Top 5 Causes of World War II

1. Hitler

Hitler was a major cause of World War II. He was the one who invaded Austria, Sudetenland, and eventually Poland. He built up his army, even when the Treaty of Versailles forbid him too. He made pacts with Japan and Italy. But most importantly, he couldn’t be trusted. He promised not to invade Czechoslovakia, but he did. He also signed a peace treaty with Russia, but he broke it. Hilter’s rise to power without any intervention from other countries lead to World War II.

2. Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism created a lot of tension between many countries. Russia, Germany, and Italy were all controlled by this type of government. Many other European countries had a strong dislike for this type of government, and were scared that it would spread. World War II in a sense was an effort to stop totalitarianism government.

3. Britain/France Did Not Act When Germany Violated the Treaty of Versailles

Many felt that the Treaty of Versailles was in fact too harsh on Germany. So in 1938, Hitler decided to take both Austria and Sudetenland. This was, in fact, a complete violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Both France and Great Britain could have easily taken down Hitler at any point for the violation. Instead, they let Hitler get away the invasion. This was a crucial mistake for France and Britain, because Hitler only became stronger after this. France and Britain let their opportunity to crush Hitler slip away due to the fact that they felt the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany.

4. Failure of the League of Nations

After World War I, the League of Nations was supposed to prevent any further conflicts. However, it was not able to stop Italy, Germany or Japan for many reasons. First of all, it did not have any power. The League could not force a country to do something; they could only ask the countries to do something. Secondly, they League had no army; therefore it couldn’t take direct action against aggressive countries. Lastly, not everyone was allowed to join. For example, Germany could not because it was blamed for World War I. Russia could not join because they were communist. Other countries like the United States simply did not want to join the League. The League of Nation was a complete failure.

5. Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor is extremely important because it was a major cause of United States entering the war. The day after the attack, the United States officially entered the war by declaring war on Japan. The next day, December 8^th, 1941, Japan declared war on the United States and Britain. Days later, on December 11^th, 1941, Germany and Italy both declared war on the United States. The attack caused the United States to entering in the war.