World War 2 Causes

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What caused World War II? There was no one simple cause for World War II. Rather, there were many causes. Most of them grew out of World War I. After World War I, four imperial governments were swept away—those in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. The Germans, especially, were bitter about the terms of the Versailles Treaty which ended the war. They lost all their colonies and one-eighth of their European area. They were forced to return Alsace-Lorraine to France. Their navy, second only to Great Britain’s, was almost wiped away. Their Army was cut down so that it was not much larger than that of Belgium. Late in the 18th century, Poland had been divided among three countries—Russia, Prussia, and Austria, so there was no Poland …show more content…
They were Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, and Tojo in Japan. These men called democracy a “dead corpse” in a free country they might have found it hard to make people follow them, however fine their promises. But the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese had never known real freedom. They were used to following strong leaders of working out their own problems in a democratic government. Benito Mussolini became dictator of Italy in 1922. He was a journalist who had written a number of revolutionary pamphlets. His followers were called fascist, when he first came into power he won the loyalty of the people by making improvements at home. He built new roads, new houses, new factories. One of his proud boasts was that he had made the Italian trains run on time! But he demanded that the people obey him absolutely. Anyone who refused to obey was imprisoned or killed. Mussolini’s real ambition was to rule a great colonial empire. He told the people that Italy was overcrowded and must have more land in which to grow and become an Italian lake – Mare Nostrum, which means Our Sea. Mussolini glorified war and conquest and sent his armies into Africa to take new land by …show more content…
He was an Austrian politician who had worked his way to power through the National Socialist, or Nazi party. His followers were called Nazis. Hitler was a ridiculous looking little man with a screeching voice and a sick mind. But he had the power to arouse people’s feelings, particularly the feeling of hate. This feeling is often strong in people suffering from hurt pride, as the Germans were after World War I. Hitler promised the half-starved Germans plenty to eat if they would do what he told them to do. He promised to win back Germany’s lost territories and make her a great nation again. Under Hitler, the Germans began to hope again. He gave them back their pride in themselves as people. But he took away the freedom they might have found in the democratic government they had set up after World War I. No one dared go against Hitler’s wishes or even disagree with him. Hitler was driven by the idea that the German “race” was stronger and more intelligent than all others. He believed that the Germans were meant to rule mankind. He wanted to conquer Europe, and finally the whole
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