The Causes And Effects of World War 2 Essay Sample

War is devastating to a country. One war that can be observed to have this effect is World War II. World War II had many causes, and effects of those causes that led to the start of World War II. The first cause of WWII was the Treaty of Versailles. Three effects that can be associated with this are Germany losing its land, people, coal, and iron industry, the blaming of Germany for WWI, and accepting German armed forces restrictions and paying reparations. The second cause of WWII was the economic depression. Three effects stemming from this were reparations of WWI leaving Germany deprived of money, making its population angered, a weakened economic situation in Europe allowing Hitler to rise to power, and when it ended it caused the United States to turn its gaze towards the war and to enter it. The third cause of WWII was the rise of dictatorship. The three effects from this were Hitler rearming of Germany, the annexation of Austria, and Mussolini invading Ethiopia. These three causes and nine effects of the causes all led up and directly began the Second World War.

The first cause of World War II was the Treaty of Versailles. This was a peace treaty signed by the Allied powers at the closing of World War I which failed to serve its purpose. The first of this treaty’s effects that lead to World War II was that Germany lost “10% of its land, all its overseas colonies, 12.5% of its population, 16% of its coal and 48% of its iron industry”(nationalarchives). This had a negative effect on Germany and led them to want back what they lost and more. The second effect of the Treaty of Versailles was Germany was forced to carry the blame of World War I over their shoulders. This ultimately caused Germans to be humiliated and want revenge. The last effect of the Treaty of Versailles was the acceptance of armed forces restrictions and paying reparations. This effect caused Germany’s economic system to be strained and also enraged the people.

The second cause of World War II was the economic depression. This economic depression was caused by the stock market crash of 1929 and other smaller factors. The first effect of this economic depression was reparations leaving the German economy deprived of money. This event led to German annoyance and struggle, furthermore pressing down upon Germany’s neck. The second effect of the economic depression was Hitler’s climb to power. Hitler accomplished this due to voter’s discontent with existing conditions and with use of the ongoing economic crisis. The third and final effect of economic depression was bringing America out of its shell to the war. The reason this economic disaster caused America to join the war was that “Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defense jobs. World War Two affected the world and the United States profoundly”(loc.gov).

The third cause of World War II was the rise of dictatorship. The rise of dictatorship were brought about by the global depression putting nations into desperate situations where they would elect any leader that tells them what they want to hear. The first effect of the rise of dictatorship was Hitler rearming Germany. This action broke the Treaty of Versailles requirements and was only allowed because it was believed that a more powerful Germany would cease the spread of Communism coming from Russia. The next effect due to the rise of dictatorship was the annexation of Austria. This unity between the two nations posed an ultimate threat to the allies based on the fact that “950,000 Austrians fought for Nazi Germany's armed forces”(Wikipedia.org). The last effect of the rise of dictatorship was Mussolini invading Ethiopia. Mussolini, being controlled and manipulated by Adolf Hitler, was seen as a threat after attempting to invade Ethiopia and caused America to ban all shipments of weapons to Italy.

In summary World War II had three main causes and nine effects stemming from those causes that brought about quarrel. The first of these causes is the Treaty of Versailles. This Treaty caused Germany to lose its land, people, coal, and iron industry, Germany to be held accountable for WWI, and also German armed forces to be restricted and for reparations to be paid. The second of these causes was the economic depression. This crisis caused Germany to be drained of money, Hitler’s rise to power, and America’s entry into the war. The last of these causes was the rise of dictatorship. The effects of this rise of dictatorship was Hitler rearming Germany, the annexation of Austria, and the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini. These three causes and nine effects all resulted in the start of World War II.