Main Causes of the Second World War and its Results

The Second World War which occurred between the periods of 1939-1945, was one of the most bloodiest and gruesome wars our world has had to face. It was a war characterized by vast geographical expanse, mass genocide, the usage of weapons of mass destruction, struggles for power between two power blocs (much like the First World War) and the deaths and destruction of millions of people and cities. This war, which left in its aftermath a battle for supreme dominance between the United States of America (USA) and the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), began directly as result of Germany’s invasion of Poland led by Adolf Hitler. However the decision to initiate a second war so soon after the first was propelled by a number of reasons.

An  important motivator behind the German initiation of war, was the anger and resentment they felt as a result of the treaty of Versailles.  This treaty, in German opinion, subjected the German government and their country to acute humiliation and hardship, while also being brokered on extremely unfair and unpractical terms and conditions. This led to a national mindset of being an ill treated and victimized nation, which later probably became a rationalization for waging war. Furthermore The League of Nations, as result of being inherently flawed in its conception for a multitude of reasons, was unable to effectively carry out its functions or solve any disputes that arose after it came in to existence (see the issue of Mancuria and Abyssinia). This led Hitler to develop a very bold attitude allowing him to openly defy the Versailles treaty. By extending all three arms of the military, he clearly and openly contradicted the treaty in one of its most important areas, right under the noses of the world powers. On the other hand, German  allies such as Japan and Italy were becoming aggressive both in terms of national and foreign policy. In Italy, Mussolini’s fascist party was advocating massive change in the country and were becoming increasingly hostile towards its more democratic neighbors. This could be seen in Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 as Mussolini desired a fasicist-Roman empire in Africa and the Mediterranean region. In Japan, emperor Hirohito wanted a Niponese empire in the Pacific region moving up to Australia and China.     

   




 During this time it has been noted that the democratic nations such as France and Britain played very passive roles and took a lenient approach with Germany. They turned a blind eye to Hitler’s actions which allowed him to acquire both Lebensraun (living space) and  Autarky (economic independence) which were both forbidden by the treaty of Versailles. Britain especially followed a policy of appeasement under Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister during this time. Despite protests from Churchill, Chamberlain naively believed that Hitler merely sought to unite German speaking people and continued his acts of appeasement towards Germany, a gross misjudgment on his part.                          

The remilitarization of Rhineland was also another cause of war, as it infringed the clauses of both, the treaty of Versailles and the Locarno pact. The Rome Berlin axis of 1926 united the Triumvirate of Germany, Italy and Japan and divided countries into the two blocs of power, namely the ‘allied’ and ‘axis’ powers. German occupation of Czechoslovakia was another causing agent as it was in contrary to the Munich Agreement and it saw to the end of the Britain’s policy of appeasement. Another cause was the German defiance of the treaty of St. Germain, when they invaded Sudetenland and united with Austria (Anschluss). The immediate cause for war however was the German invasion of Poland on the first of September 1939.

 This war which lasted for six years brought about many results to a new world, raised from the dust and ashes of yet another bloody and vicious war.One of the main outcomes of the war as stated before was the emergence of two super powers vying for a position of supreme dominance through yet another war. The USA and the then USSR, both emerged as the forerunners of two distinctly different ideological camps, one for communism and the other for capitalism and democracy. As a result of this war, these two countries unlike many others did not crumble or weaken but emerged victorious and powerful.

Another important outcome was the emergence of the United Nations Organization (UN) replacing the failed League of Nations. The UN was established to make up for the failure of the League of Nations and also to be a protector of world peace, a body not leaving any room for another world war. Apart from this the IMT (International Military Tribunal) was established in order to proceed with the Nuremberg trials, which tried the remaining offenders of the Nazi army. This set a standard for the protocol to be followed when trying war crime offenders in the future. Also having seen the destruction they could cause following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War, a nuclear age began and as many countries sought to develop nuclear arms as a part of their defense programs. Nuclear weapons were also developed as means of political intimidation and influence, especially in the cases of America and the U.S.S.R.  

Also at the end of the war, a slightly revolutionary social movement emerged as a result of the new position of women in society. As men were conscripted into the army there were many vacancies left behind in the cities and it was women who took up these jobs. Pretty soon a substantial portion of the working population consisted of women, a very progressive change in those times. Women emancipation was a social movement which emerged as a result of all this and it is one that continues to this day and plays a very important, if not crucial, role in government policies. 



Furthermore by the end of the war the system of European dominance in the global sphere came to an end. Countries such as Britain, Spain and France, which were major stakeholders in the global arena were made insignificant by the end of the war. These countries which were all industrially superior prior to the war, saw their places being replace by other countries especially by the USA whose industrial capacity was enhanced. As a result of this, USA possessed one of the most developed economies in the world during the latter part of the century.

In conclusion, the Second World War which was brought about as a result of a multitude of varied factors led to many drastic changes which not only affected the countries involved in the war, but every single nation on the face of this globe. It changed the entire international system and even destroyed and brought in to existence entirely new nations and races, the world today is what it is mainly because of this Second World War. 

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