Analyzing the Causes and Effects of World War Two (Essay Sample)

Causes and effects of World War II
Teresa Mulomi
Academia Corporation
With the end of World War I in 1919, the League of Nations was formed with the principal objective of averting wars and maintaining world peace (Goodrich, 1947). It was hoped that the world would never again witness the horrors of such a destructive global war. However, this was far from reality as World War I had set precedence for the spiral of events that would eventually culminate in the cataclysmic world war of 1939-1945 (Taylor, 1961)
World War II was one of the most catastrophic conflicts in the world that resulted in the death of 60 million people and massive loss in fiscal capital. The war divided the world into two opposing sides; the axis and the allies. The main players of the axis side were Germany, Italy and Japan who lost the war; whilst the allied powers were the U.S, France, Britain, China and the Soviet Union (Paul, 1987).
German’s invasion of Poland in 1939 is believed to have been the immediate trigger of the War (Hammer, 2009). However, the Versailles restrictions on Germany, the rise of Nazi and fascist ideologies coupled with the rise of dictate leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini are believed to have fuelled the war (Paul, 1987; Goodrich, 1967).
In an effort to hold Germany responsible for its contribution in World War One, the Versailles Treaty imposed military restrictions and economic sanctions on Germany. Germany was stripped of its colonial territories, asked to disarm and ordered to make reparation payments to France and Belgium. Mathew and Seligman (2002) argue that these measures served as the springboard for German aggression activities that led to the Second World War.
These punitive measures did not sit well with the Germans who viewed them as lopsided and extremely humiliating. Hammer, (2009) argues that the Germans were vulnerable and looking for a way out their economic problems and humiliation. It is for this reason that they embraced Adolf Hitler propagandist ideologies of creating a 1000 year empire through military expansion.
Hitler’s rise to power is believed to be the pivotal event leading to the Second World War. This megalomaniac leader was driven by the desire to take control of Europe what he termed as more ‘living spaces.’ He promoted Nazi ideologies that were characterized by military expansion and racial anti-Semitism. During his tenure he sanctioned the Holocaust, a genocide that claimed the lives of about six million Jews. He also authorized militarization and rearmament programs to aid him in the conquest of ‘more living space’ (Hammer, 2009).
German’s successive invasion in several European territories such as Belgium was at first ignored. However, most invasion of Poland by German proved to be the final crux that sparked retaliation from France and Britain (Hammer, 2009). Hitler formed a Rome-Berlin axis pact with Italy’s fascist leader Benito Mussolini to fight the allied powers.
Meanwhile, Japan which sought to expand its territories had invaded China’s mineral rich Manchuria, withdrawn from the League of Nations and formed an alliance with German. The country viewed the U.S as a threat to their expansion efforts and attacked the U.S port harbor in a bid to cripple it air carriers (Dower, 199). This prompted the U.S to join the war. The U.S retaliation to Japan tragically ended after the U.S hurled the first nuclear atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The bomb claimed the lives of about 250, 000 casualties (Dower, 1999).
The six year long war ended in Europe after Hitler committed suicide and the Nazi, Germany conceded defeat by signing the unconditional surrender on May, 1945. In Asia, the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings forced Japan to surrender on September, 2, 1945 (Dower, 1945).
The Aftermath
The immediate effects of the War were devastating, 3% of the world population was lost and economies plunged into recessions. The U.N body was formed by the five allied states in 1945 to maintain peace and avert any forms of conflict that may result in a third world war. To date, the U.N has dedicated a lot of its efforts towards ensuring the non-proliferation and use of nuclear weapons (Goodrich, 1947).
Massive economic reconstruction has been witnessed ever since the war. The U.S experienced a baby boom and went on to dominate the world economically, Germany recovered its economy in want is considered to be a miracle while Japan, China and the Soviet Union flourished to become some of the most powerful economies.
The Second World War also set the backdrop for the Cold War between the U.S and the Soviet Unio...