World War II DBQ

In the early 1920s, as World War I ended, nations looked for peace as an outlet and hope for the future. As time passed, most countries were happy that the Great War had ended, however they were upset with the outcome. Since there were many costly expenses from the war, it caused many of the hostile nations to look for strong rulers for change. This allowed many harsh dictators to rise to power. These dictators were aggressive rulers and took forceful actions. In order to combat these aggressive rulers, other nations tried to resist war and give in to their demands. This type of action was known as appeasement. Not all countries felt the same way about this response; other countries believed that a collective security would work better.
Collective security is a system in which groups of stronger nations came together and acted to protect other nations in need. These methods propelled nations into the battle of World War II. There were different reasons World War II was fought.
One of them being that Germany was frustrated over the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was upset that they had to follow unfair demands, including paying for all of the damages of World War I, lessening their armies, and limiting their military. In time, an aggressive ruler in Germany came to power named Adolf Hitler. Hitler felt that the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles was unfair, so he did the opposite of what the treaty stated and put all the money into building a stronger military. As time went on, Germany wanted to reunite their brother land (doc 1). Since other powerful countries feared the power of Hitler and his army, they gave into him, following the policy of appeasement. They agreed to the terms in which the “Big Four” gave Czechoslovakia over to Germany in order to resist war (doc 4). Hitler believed it was their right to the land because Germany owned it, post-World War I. In addition, at the start of World War II, most nations were in a worldwide depression. This state of depression, made it easier for aggressive and charismatic rulers to take control over weak nations. The people hoped the powerful rulers would help to fix and change the economy. Many of the great powers thought it was a good idea to give into appeasement. On the other hand, many disagreed and argued that by giving into one demand today would cause the nation to weaken “tomorrow” (doc
2). People agree that collective security works better then appeasement. After the Great Powers gave into Hitler’s demands regarding Czechoslovakia, he didn’t stop as he said he was going to. Instead, he sent troops into invade Rhineland and other countries in Europe (doc 3). It wasn’t until other countries fought back causing World War II. The fight was against Germany and their alliances, which were known as the Axis Powers. The United States and other nations held another alliance, which was known as the Allies. Although this war was not supported in many countries, such as Britain and France, it was much needed. If these nations didn’t take aggressive actions there would have been nothing to stop Germany from continuing on its quest to take over the powerful nations. On September 1, 1939, Hitler attempted to take over Poland. This was the last straw for Britain and France. They officially declared war on Germany; starting World War II. When countries finally took forceful actions, World War II began and in the end, Germany lost. This allowed for peace and order to be restored to the Allied nations. Unfortunately, World War II was the only way to prevent the totalitarian dictators from taking over. The enforcement of appeasement enabled totalitarian dictators to continue their rule. In order to create change or help modify different aspects of how nations are ruling, the Great Powers need to be forceful when directing their demand for change or growth. They should group together with stronger nations and protect those in need. The agreement of collective security is a protection against threats and helps to maintain a sense of peace and safety among nations. In order for things to get done, immediate actions should be taken instead of sitting back in hopes threats will disappear.