A Decade of Uneasy Peace
World War II was the worst war that was fought in the 20th Century, and perhaps the worst war in the history of man. The loss of lives in World War II was a staggering 50-60 million dead (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 130). World War II also ushered in the era of nuclear weapons. How did this war come about, and could it have been prevented? War was inevitable in 1939 due to the resentment of the German people towards the Versailles Treaty, poverty resulting from the great depression, the policy of appeasement, and Axis aggression in the 1930s. The Treaty of Versailles was the major treaty ending military actions against Germany in World War I. The treaty was signed at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on June 28, 1919, and went into effect on January 10, 1920, following ratification by Germany and four of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 22). It was not ratified by the United States, which made a separate treaty of peace with Germany in 1921 incorporating much of the Treaty of Versailles by reference (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 42). The lesser Allied po
German aggression is perhaps the cornerstone of Axis aggression in the 1930s. The Nazi party promised a lot of great things for the country of Germany. The Nazi party promised peace from internal fighting and a rebirth of prosperity (Lee 147). Many people feared urban unemployment, communism, foreign humiliations, and middle-class loss of status (Lee 155). The people that most supported the Nazi party were those who suffered greatly in the depression, which included the lower-middle working class. When Hitler came to power in 1933, he was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Within the next six months, through the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler power to rule by decree for four years, Nazi Dictatorship was established (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 46). He had all his political opponents assassinated by the SS (Mitchner, Tuffs Global Forces of the 20th Century 46). He defied the Versailles Treaty, reoccupying the Rhineland (60km east of Rhine River was demilitarized) with 22, 000 troops in 1936 (Adamthwaite 37). "Hitler set Germany on a course of territorial expansion in central Europe...By encouraging Hitler to think that his territorial ambitions would not be opposed, Anglo-French appeasement contributed to the making of the Second World War" (Adamthwaite 61). When Hitler came into power in 1933, the army had 10 divisions. By 1934, he had increased the size of the army to 240, 000, which is twice the size of the army allowed by the Treaty (Lee 190). On March 11, 1935, Hitler announced the existence of an Air Force (Lee 190). Hitler talked repeatedly about the concept of Lebensraum . Both France and Great Britain feared the horrors of War again, and so Hitler was able to gain more and more territory. Anschluss was strictly forbidden with Austria; Yet in March of 1938, Hitler marched his troops into Austria, and reunited the German people. He also made claims about German ownership of the Sudetenland, with was a part of Czechoslovakia (Synder, 51). This strip of land contained the industrial base of Czechoslovakia, but also had 3.5 million people of German descent living there. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, initiated talks that resulted in the Munich Pact, which gave the Sudetenland to Hitler with the promise that he would take no more. Despite this, just six months later, Hitler seized the remaining part of Czechoslovakia. Hitler even complained, "That fellow has spoiled my entry into Prague!" (Elson, 198). Hitler clearly wanted a war, and on September 1, 1939, Hitler moved into Poland. Three days later, Great Britain and France had no choice but to declare war on Germany. World War II had begun. The policy of appeasement was used when dealing with Germany in the 1930's. Every time Hitler made a move, France and Great Britain allowed it. Britain and France, still suffering from economic failure, allowed Hitler to reoccupy the Rhineland. Hitler based his "repatriation of the Sudetenland on the principle of self-determination. Britain and France found this reason convenient and so Hitler controlled the Sudetenland. The Spanish Civil War was also left alone with this reason; however, Italy and Germany were shipping arms to the Fascist side of the war, but that fact w
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Approximate Word count = 2175
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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