what was the cause of 2nd world war
Answers
The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers. Because Germany had lost the war, the treaty was very harsh against Germany. Germany was forced to "accept the responsibility" of the war damages suffered by the Allies.
LONG TERM CAUSES
After the First World War ended in 1918, there was a general sentiment that Germany should be held responsible for their involvement in World War 1 and that limitations should be imposed on them so that they cannot seek war again. Major world leaders, including Woodrow Wilson from the United States, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando from Italy, Georges Clemenceau from France, and Lloyd George From England, gathered together to determine the ways in which Germany should be punished. Since France wanted revenge on Germany, the Treaty of Versailles was made in favor of Georges Clemenceau and was not based on Woodrow's 14-point plan which was deemed to bring peace to the region of Europe.
The treaty of Versailles called for Germany to give back the French territories that they had claimed during the Franco-Prussian War. Germany was also asked to pay an astronomically large sum of money. Some experts, including John Maynard Keynes warned that they thought the Treaty of Versailles to be too harsh. They warned that such fees would cripple the economy of Germany as the country could not afford to pay for the World War I reparations, which they warned could in turn pose a problem for the rest of Europe. It wouldn’t be long before this prophecies would prove to be a reality.
SHORT TERM CAUSES
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria (China)
In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria in northeast China. Fearing international backlash, the Japanese government framed the Mukden Incident as a reason for their invasion. However, their real reason was the desire to capture Chinese territory, a project that had started in the late 1800s in the First Sino-Japanese War. The invasion started with the bombing of several cities including Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai where the Imperial Japanese Army carried out terrible war crimes.
The Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
Between 1935 and 1939, Ethiopia and Italy were at war following the Italian invasion of Ethiopia (also known as Abyssinia). Among Italy’s reasons for the invasion was the desire to provide more land and resources to hungry and impoverished Italians.
Pearl Harbor Attack
Although not an event at the beginning of the war, the attack on Pearl Harbor is notable for bringing the United States into the war. On December 7, 1941 Japan surprised the United States by bombing a collection of warships in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a declaration of war. Following the bombings, the United States declared war on Japan in retaliation. Shortly after, Italy and Germany also declared war on the United States.