gave rise to feeling of insecurity among the minorities.

6. Policy of Appeasement: England and France ignored the acts of aggression by Germany and Italy and succumbed to their pressure. Appeasement was started by Prime Minister Baldwin but pursued by Neville Chamberlain in 1938. The policy of appeasement emboldened the aggressive nations. 

7. The weakness of the League of Nations: The League of Nations was a helpless spectator when the Axis powers committed acts of aggression due to the fact that England and France followed the policy of appeasement towards the axis powers. It failed to maintain peace, to protect smaller nations against big powers. The US President Wilson was the principal architect of the league and promoter of disarmament. His own country could never become the member of the League. The League of Nations had several other shortcomings