Is The Outbreak Of WWII All Hitler's Fault?
Is the Outbreak of WWII all Hitler’s fault?
Undeniably Hitler’s rise to power was a major cause of WWII; however there were other contributing factors Such as the Treaty of Versailles and the British Appeasement that were equally important.
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace settlement signed after WWI had ended. The main decisions regarding content of the document were made by the United States, Britain, France and Italy; Germany was forced to sign this treaty along with an assortment of other conditions. In perhaps the most critical part of the treaty negotiations Britain, France and Belgium insisted that Germany would pay for their actions in starting WWI. Britain, France and Germany insisted that there should be a “War Guilt” clause
which essentially meant that Germany was blamed for WWI, they were forced to pay, Germany was forced to surrender some of their territories and they were not allowed an air force. From the signing of the treaty the German people were essentially put into a depression as all taxes went up to cover the costs of the treaty. Adolf Hitler came out with a campaign that was to abolish the treaty and bring the German people out of their state of depression. Hitler started by rebuilding the air force and navy; which both were forbidden by the treaty. In March 1935 Hitler decided to reveal the German air force to a British official; and no actions were taken. Soon after, Hitler had an open introduction for the military services. Both Britain and France again overlooked thus this gave Hitler encouragement to take further action. Hitler made further speech announcing that he would respect the territorial clause of the treaty but he increased the strength of the armed forces. A quote from Hitler around that time stated “Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos.”
The British appeasement was generated by the public and political desire to achieve peace at any price. The appeasement policy was motivated by several factors; neither France nor Britain was ready for a war, the wide-spread belief that war and violence are unjustifiable as well as the economic effects from the great depression; also some British politicians believed that Hitler and Mussolini were genuinely strong and patriotic leaders and not fascist to be cautious about. Germany and Italy realised that democratic countries were not seeking confrontation which lead the two countries to push the limits. During the Spanish civil war Germany and Italy sent in troops, planes and equipment to the rebels, making them stronger and fighting the government, which was known as the “non-intervention agreement”.
In my opinion the cause of WWII should be blamed not only on Nazi Germany and Italy but on other governments as well. I think this is the case because the British and French government did not acknowledge the breaking of the treaty by Germany and by not acknowledging it encouraged Nazi Germany and Italy to proceed with greater force.
Undeniably Hitler’s rise to power was a major cause of WWII; however there were other contributing factors Such as the Treaty of Versailles and the British Appeasement that were equally important.
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace settlement signed after WWI had ended. The main decisions regarding content of the document were made by the United States, Britain, France and Italy; Germany was forced to sign this treaty along with an assortment of other conditions. In perhaps the most critical part of the treaty negotiations Britain, France and Belgium insisted that Germany would pay for their actions in starting WWI. Britain, France and Germany insisted that there should be a “War Guilt” clause
which essentially meant that Germany was blamed for WWI, they were forced to pay, Germany was forced to surrender some of their territories and they were not allowed an air force. From the signing of the treaty the German people were essentially put into a depression as all taxes went up to cover the costs of the treaty. Adolf Hitler came out with a campaign that was to abolish the treaty and bring the German people out of their state of depression. Hitler started by rebuilding the air force and navy; which both were forbidden by the treaty. In March 1935 Hitler decided to reveal the German air force to a British official; and no actions were taken. Soon after, Hitler had an open introduction for the military services. Both Britain and France again overlooked thus this gave Hitler encouragement to take further action. Hitler made further speech announcing that he would respect the territorial clause of the treaty but he increased the strength of the armed forces. A quote from Hitler around that time stated “Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos.”
The British appeasement was generated by the public and political desire to achieve peace at any price. The appeasement policy was motivated by several factors; neither France nor Britain was ready for a war, the wide-spread belief that war and violence are unjustifiable as well as the economic effects from the great depression; also some British politicians believed that Hitler and Mussolini were genuinely strong and patriotic leaders and not fascist to be cautious about. Germany and Italy realised that democratic countries were not seeking confrontation which lead the two countries to push the limits. During the Spanish civil war Germany and Italy sent in troops, planes and equipment to the rebels, making them stronger and fighting the government, which was known as the “non-intervention agreement”.
In my opinion the cause of WWII should be blamed not only on Nazi Germany and Italy but on other governments as well. I think this is the case because the British and French government did not acknowledge the breaking of the treaty by Germany and by not acknowledging it encouraged Nazi Germany and Italy to proceed with greater force.