WWII- quotes
Post World War I two specific events which occurred possibly inspired, or allowed rise to, the era of totalitarianism. This idea, for the most part, was responsible for a second world war so soon after the first. The first issue was the Treaty of Versailles, which was the peace treaty post WWI. Woodrow Wilson, following the war, had also developed a framework for a just peace which was very significant when neglected by the other Allies. His treaty was appropriately named the Fourteen Points. In his Fourteen Points he confirms that punishing the opposing nations will not help the situation as far as world conflict. This is obvious in his statement, "We entered this war because violations of right had occurred which touched us to the quick and made the life of our own people impossible unless they were corrected and the world secure once for all against their recurrence. What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against for
ce and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us. The program of the world's peace, therefore, is our program; and that program, the only possible program, as we see it, is this" However, the allied nations of France, Italy, and Britain had a different plan for Germany. The Treaty of Versailles, where it seems Wilson had little impact, instead blamed Germany for the war and forced the nation to take full responsibility. Therefore, Germany was also responsible for the reparations. As stated in the Treaty of Versailles, Article 231, "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been This depression was the second event that brought upon the age of totalitarianism and left WWII unavoidable. As the Germans looked for someone to get them out of this economic downfall a man began his rise to power with promises of glory, Adolph Hitler. Once Hitler gained supremacy and Germany had some political stability, he then attempted to rebuild the German economy through any means. The ultimate goal of Hitler's policy was to secure "living space" for the German "master race" in Eastern Europe. He played skillfully on the divisions among the European powers to gain many of his aims without war. With the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini he announced a Rome-Berlin alliance (the Axis) in 1935. Meanwhile, in the Far East, the Japanese, the only Asian industrial power, coveted the natural resources of China and Southeast Asia, but found their expansion blocked by European colonial powers or by the United States. Having seized Manchuria in 1931, they began a war against China in 1937. The League of Nations failed to counter effectively Japanese aggression in Manchuria and an Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Soon Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies, facing Western democratic governments that wanted to avoid another war. They will soon find that it was now inevitable, however preventable 10 years prior. Hitler recognized Wilson's Fourteen Points in a speech given at Wilhelmshaven on April 1, 1939. "When the Fourteen Points of President Wilson were announced, many German "Volksgenossen," particularly the leading men of the time, saw in those Fourteen Points not only the possibility for ending the World War but for a final pacification of all nations of this world. There would come a peace of reconciliation and understanding, a peace which would recognise neither victors nor vanquished, a peace without war indemnities, a peace of equal rights for all, a peace of equal distribution of colonial territory and of equal consideration for colonial desiderata. A peace which would finally be crowned with a league of free nations. A peace which,
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2001
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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