Causes and Effects of WWII

1. Cause: increasing German aggression in Europe. Germany had attacked and taken control over Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland by 1939. Poland was perhaps the final straw, as both England and France honored commitment to Poland and declared war on Germany. Effect: World War II officially started as a result of treaties made by Britain and France to the invaded nations. The was absolutely no joy at the news of the war as there was in 1914 because people now knew what horrible things a man went through in modern warfare.
2. Cause: America put a sanction on imports of war materials to Japan. In 1940 Japan steamed from island to island in the south pacific. To stop the aggression, the US banned the sale to Japan of war materials which angered the Japanese. Effect: Extreme militarist in Japan rose to power; one named Tojo Hideki launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The next day war on Japan was declared. Three days after that, Germany and Italy declared war on the US as Japan’s allies.
3. Cause: Appeasement by western democracies allowed Italy and Germany to make outrages demands that were met, and also get away with invasions that might otherwise be frowned upon to say the least. Later, pacifism and disgust with war in general led the governments to seek peace at any price. Effect: The dictators of Italy and Germany, Mussolini and Hitler, were able to take over lands in Europe and North Africa with relative ease and opposition. The above allowed let Germany and Italy take over lands that had protection pacts with Britain and France, who finally had to resort to war.
4. Cause: The US decides to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in an effort to avoid invasion. Effect: The nuclear Pandora’s Box of the modern world is open. The US remains the first last and only nation to ever use this weapon. Arguably it was a good choice instead of invasion at the time, but the effects of today could not have possibly been predicted. Nations now consider themselves elite only if they have nuclear capabilities. The problem now is when and where they are going to be used again.
5. Cause: The Versailles Treaty of 1919 divided Europe in o two camps: those who were satisfied with its terms and those who were not. Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union all felt betrayed or excluded and wished for the treaty to be changed. Effect: Many historians of today see the war as many nations’ efforts to change the peace agreement. Italy felt it should have gained lands to the North. Germany felt that its penalties were too severe. Japan challenged the agreement early and captured Manchuria in 1931. The Soviet’s felt that Eastern Europe was carved up unfairly and that they too wanted more land. In summary, nations were dissatisfied and unhappy with the Treaty of Versailles and saw war as a way to change it.